Sarissa Capital Acquisition Corp. - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
| ☒ | Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 |
For the period ended December 31, 2021
Commission File Number 001-39640
SARISSA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Cayman Islands | 98-1552641 | |
| (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |
| 660 Steamboat Rd. Greenwich, CT |
06830 | |
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (zip code) | |
203-302-2330
(Issuer’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
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 and one-third of one redeemable warrant | SRSAU | The Nasdaq Capital Market | ||
| Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share | SRSA | The Nasdaq Capital Market | ||
| Redeemable warrants, exercisable for ordinary shares at an exercise price of $11.50 per share | SRSAW | The Nasdaq Capital Market |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act of 1934 during the past 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirement 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 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||
| Non-accelerated filer | ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ☒ | |||
| Emerging growth company | ☒ | |||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☒ No ☐
As of June 30, 2021 (the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter), the Registrant’s securities were publicly traded. The Registrant’s Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, began trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market separately from its units on December 11, 2020. The aggregate market value of the Registrant’s Class A ordinary shares outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the Registrant, at December 31, 2021 was approximately $195,800,000.
As of March 31, 2022, 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 5,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, were issued and outstanding.
Documents Incorporated by Reference: The information contained in the registrant’s prospectus dated October 20, 2020, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 21, 2020, pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4) (SEC File No. 333-249171) is incorporated into certain portions of Part I, as disclosed herein.
SARISSA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
FORM 10-K
In this Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Form 10-K”), references to the “Company” and to “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Sarissa Capital Acquisition Corp.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated on August 12, 2020 for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (a “business combination”). Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic location, although we intend to focus our search on industries that complement our management team’s background, and to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify and acquire a business, focusing on the healthcare and biopharma industry.
On August 13, 2020, Sarissa Capital Acquisition Sponsor LLC, our sponsor (the “Sponsor”) paid $25,000 to cover certain offering costs and formation costs of the Company in consideration for 5,031,250 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001, (the “Founder Shares”). The Sponsor had agreed to forfeit up to 656,250 Founder Shares to the extent that the over-allotment option was not exercised in full by the underwriter. On October 23, 2020, the underwriter partially exercised its over-allotment option, hence, 625,000 Founder Shares were no longer subject to forfeiture, and 31,250 Founder Shares were forfeited, resulting in an aggregate of 5,000,000 Founders Shares issued and outstanding, so that the number of shares of Class B ordinary shares collectively equaled 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares after the IPO.
On October 23, 2020, we consummated our initial public offering (“IPO”) of 20,000,000 units, including the issuance of 2,500,000 units as a result of the underwriter’s partial exercise of its over-allotment option. Each unit consisted of one Class A ordinary share, par value $0.0001 per share, and one-third of one redeemable warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. The units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $200,000,000.
Simultaneously with the consummation of the IPO, we consummated the private placement (“Private Placement”) of 4,000,000 warrants (“Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, generating total proceeds of $6,000,000. 3,333,333 of the Private Placement Warrants were purchased by the Sponsor, and 666,667 Private Placement Warrants were purchased by the underwriter. The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the warrants sold in the IPO, except that the Private Placement Warrants are non-redeemable and may be exercised on a cashless basis, in each case, so long as they continue to be held by the initial purchaser or its permitted transferees. The purchasers of the Private Placement Warrants have agreed not to transfer, assign, or sell any of the Private Placement Warrants or the Class A ordinary shares underlying the Private Placement Warrants (except to certain permitted transferees) until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and, for as long as the Private Placement Warrants are held by the underwriter or its designees or affiliates, until the expiration of the lock-up and registration rights limitations imposed by FINRA Rule 5110 and five years from the effective date of the registration statement for our IPO.
Transaction costs related to the IPO amounted to $11,586,282, consisting of $4,000,000 of underwriting fees, $7,000,000 of deferred underwriter’s fee and $586,282 of other costs. In addition, $1,097,856 was held as cash outside of the trust account established in connection with the IPO and is available for working capital purposes.
For further details regarding our business, see the section titled “Proposed Business” contained in our prospectus dated October 20, 2020, incorporated by reference herein (the “prospectus”).
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Effecting a Business Combination
General
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations until after the consummation of our initial business combination. We intend to utilize cash derived from the proceeds of our IPO and the private placement of Private Placement Warrants, our capital stock, debt or a combination of these in effecting a business combination. Although substantially all of the net proceeds of the IPO and the private placement of Private Placement Warrants are intended to be applied generally toward effecting a business combination, the proceeds are not otherwise being designated for any more specific purposes.
If we pay for our initial business combination using stock or debt securities, or we do not use all of the funds released from the trust account for payment of the purchase price in connection with our business combination or for redemptions or purchases of our ordinary shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of acquired businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in consummating our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
A business combination may involve the acquisition of, or merger with, a company which does not need substantial additional capital but which desires to establish a public trading market for its shares, while avoiding what it may deem to be adverse consequences of undertaking a public offering itself. These include time delays, significant expense, loss of voting control and compliance with various Federal and state securities laws. In the alternative, we may seek to consummate a business combination with a company that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth. While we may seek to effect simultaneous business combinations with more than one target business, we will probably have the ability, as a result of our limited resources, to effect only a single business combination.
Sources of Target Businesses
We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and investment professionals. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us by calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read the prospectus and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as our sponsor and its affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows, conferences or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors and our sponsor and their respective industry and business contacts as well as their affiliates. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee, advisory fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which our sponsor or officers are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation by the Company prior to, or in connection with any services rendered for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). Although none of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated initial business combination, we do not have a policy that prohibits our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, from negotiating for the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses by a target business. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an initial business combination candidate.
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We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination or subsequent transaction with a company that is affiliated with Sarissa Capital Management LP (“Sarissa”) or our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Sarissa, our sponsor or any of our officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent valuation or accounting firm that such initial business combination or transaction is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including any future special purpose acquisition companies we expect they may be involved in and entities that are affiliates of our sponsor, pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which such person has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, such person will honor such person’s fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity.
Fair Market Value of Target Business
Pursuant to Nasdaq listing rules, the target business or businesses that we acquire must collectively have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance of the funds in the trust account (excluding taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the execution of a definitive agreement for our initial business combination, although we may acquire a target business whose fair market value significantly exceeds 80% of the trust account balance. We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-business combination company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-business combination company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Even if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to the completion of our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-business combination company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable.
The fair market value of the target will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). If our board is not able to independently determine that the target business has a sufficient fair market value, we will obtain an opinion from an unaffiliated, independent investment banking firm, or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions on the type of target business we are seeking to acquire, with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We will not be required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions on the type of target business we are seeking to acquire, as to the fair market value if our board of directors independently determines that the target business complies with the 80% threshold.
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Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
| • | subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination; and |
| • | cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services. |
Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve an Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by applicable law or stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.
Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, shareholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
| • | we issue (other than in a public offering for cash) ordinary shares that will either (a) be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of ordinary shares then issued and outstanding or (b) have voting power equal to or in excess of 20% of the voting power then issued and outstanding; |
| • | any of our directors, officers or substantial shareholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of ordinary shares could result in an increase in outstanding ordinary shares or voting power of 5% or more; or |
| • | the issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
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The Companies Law (2020 Revision) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time (the “Companies Law”) and Cayman Islands law do not currently require, and we are not aware of any other applicable law that will require, shareholder approval of our initial business combination.
The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination in those instances in which shareholder approval is not required by law will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and legal reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
| • | the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine shareholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek shareholder approval or doing so would place the company at a disadvantage in the transaction or result in other additional burdens on the company; |
| • | the expected cost of holding a shareholder vote; |
| • | the risk that the shareholders would fail to approve the proposed business combination; |
| • | other time and budget constraints of the company; and |
| • | additional legal complexities of a proposed business combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to shareholders. |
Liquidation if No Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will have only until October 23, 2022 to complete our initial business combination. If we do not consummate an initial business combination by October 23, 2022, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible, but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to consummate an initial business combination by October 23, 2022.
Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to consummate an initial business combination by October 23, 2022 (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 by October 23, 2022).
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Our sponsor, executive officers, directors and director nominees have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by October 23, 2022 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement, we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time. This redemption right shall apply in the event of the approval of any such amendment, whether proposed by our sponsor, any executive officer, director or director nominee, or any other person.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the $1,000,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account plus up to $100,000 of funds from the trust account available to us to pay dissolution expenses, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of our offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be less than $10.00. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (excluding our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. The underwriter will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, 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 seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of our offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
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In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.00 per public share.
If we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy or insolvency claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per public share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.”
As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not consummate an initial business combination by October 23, 2022, (ii) in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by October 23, 2022 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, and (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the initial business combination. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we have not consummated an initial business combination by October 23, 2022, with respect to such
Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote.
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Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies, operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Human Capital Resources
We currently have six executive officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements contained in this annual report may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.
The forward-looking statements contained in this annual report are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
Summary of Risk Factors
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Below is a summary of the principal risk factors that make an investment in our securities speculative or risky. This summary does not address all of the risks that we face. Additional discussion of the risks summarized in this summary of risk factors, and other risks that we face, can be found below in “Risk Factors” and should be carefully considered, together with other information in this Form 10-K. Our principal risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following risks, uncertainties and other factors:
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| • | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
| • | our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in light of disruption that may result from limitations imposed by the COVID-19 outbreak; |
| • | our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses; |
| • | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
| • | our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination; |
| • | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
| • | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| • | our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the recent COVID-19 pandemic or any future pandemic; |
| • | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities; |
| • | the delisting of our securities from Nasdaq or an inability to have our securities listed on Nasdaq following a business combination; |
| • | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
| • | the lack of a market for our securities; |
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| • | the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; |
| • | the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; |
| • | global or regional conditions may adversely affect our business and our ability to consummate our initial Business Combination; |
| • | risks related to accounting for complex financial instruments and increased scrutiny by securities regulators over accounting practices and financial disclosures by SPACs; |
| • | Material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended September 30, 2021, which remained non remediated as of December 31, 2021; |
| • | our financial performance following our offering; or |
| • | the other risks and uncertainties discussed below in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Form 10-K. |
Risk Factors Specific to Our Business
We are a recently incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a recently incorporated exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no operating results, and we did not commence operations until obtaining funding through our offering. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Past performance by our management team or their affiliates, including Sarissa, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team or their affiliates, including Sarissa, is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience of and performance by our management team or their affiliates, including Sarissa, is not a guarantee either: (1) that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination; or (2) of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team, Sarissa or any of their affiliates’ or managed fund’s performance as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward. An investment in us is not an investment in Sarissa.
Although we have identified general criteria that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria.
Although we have identified general criteria for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these criteria, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange rule, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
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Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of any target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder approval. Accordingly, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor and members of our management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Our sponsor owns, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our outstanding ordinary shares. Our sponsor and members of our management team also may from time to time purchase Class A ordinary shares prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of a majority of the ordinary shares represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon, who vote at a general meeting. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of the Company representing a majority of the voting power of all issued and outstanding shares of the Company entitled to vote at such meeting. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,000, or 40%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in the offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our sponsor and our management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination.
The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
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The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If a large number of shares are submitted for redemption, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for additional third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriter will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase public shares or warrants, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. However, other than as expressly stated herein, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions.
In the event that our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of any such transaction could be to (1) vote in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination, (2) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (3) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. We will adopt an insider trading policy which will require insiders to: (1) refrain from purchasing securities during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information; and (2) clear all trades with our legal counsel prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary. Please see “Proposed Business — Permitted Purchases and Other Transactions with Respect to Our Securities” contained in our prospectus, incorporated by reference herein for a description of how our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
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If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly redeem or tender public shares. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. Please see “Proposed Business — Effecting Our Initial Business Combination — Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights” contained in our prospectus, incorporated by reference herein.
If we do not consummate an initial business combination before October 23, 2022, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond October 23, 2022 before redemption from our trust account.
If we do not consummate an initial business combination by October 23, 2022, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account will be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind up, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Law. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond October 23, 2022 before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless, prior thereto, we consummate our initial business combination or amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we do not complete our initial business combination and do not amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law.
Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.
We will either (1) seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination at a general meeting called for such purpose at which public shareholders may seek to convert their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against the proposed business combination, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (net of amount required to pay our income and franchise taxes), or (2) provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to sell their shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a shareholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, in each case subject to the limitations described elsewhere in this Form 10-K and the prospectus. Accordingly, it is possible that we will consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our public shares do not approve of the business combination. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. For instance, Nasdaq rules currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a general meeting but would still require us to obtain shareholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares to a target business as consideration in any business combination. Therefore, if we were structuring a business combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares, we would seek shareholder approval of such business combination instead of conducting a tender offer.
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We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the founder shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize the issuance of up to 200,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. The Class B ordinary shares are automatically convertible into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination as described herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions as set forth herein. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination or on any other proposal presented to shareholders prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote. The issuance of additional ordinary or preference shares:
| • | may significantly dilute the equity interest of our existing investors, 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; |
| • | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants; and |
| • | may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants. |
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Similarly, if we issue notes or other debt, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, it could result in, among other things:
| • | 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 is payable on demand; |
| • | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt 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. |
If the net proceeds of our offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants not held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate until October 23, 2022, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.
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Of the net proceeds of our offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, only $1,000,000 is available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. We believe that the funds available to us outside of the trust account, together with funds available from loans from our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their affiliates are sufficient to allow us to operate until October 23, 2022; however, our estimate may not be accurate, and our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their affiliates are under no obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Of the funds available to us, we expect to use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business.
In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,000,000, we may fund such excess with funds not held in the trust account. In such case, unless funded by the proceeds of loans available from our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their affiliates, the amount of funds we hold outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,000,000, the amount of funds we hold outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. The amount held in the trust account will not be impacted as a result of such increase or decrease. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their affiliates or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances may be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their affiliates as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we do not complete our initial business combination by October 23, 2022 because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public shareholders may only receive an estimated $10.00 per public share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per public share” and other risk factors herein.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per public share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (excluding our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements, they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.
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Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not consummated an initial business combination by October 23, 2022, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.00 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement filed in connection with the IPO, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (excluding our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, 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 seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of our 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, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per public share.
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Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proven that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. Claims may be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable for a fine of $18,292.68 and imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency law, and may be included in our bankruptcy or insolvency estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy or insolvency claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
We may pursue business combination opportunities in any sector, except that we will not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. An investment in our units may not ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place.
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While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with our company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. In addition, pursuant to an agreement entered into at the closing of our offering, our sponsor, upon and following consummation of an initial business combination, is entitled to nominate three individuals for appointment to our board of directors, as long as the sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement, which is described under the section titled “Description of Securities — Registration and Shareholder Rights” contained in our prospectus, incorporated by reference herein.
Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses, and may be involved in litigation unrelated to our business, thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. In particular, in the future we expect certain of our officers and/or directors may be officers and/or directors of other future special purpose acquisition companies. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. Our directors and officers may also from time to time be involved in litigation or other claims unrelated to their activities on our behalf. For example, one of our independent directors is named as a party in certain civil litigations deriving from his tenure at Purdue Pharmaceuticals. If our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs or otherwise adversely impact us which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “Management — Directors and Executive Officers of the Registrant” and the section titled “Management — Officers, Directors and Director Nominees” contained in our prospectus, incorporated by reference herein.
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Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including another blank check company, and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us.
In addition, our directors and officers, Sarissa, or its affiliates expect in the future to become affiliated with other public blank check companies that may have acquisition objectives that are similar to ours. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to such other blank check companies, prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we renounce our interest in any business combination opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in such person’s capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis.
For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see the sections titled “Management — Officers, Directors and Director Nominees,” “Management — Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” contained in our prospectus, incorporated by reference herein.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to “emerging growth companies” or “smaller reporting companies,” this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
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Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
The net proceeds from our offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants provided us with up to $187,000,000 that we may use to complete our initial business combination (after taking into account the $7,000,000 of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account and the estimated expenses of our offering).
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
| • | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or |
| • | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
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Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. Upon the loss of control of a target business, new management may not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-business combination company in which our public shareholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-business combination company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the completion of our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
| • | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
| • | restrictions on the issuance of securities, |
each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
| • | registration as an investment company with the SEC; |
| • | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| • | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that we are currently not subject to.. |
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In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business is to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-business combination business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. Our offering is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by October 23, 2022 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination by October 23, 2022, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination by October 23, 2022, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the share price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct due diligence on a target business with which we combine, this diligence may not surface all material issues with a particular target business. In addition, factors outside of the target business and outside of our control may later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
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The requirement that we consummate an initial business combination by October 23, 2022 may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must consummate an initial business combination by October 23, 2022. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination by October 23, 2022 with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent accounting or investment banking firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent accounting firm or independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA that the price we are paying is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we do not complete our initial business combination by October 23, 2022, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we do not complete our initial business combination by October 23, 2022, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
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We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We may seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our shareholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds, extended the time to consummate a business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require at least a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law, meaning the approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 50% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants. In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by October 23, 2022 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities offered in our offering, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities.
Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or executive officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.
Our corporate affairs and the rights of shareholders are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Law and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We are also subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States. For a more detailed discussion of the principal differences between the provisions of the Companies Law applicable to us and, for example, the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders, see the section titled “Description of Securities — Certain Differences in Corporate Law” contained in our prospectus, incorporated by reference herein.
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Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies like the Company have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records or to obtain copies of the register of members of these companies. Our directors have discretion under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder motion or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.
We have been advised by Maples and Calder, our legal counsel in the Cayman Islands, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders.
We may, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite shareholder approval under the Companies Law, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction. The transaction may require a shareholder or warrantholder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrantholder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrantholders to pay such taxes. Shareholders or warrantholders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
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If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates. If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to other special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting. We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination, or, if we complete such combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on our proposed business combination include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination by October 23, 2022.
Risk Factors Relating to our Securities
Our ability to require holders of our warrants to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis after we call the warrants for redemption or if there is no effective registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants will cause holders to receive fewer Class A ordinary shares upon their exercise of the warrants than they would have received had they been able to pay the exercise price of their warrants in cash.
If we call the warrants for redemption, we will have the option, in our sole discretion, to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis. If we choose to require holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis or if holders elect to do so when there is no effective registration statement, the number of Class A ordinary shares received by a holder upon exercise will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised such holder’s warrant for cash. This will have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company because the warrantholder will hold a smaller number of Class A ordinary shares upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold.
We are not registering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants and causing such warrants to expire worthless.
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We are not registering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed to use our commercially reasonable efforts to file a registration statement under the Securities Act covering such shares and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration or redemption of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We may not able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current, complete or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, unless an exemption is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our reasonable best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A ordinary shares included in the units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our Private Placement Warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the warrants included as part of units sold in our offering. In such an instance, our sponsor and its transferees (which may include our management team) would be able to exercise their warrants and sell the ordinary shares underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying ordinary shares. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants were issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in the prospectus, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the Private Placement Warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the Private Placement Warrants, 50% of the number of the then outstanding Private Placement Warrants. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant. We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
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Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by October 23, 2022 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business by October 23, 2022, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we have not consummated an initial business combination by October 23, 2022, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on Nasdaq. Although we currently meet the minimum initial listing standards set forth in Nasdaq’s listing standards, our securities may not be, or may not continue to be, listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to the completion of our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum amount in shareholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders). Additionally, our units will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination and, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, the share price of our securities would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our shareholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5,000,001 and we would be required to have a minimum of 300 round-lot holders (with at least 50% of such round lot holders holding securities with a market value of at least $2,500). We may not be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
| • | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
| • | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| • | a determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
| • | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
| • | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
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The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on Nasdaq, our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants will qualify as covered securities under the statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of covered securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under the statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If a large number of shares are submitted for redemption, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for additional third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriter will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions.
Our initial shareholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
As of the closing of our offering, our initial shareholders own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. If our initial shareholders purchase any units in our offering or if our initial shareholders purchase any additional Class A ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Neither our sponsor nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in the prospectus. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, our board of directors were appointed by our sponsor. We may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. Accordingly, our sponsor will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
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We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption and provided that certain other conditions are met. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants.
The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Pursuant to an agreement entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in our offering, our initial shareholders, and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the Class A ordinary shares into which founder shares are convertible, the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants, and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of such warrants. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our securities that is expected when the securities owned by our initial shareholders or their permitted transferees are registered for resale.
General Risk Factors
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets.
The COVID-19 outbreak has resulted, and a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases could result, in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 continue to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected. In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.
Global or regional conditions may adversely affect our business and our ability to consummate our initial Business Combination.
Adverse changes in global or regional economic conditions periodically occur, including recession or slowing growth, changes, or uncertainty in fiscal, monetary or trade policy, higher interest rates, tighter credit, inflation, lower capital expenditures by businesses, increases in unemployment and lower consumer confidence and spending. Adverse changes in economic conditions can harm global business and adversely affect our ability to consummate our initial Business Combination. Such adverse changes could result from geopolitical and security issues, such as armed conflict and civil or military unrest, political instability, human rights concerns and terrorist activity, catastrophic events such as natural disasters and public health issues (including the COVID-19 pandemic), supply chain interruptions, new or revised export, import or doing-business regulations, including trade sanctions and tariffs or other global or regional occurrences.
In particular, in response to Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine, the United States, the European Union, and several other countries are imposing far-reaching sanctions and export control restrictions on Russian entities and individuals. This rising conflict and the resulting market volatility could adversely affect global economic, political and market conditions. Additionally, tensions between the United States and China have led to increased tariffs and trade restrictions. The United States has imposed economic sanctions on certain Chinese individuals and entities and restrictions on the export of U.S.-regulated products and technology to certain Chinese technology companies. These and other global and regional conditions may adversely impact our business and our ability to consummate our initial Business Combination.
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Risks related to accounting for complex financial instruments and increased scrutiny by regulators over accounting practices and disclosures
On April 12, 2021, the Acting Director of the Division of Corporation Finance and Acting Chief Accountant of the SEC issued a statement (the “Statement”) discussing the accounting implications of certain terms that are common in warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”). Specifically, the Statement focused on certain settlement terms and provisions that are similar to those contained in the Warrant Agreement, dated October 20, 2020, between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, a New York Corporation, as warrant agent, entered into in connection with the Company’s initial public offering (the “IPO”). In light of the Statement, the Company’s management reevaluated the accounting treatment of (i) the 6,666,667 redeemable warrants (the “Public Warrants”) that were included in the units issued by the Company in its IPO and (ii) the 3,333,333 redeemable warrants (the “Sponsor Warrants”) that were issued to the Company’s sponsor and the 666,667 redeemable warrants (collectively with the Public Warrants and the Sponsor Warrants, the “Warrants”) that were issued to Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., in each case in a private placement that closed concurrently with the closing of the IPO, and determined to classify the Warrants as derivative liabilities measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings. While the Company has not generated any operating revenues to date and will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of its initial business combination, at the earliest, the change in fair value of the Warrants is a non-cash charge and will be reflected in the Company’s statement of operations.
On May 19, 2021, the Company’s management, after consultation with the audit committee of the board of directors of the Company (the “Audit Committee”), concluded that, in light of the Statement, it is appropriate to restate the Company’s previously issued (1) audited balance sheet, dated October 23, 2020, included in the Form 8-K that was filed on October 29, 2020, and (2) the Company’s audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020, and for the period from August 12, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K that was filed on March 31, 2021 (the “Relevant Periods”). In light of such restatement, such audited financial statements should no longer be relied upon.
Additionally, Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued comment letters to multiple SPACs (the “Comment Letters”), which management learned through ongoing discussions with the Company’s accountants, legal counsels and auditors. The Comment Letters address certain accounting and reporting considerations related to redeemable equity instruments of a kind similar to those issued by the Company. Based on ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of the Company require Class A ordinary share subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity.
Historically, the warrants were reflected as a component of equity as opposed to liabilities on the balance sheets and the statements of operations did not include the subsequent non-cash changes in estimated fair value of the warrants, based on our application of Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 815-40, Derivatives and Hedging, Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (“ASC 815-40”). The views expressed in the Statement were not consistent with the Company’s historical interpretation of the specific provisions within its warrant agreement and the Company’s application of ASC 815-40 to the warrant agreement. We reassessed our accounting for the warrants issued on October 23, 2020, in light of the SEC Staff’s published views. Based on this reassessment, we determined that the warrants should be classified as liabilities measured at fair value upon issuance, with subsequent changes in fair value reported in our Statement of Operations each reporting period.
In the Company’s previously issued financial statements, a portion of the Class A ordinary shares issued in the IPO (“Public Shares”) was classified as permanent equity to maintain shareholders’ equity of at least $5,000,001 on the basis that the Company can only consummate its initial business combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001. Previously, the Company did not consider redeemable stock classified as temporary equity as part of net tangible assets. The Company addressed above mentioned comments and concluded that it would change its accounting and reflect the full amount of all redeemable Public Shares in temporary equity. As a result of the change in presentation for the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, the Company also has revised its earnings per ordinary share calculation to allocate income and losses shared pro-rata between the two classes of ordinary shares. These changes were reflected in restated unaudited interim financial statements for the periods ended March 31, 2021, June 30, 2021 and September 30, 2021 in an Amendment No. 1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2021 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 19, 2021.
We identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended September 30, 2021. If we are unable to develop and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results in a timely manner, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.
We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the Company’s accounting and reporting of complex financial instruments, including application of ASC 480-10-S99-3A to its accounting classification of redeemable public shares. As a result of this material weakness, our management has concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were ineffective as of December 31, 2021, as further described in Item 9A, Controls and Procedures—Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting. We have taken a number of measures to remediate the material weaknesses described herein. However, if we are unable to remediate our material weaknesses in a timely manner or we identify additional material weaknesses, we may be unable to provide required financial information in a timely and reliable manner and we may incorrectly report financial information. Likewise, if our financial statements are not filed on a timely basis, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the stock exchange on which our shares of Class A Ordinary Shares are listed, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. The existence of material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting could adversely affect our reputation or investor perceptions of us, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our shares. We can give no assurance that the measures we have taken and plan to take in the future will remediate the material weakness identified or that any additional material weaknesses or restatements of financial results will not arise in the future due to a failure to implementation and maintaining of an adequate system of internal controls.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Not applicable.
We maintain our principal executive offices at 660 Steamboat Rd., Greenwich, CT 06830. This space is being provided to us by Sarissa Capital Acquisition Sponsor LLC, our sponsor, for a monthly fee of $10,000. We consider our current office space, combined with the other office space otherwise available to our executive officers, adequate for our current operations.
None.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR COMMON EQUITY AND RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbols SRSAU, SRSA and SRSAW, respectively.
Holders
As of December 31, 2021, there was one holder of record of our units, one holder of record of our Class A ordinary shares and three holders of record of our warrants.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be contingent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements, and general financial condition subsequent to completion of a business combination. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith. The payment of any dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our then board of directors. It is the present intention of our board of directors to retain all earnings, if any, for use in our business operations and, accordingly, our board does not anticipate declaring any dividends in the foreseeable future.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Securities
On August 13, 2020, Sarissa Capital Acquisition Sponsor LLC, our sponsor (the “Sponsor”) paid $25,000 to cover certain offering costs and formation costs of the Company in consideration for 5,031,250 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001, (the “Founder Shares”). The Sponsor had agreed to forfeit up to 656,250 Founder Shares to the extent that the over-allotment option was not exercised in full by the underwriter. On October 23, 2020, the underwriter partially exercised its over-allotment option, hence, 625,000 Founder Shares were no longer subject to forfeiture, and 31,250 Founder Shares were forfeited, resulting in an aggregate of 5,000,000 Founders Shares issued and outstanding, so that the number of shares of Class B ordinary shares collectively equaled 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares after the IPO.
On October 23, 2020, we consummated our initial public offering (“IPO”) of 20,000,000 units, including the issuance of 2,500,000 units as a result of the underwriter’s partial exercise of its over-allotment option. Each unit consisted of one Class A ordinary share, par value $0.0001 per share, and one redeemable warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. The units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $200,000,000.
Simultaneously with the consummation of the IPO, we consummated the private placement (“Private Placement”) of 4,000,000 warrants (“Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, generating total proceeds of $6,000,000. 3,333,333 of the Private Placement Warrants were purchased by the Sponsor, and 666,667 Private Placement Warrants were purchased by the underwriter. The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the warrants sold in the IPO, except that the Private Placement Warrants are non-redeemable and may be exercised on a cashless basis, in each case so long as they continue to be held by the initial purchaser or its permitted transferees. The purchasers of the Private Placement Warrants have agreed not to transfer, assign, or sell any of the Private Placement Warrants or the Class A ordinary shares underlying the Private Placement Warrants (except to certain permitted transferees) until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and, with respect to the underwriter, its designees or affiliates, for as long as the Private Placement Warrants are held by the underwriter or its designees or affiliates, until the expiration of the lock-up and registration rights limitations imposed by FINRA Rule 5110 and five years from the effective date of the registration statement for our IPO.
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Transaction costs to date amounted to $11,586,282, consisting of $4,000,000 of underwriting fees, $7,000,000 of deferred underwriter’s fee and $586,282 of other costs. In addition, $512,884 was held as cash outside of the trust account established in connection with the IPO and is available for working capital purposes.
We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (less taxes payable and deferred underwriting commissions), to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest income (if any) to pay income taxes, if any. We expect the interest income earned on the amount in the trust account (if any) will be sufficient to pay our income taxes. To the extent that our equity or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us the proceeds held outside the trust account, as well as certain funds from loans from our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their affiliates. We intend to use these funds to primarily identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a business combination.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
References to “we”, “us”, “our” or the “Company” are to Sarissa Capital Acquisition Corp., except where the context requires otherwise. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this report.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Factors that might cause or contribute to such a discrepancy include, but are not limited to, those described in our other Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings.
Overview
We are a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to as our initial business combination. The Company’s IPO was declared effective by the SEC on October 20, 2020. On October 23, 2020, the Company consummated the IPO of 20,000,000 units (the “Units”), including the issuance of 2,500,000 Units as a result of the underwriter’s partial exercise of its over-allotment option. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share, $0.0001 par value, and one-third of one redeemable warrant entitling its holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. The Units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $200,000,000.
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Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the private placement (“Sponsor Private Placement”) with the Sponsor of an aggregate of 3,333,333 warrants (“Sponsor Private Warrants”), each at a price of $1.50 per Sponsor Private Warrant, generating total proceeds of $5,000,000 and with the underwriter of an aggregate of 666,667 warrants (the “Cantor Private Warrants” and together with Sponsor Private Warrants, “Private Warrants”), each at a price of $1.50 per Cantor Private Warrant, generating total proceeds of $1,000,000. We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful.
Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for our initial public offering and identifying a target company for our initial business combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination.
We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents held in the trust account. We incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as expenses as we conduct due diligence on prospective business combination candidates.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, we had a net income of $19,396,370. We incurred $784,688 of formation and operating costs, consisting mostly of general and administrative expenses. The Company also recorded a change in fair value of warrant liabilities of $20,168,451. We had interest income of $12,607 of interest on the trust account.
For the period from August 12, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020, we had a net loss of $17,826,208. We incurred $87,399 of formation and operating costs (not charged against shareholders’ equity), consisting mostly of general and administrative expenses. The Company also recorded a change in fair value of warrant liabilities of $17,268,428 and offering costs allocated to issuance of warrants of $472,585. We had interest income of $2,204 of interest on the trust account.
Going Concern
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Financial Accounting Standard Board’s Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” the Company has until October 23, 2022 to consummate a Business Combination. It is uncertain that the Company will be able to consummate a Business Combination by this time. If a Business Combination is not consummated by this date and an extension not requested by the Sponsor, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution of the Company. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after October 23, 2022.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2021, we had cash outside the trust account of $512,884 available for working capital needs. All remaining cash held in the trust account are generally unavailable for the Company’s use, prior to an initial business combination, and is restricted for use either in a business combination or to redeem ordinary shares. As of December 31, 2021, none of the amount in the trust account was available to be withdrawn as described above. Through December 31, 2021, the Company’s liquidity needs were satisfied through receipt of $25,000 from the sale of the founder shares and the remaining net proceeds from the initial public offering and the sale of private placement units.
The Company anticipates that the $512,884 outside of the trust account as of December 31, 2021, will be sufficient to allow the Company to operate for at least the next 12 months, assuming that a business combination is not consummated during that time. Until consummation of our business combination, the Company will be using the funds not held in the trust account, and any additional Working Capital Loans (as defined in Note 5 to our financial statements) from the initial shareholders, the Company’s officers and directors, or their respective affiliates (which is described in Note 5 to our financial statements), for identifying and evaluating prospective acquisition candidates, performing business due diligence on prospective target businesses, traveling to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses, reviewing corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, selecting the target business to acquire and structuring, negotiating and consummating the business combination.
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The Company does not believe it will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating its business. However, if the Company’s estimates of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, the Company may have insufficient funds available to operate its business prior to the business combination. Moreover, the Company will need to raise additional capital through loans from its sponsor, officers, directors, or third parties beyond this commitment, although the company has obtained a commitment letter from its sponsor for an additional $600,000 in funding. If the Company is unable to raise additional capital, it may be required to take additional measures to conserve liquidity, which could include, but not necessarily be limited to, curtailing operations, suspending the pursuit of its business plan, and reducing overhead expenses. The Company cannot provide any assurance that new financing will be available to it on commercially acceptable terms, if at all.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We have no obligations, assets or liabilities, which would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2021. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements. We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or purchased any non-financial assets.
Contractual Obligations
We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities, other than an agreement to pay an affiliate of our Sponsor a monthly fee of $10,000 for office space, utilities and administrative support provided to the Company. We began incurring these fees on October 23, 2020 and will continue to incur these fees monthly until the earlier of the completion of the initial Business Combination and the Company’s liquidation.
The underwriters are entitled to deferred commissions of $0.35 per unit of the gross proceeds from the Units sold in the IPO, or $7,000,000 in the aggregate. The deferred commissions will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that we complete a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Management’s discussion and analysis of our results of operations and liquidity and capital resources are based on our financial information. We describe our significant accounting policies in Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, of the Notes to Financial Statements included in this report. Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). Certain of our accounting policies require that management apply significant judgments in defining the appropriate assumptions integral to financial estimates. On an ongoing basis, management reviews the accounting policies, assumptions, estimates and judgments to ensure that our financial statements are presented fairly and in accordance with GAAP. Judgments are based on historical experience, terms of existing contracts, industry trends and information available from outside sources, as appropriate. However, by their nature, judgments are subject to an inherent degree of uncertainty, and, therefore, actual results could differ from our estimates.
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Emerging Growth Company
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
Warrant Liabilities
We do not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. We evaluate all of our financial instruments, including issued stock purchase warrants, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC 480 and ASC 815 15. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is reassessed at the end of each reporting period. We account for our 10,666,667 ordinary shares warrants issued in connection with our IPO (6,666,667) and Private Placement (4,000,000) as derivative warrant liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40. Accordingly, we recognize the warrant instruments as liabilities at fair value and adjust the instruments to fair value at each reporting period. The liabilities are subject to remeasurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. At December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, we used the quoted share price in the active market to value the public warrants and a Modified Black Scholes to value the private warrants with changes in fair value charged to the statement of operations.
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for our Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable ordinary shares (including ordinary shares that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. Our Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, 20,000,000 shares of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of our balance sheets.
Recent Accounting Standards
In August 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-06, Debt — Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40) (“ASU 2020-06”) to simplify accounting for certain financial instruments. ASU 2020-06 eliminates the current models that require separation of beneficial conversion and cash conversion features from convertible instruments and simplifies the derivative scope exception guidance pertaining to equity classification of contracts in an entity’s own equity. The new standard also introduces additional disclosures for convertible debt and freestanding instruments that are indexed to and settled in an entity’s own equity. ASU 2020-06 amends the diluted earnings per share guidance, including the requirement to use the if-converted method for all convertible instruments. ASU 2020-06 is effective January 1, 2024 for smaller reporting companies and should be applied on a full or modified retrospective basis, with early adoption permitted beginning on January 1, 2021. The Company is currently assessing the impact, if any, that ASU 2020-06 would have on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
As of the period ended December 31, 2021, we were not subject to any market or interest rate risk. Following the consummation of our IPO, the net proceeds of our IPO, including amounts deposited in the trust account, may be invested in U.S. government treasury bills, notes or bonds with a maturity of 185 days or less, or in certain money market funds that invest solely in U.S. treasuries. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk when and if the net proceeds are invested in such securities.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
This information appears following Item 16 of this annual report and is incorporated herein by reference.
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.
None.
ITEM 9A. CONTROL AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Based on this evaluation, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer have concluded that during the period covered by this report, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective, due to the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the Company’s accounting for complex financial instruments. As a result, we performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Accordingly, management believes that the financial statements included in this Form 10-K present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the period presented.
Management has implemented remediation steps to improve our internal control over financial reporting. Specifically, we expanded and improved our review process for complex and related accounting standards. We plan to further improve this process by enhancing access to accounting literature, identification of third-party professionals with whom to consult regarding complex accounting applications and consideration of additional staff with the requisite experience and training to supplement existing accounting professionals.
Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
As required by SEC rules and regulations implementing Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:
| (1) | pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of our company, |
| (2) | provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors, and |
| (3) | provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. |
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Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect errors or misstatements in our financial statements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree or compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at December 31, 2021. In making these assessments, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013) and concluded that our disclosure controls and were not effective due to the previous material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting described under. Controls and Procedures included in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as filed with the SEC on November 15, 2021 and amended on January 19, 2022, and due to the restatements of our March 31, 2021, and June 30, 2021 financial statements (the “restatements”) regarding the classification of redeemable Class A ordinary shares, as described therein, which combined, constitutes a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. The material weakness was caused by the misapplication of accounting guidance for complex financial instruments. In light of this material weakness, we performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
Management has implemented remediation steps to improve our internal control over financial reporting, as discussed in “Changes in Internal Control over Financial Accounting” below. We plan to further improve this process by enhancing access to accounting literature, identification of third-party professionals with whom to consult regarding complex accounting applications and consideration of additional staff with the requisite experience and training to supplement existing accounting professionals.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have commenced our remediation efforts in connection with the identification of the material weakness discussed above and have taken the following steps during the quarter ended December 31, 2021:
| • | We have implemented procedures intended to ensure that we identify and apply the applicable accounting guidance to all complex transactions. |
| • | We are establishing additional monitoring and oversight controls designed to ensure the accuracy and completeness of our consolidated financial statements and disclosures. |
Other than the changes discussed above, there have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
None.
ITEM 9C. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS.
Not Applicable.
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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT
Directors and Executive Officers
Our officers and directors are as follows:
| Name |
Age |
Position | ||
| Alexander Denner | 52 | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | ||
| Mark DiPaolo | 51 | Senior Managing Director | ||
| Eric Vincent | 57 | President | ||
| Odysseas Kostas | 47 | Senior Managing Director | ||
| Patrice Bonfiglio | 39 | Chief Financial Officer | ||
| Louis Paglia | 64 | Director | ||
| Mark Timney | 57 | Director | ||
| Keith Horn | 64 | Director |
Alexander Denner, Ph.D., has served as the Chairman and CEO of the Company since September 24, 2020. Since April 2012 to the present date, Dr. Denner has served as the Founding Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Sarissa. Furthermore, Dr. Denner has served on the Board of Directors of Biogen Inc. since 2009. From 2006 to 2011, Dr. Denner served as a Senior Managing Director at Icahn Capital LP (“Icahn”), an entity through which Carl Icahn conducts his investment activities. At Icahn, Dr. Denner was responsible for all healthcare investments and engaged in numerous activist campaigns. Prior to Icahn, Dr. Denner served as a portfolio manager at Viking Global Investors and Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Previously, Dr. Denner served as a director of the following healthcare companies: The Medicines Company (where he was Chairman until its sale in January 2020), Bioverativ Inc. (until its sale in March 2018), ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (where he was Chairman until its sale in February 2017), VIVUS, Inc., Enzon Pharmaceuticals, Amylin Pharmaceuticals (until its sale in August 2012) and ImClone Systems (where he was Chairman of the Executive Committee until its sale in November 2008). Dr. Denner received his S.B. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his M.S., M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale University.
Mark DiPaolo has served as a Senior Managing Director of the Company since October 20, 2020. Since February 2013 to the present date, Mr. DiPaolo has served as the Senior Partner and General Counsel of Sarissa. From 2005 to 2013, Mr. DiPaolo served as a senior member of Carl Icahn’s investment team at Icahn, working on all aspects of Mr. Icahn’s activist investment strategy. During that time, Mr. DiPaolo worked closely with Dr. Denner on many healthcare activist campaigns and achieved many favorable investment outcomes for investors. Mr. DiPaolo worked with Dr. Denner in founding Sarissa and has been instrumental in the development and execution of Sarissa’s investments and strategy. Prior to working at Icahn, Mr. DiPaolo was an M&A attorney at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. Since February 2018 to the present date, Mr. DiPaolo has served on the Board of Directors of Innoviva, Inc. From August 2017 to September 2018, Mr. DiPaolo also served on the Board of Directors of Novelion Therapeutics Inc. Mr. DiPaolo received his B.A. degree from Fordham University and his J.D. degree from Georgetown University.
Eric Vincent has served as the President of the Company since October 20, 2020. Since April 2019 to the present date, Mr. Vincent has served as the President of Sarissa. Mr. Vincent has also served on the board of Breaker Resources NL since March 2020. From 2018 to 2019, Mr. Vincent served as the Head of Business Development at Mubadala Capital, the financial investment arm of the sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company and, from 2012 through 2017, as Chief Executive Officer of The Electrum Group. From 2004 through 2011, Mr. Vincent served as President of Ospraie Management and was integral in developing the long-term strategy for the firm and its growth from $1 billion to over $9 billion under management. From 2007 through October 2009, Mr. Vincent also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Managed Funds Association, the principal trade association representing the U.S. hedge fund industry. Previously, he was a partner at Omega Advisors, Inc. He began his career as an attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. Mr. Vincent received his B.A. degree from Williams College and his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School.
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Odysseas Kostas has served as a Senior Managing Director of the Company since October 20, 2020. Since 2016 to the present date, Dr. Kostas has served as a Partner and Senior Managing Director of Sarissa. He most recently served as a Director at Evercore ISI (formerly ISI), where he was employed from 2011 to 2015, covering the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Previously, he practiced internal medicine as part of the Yale New Haven Health system and was engaged as a consultant to various biotechnology companies. Since December 2017 to the present date, Dr. Kostas has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Innoviva, Inc., and since February 2020 to the present date, has served on the Board of Directors of Armata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Kostas has also served on the Board of Directors of Enzon Pharmaceuticals from 2013 to 2020. In addition, from 2010 to 2011, Dr. Kostas served on the Board of Directors of Mast Therapeutics (formerly known as ADVENTRX Pharmaceuticals). Dr. Kostas received his S.B. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his M.D. degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School.
Patrice Bonfiglio has served as the Chief Financial Officer of the Company since September 24, 2020. Since March 2014 and February 2017 to the present date, Ms. Bonfiglio has served as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Sarissa, respectively. From 2013 to 2014, Ms. Bonfiglio was also Manager of Accounting and Operations of Sarissa. From 2012 to 2013, Ms. Bonfiglio served as the Head of Operations for Arbalet Capital Management, LP, where she was responsible for managing the firm’s spinout from Arrowhawk Capital Partners, LLC, covering operations, accounting, and compliance. Prior to the spinout of Arbalet, Ms. Bonfiglio was the Operations Manager at Arrowhawk Capital Partners, LLC from 2010 to 2012, managing all aspects of the firm’s day to day operations and contributing to the accounting and compliance teams of the multi-strategy hedge fund. From 2008 to 2010, Ms. Bonfiglio served as Senior Accountant at Ridgefield Capital Asset Management, where she was responsible for the operations and accounting of the portfolio funds and managed accounts. From 2006 to 2008, Ms. Bonfiglio was an Associate and Fund Accountant at Pequot Capital Management, Inc. Ms. Bonfiglio received her B.S. degree from Temple University.
Louis J. Paglia, also known as Lou, has served on the Board of Directors of the Company since October 20, 2020. Mr. Paglia is the founding member of Oakstone Capital LLC, a private investment firm, where he has served in that capacity from January 2016 to the present date. Mr. Paglia has also been on the board of directors of Arch Capital Group Ltd. from June 2014 to the present date. He was also on the board of directors of Bioverativ Inc. from January 2017 to March 2018, NorthStar Asset Management Group from June 2014 to January 2017, and NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. from February 2006 to January 2017. He previously founded Customer Choice LLC in April 2010, a data analytics company serving the electric utility industry, where he served as Founder until December 2015. He served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of UIL Holdings Corporation, an electric utility, contracting and energy infrastructure company, as well as President of its investment subsidiaries, from April 2002 to July 2006. Prior to joining UIL Holdings, Mr. Paglia was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of eCredit.com, a credit evaluation software company, from 1999 to 2001. Prior to that, Mr. Paglia served as the Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President and Treasurer for TIG Holdings Inc., a property and casualty insurance and reinsurance holding company, from April 1993 to 1999, and Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Emisphere Technologies, Inc., a biotechnology company, in 1992. Mr. Paglia’s qualifications for service on our Board include his strong financial background, experience serving on boards of directors, and extensive executive management and operating experience in a variety of industries. He holds a B.S. in Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
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Mark Timney has served on the Board of Directors of the Company since October 20, 2020. From August 2020 to the present date, Mr. Timney has served as Chairman of the board of directors of Blade Therapeutics Inc. In 2017, Mr. Timney founded Anfield Road, LLC, an advisory and consulting company for senior pharmaceutical executives, where he has served as Founder and Chief Executive Officer since 2017 and through which he recently has advised multiple pharmaceutical companies on COVID-related treatments and prophylactics. From December 2018 to January 2020, Mr. Timney served as the Chief Executive Officer and a Director of The Medicines Company until its sale to Novartis AG, and from January 2020 to March 2020, he provided transition services in connection with the sale. Mr. Timney is a healthcare leader with over 25 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience in multi-national companies. At Merck & Co, where he served from 1999 to 2014, Mr. Timney led divisions of increasing importance and size, including President US, President Japan and President of Global Primary Care. In these roles, Mr. Timney launched multiple products, many in the cardiovascular therapeutic area, led large divisions of up to 8,000 employees, and was involved in a number of important strategic transactions. After leaving Merck, Mr. Timney served as the CEO of Purdue Pharmaceuticals from January 2014 to June 2017. Before joining Merck, Mr. Timney spent eight years working at numerous multinational pharmaceutical companies, including Zeneca Group, ICI Pharmaceuticals and Roussel Labs. Mr. Timney received a bachelor’s degree in Sports Studies (majoring in Marketing) from Newcastle Polytechnic (now Northumbria University) in Newcastle in the United Kingdom. Mr. Timney is CEO and Board member of Attralus Inc, a biotechnology company focused on the treatment of systemic amyloidosis, since March 2021.
Keith L. Horn has served as Director of the Company since October 2021. Mr. Horn is the founder and managing member of Loring Capital Advisors, LLC, a firm providing investment advisory and consulting services to hedge fund managers, asset management firms, and early-stage and start-up businesses, which Mr. Horn founded in 2016. From 2003 to 2015, Mr. Horn served as Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Management Committee and Valuation Committee of Elliott Management Corporation, a global multi-strategy firm, where he was responsible for global management and oversight of operational, support, and control functions of the firm’s investment advisory business. Prior to that, beginning in 1987, Mr. Horn spent 16 years at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, serving in various capacities, including Global Head of Leveraged Finance, Head of Latin America Debt, and Chief of Staff to the Chairman and President. Mr. Horn began his career in private practice as a corporate and securities attorney. Mr. Horn served as Chief Executive and director of Forest Road Acquisition Corp., which consummated a business combination with The Beachbody Company (NYSE: BODY) in July 2021. He also serves as a director of Forest Road Acquisition Corp. II (NYSE: FRXB), a special purpose acquisition company, and serves on the strategic advisory board of Forest Road Company, a specialty finance company. In July 2019, Mr. Horn was appointed to the strategic advisory board of Investcorp Strategic Capital Partners, a fund established to assemble a diverse portfolio of general partnership stakes in alternative asset managers. Since January 2019, Mr. Horn has served as a director of Caliper Holdings, a company engaged in the consumer and commercial ingredients food and beverage business. Since March 2018, Mr. Horn has served as a director of ShopOne Centers REIT, Inc., an owner and operator of shopping malls. From April 2016 to November 2019, Mr. Horn served on the board of directors of Empire Resorts, Inc. (NasdaqGM: NYNY), which operates in the gaming and hospitality industries (“Empire”). Mr. Horn served as Chairperson of Empire’s audit committee and as Chairperson of Empire’s special committee in its review and approval of an acquisition transaction pursuant to which Empire became a privately-held entity. Mr. Horn also serves on the board of directors for the Binghamton University Foundation and is a member of the Foundation investment committee. He is also a member of the board of directors of PeacePlayers International, a non-profit organization that uses the game of basketball to educate and unite children in areas of conflict around the world. Mr. Horn received his J.D. (cum laude) from Georgetown University Law Center and holds B.A. degrees in Economics and Political Science from Binghamton University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with highest honors. Mr. Horn is well-qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive operating, investment and corporate finance experience, along with his board experience.
We believe that all of our current board members possess the professional and personal qualifications necessary for board service, and we have highlighted in the individual biographies above the specific experience, attributes, and skills that led to the conclusion that each board member should serve as a director.
Director Independence
Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship with the company which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, could interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that each of Mr. Paglia and Mr. Timney is an “independent director” as defined in Nasdaq’s listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present. Any business combination must be approved by a majority of the board, including a majority of the independent directors.
Audit Committee
Effective October 20, 2020, we established an audit committee of the board of directors. Applicable rules of the Nasdaq require a listed company’s audit committee to be comprised of three independent directors within one year of listing. Louis Paglia, Keith Horn and Mark Timney serve as members of our audit committee. Our board of directors has determined that each of Louis Paglia, Keith Horn and Mark Timney are independent. Louis Paglia serves as the Chairman of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee meets the financial literacy requirements of Nasdaq and our board of directors has determined that Louis Paglia qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
The audit committee’s duties, which are specified in our Audit Committee Charter, include, but are not limited to:
| • | meeting with our independent registered public accounting firm regarding, among other issues, audits, and adequacy of our accounting and control systems; |
| • | monitoring the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm; |
| • | verifying the rotation of the lead (or coordinating) audit partner having primary responsibility for the audit and the audit partner responsible for reviewing the audit as required by law; |
| • | inquiring and discussing with management our compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
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| • | pre-approving all audit services and permitted non-audit services to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm, including the fees and terms of the services to be performed, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; |
| • | appointing or replacing the independent registered public accounting firm; |
| • | determining the compensation and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm (including resolution of disagreements between management and the independent auditor regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work; |
| • | establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or reports which raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies; |
| • | monitoring compliance on a quarterly basis with the terms of our offering and, if any noncompliance is identified, immediately taking all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise causing compliance with the terms of our offering; |
| • | obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent registered public accounting firm describing (i) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures, (ii) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues and (iii) all relationships between the independent registered public accounting firm and us to assess the independent registered public accounting firm’s independence; |
| • | reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; |
| • | reviewing with management, the independent registered public accounting firm, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities; |
| • | reviewing and discussing with management and the independent registered public accounting firm the annual audited financial statements, and recommending to the board whether the audited financial statements should be included in our Form 10-K; |
| • | approving reimbursement of expenses incurred by our management team in identifying potential target businesses; and |
| • | reviewing and approving all payments made to our existing shareholders, executive officers or directors and their respective affiliates. Any payments made to members of our audit committee will be reviewed and approved by our board of directors, with the interested director or directors abstaining from such review and approval. |
Nominating Committee
Effective October 20, 2020, we established a nominating and corporate governance committee of our board of directors. The members of our nominating and corporate governance committee are Louis Paglia and Mark Timney, and Mark Timney serves as chairman of the nominating and corporate governance committee. Our board of directors has determined that each of Louis Paglia and Mark Timney is an independent director under Nasdaq’s listing standards.
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The nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for overseeing the selection of persons to be nominated to serve on our board of directors. The nominating and corporate governance committee considers persons identified by its members, management, shareholders, investment bankers and others. The primary purposes of our nominating and corporate governance committee will be to assist the board in:
| • | identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors and recommending to the board of directors candidates for nomination for appointment at the annual general meeting or to fill vacancies on the board of directors; |
| • | developing and recommending to the board of directors and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines; |
| • | coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the board of directors, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the company; and |
| • | reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary. |
Guidelines for Selecting Director Nominees
The guidelines for selecting nominees, which are specified in the Nominating Committee Charter, generally provide that persons to be nominated:
| • | should have demonstrated notable or significant achievements in business, education or public service; |
| • | should possess the requisite intelligence, education and experience to make a significant contribution to the board of directors and bring a range of skills, diverse perspectives and backgrounds to its deliberations; and |
| • | should have the highest ethical standards, a strong sense of professionalism and intense dedication to serving the interests of the shareholders. |
The nominating and corporate governance committee will consider a number of qualifications relating to management and leadership experience, background and integrity and professionalism in evaluating a person’s candidacy for membership on the board of directors. The nominating and corporate governance committee may require certain skills or attributes, such as financial or accounting experience, to meet specific board needs that arise from time to time and will also consider the overall experience and makeup of its members to obtain a broad and diverse mix of board members. The nominating and corporate governance committee does not distinguish among nominees recommended by shareholders and other persons.
There have been no material changes to the procedures by which security holders may recommend nominees to our board of directors.
Compensation Committee
Effective October 20, 2020, we established a compensation committee of our board of directors. The members of our compensation committee are Louis Paglia and Mark Timney, and Mark Timney serves as chairman of the compensation committee.
Our board of directors has determined that each of Louis Paglia and Mark Timney is an independent director under Nasdaq’s listing standards. We adopted a Compensation Committee Charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
| • | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation; |
| • | reviewing and approving the compensation of all of our other Section 16 executive officers; |
| • | reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; |
| • | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
| • | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
- 44 -
| • | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our executive officers and employees; |
| • | producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
| • | reviewing, evaluating, and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.
Code of Ethics
Effective October 20, 2020, we adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. A copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Executive Compensation
No executive officer has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on October 20, 2020 through the acquisition of a target business, we pay the Sponsor $10,000 per month for providing us with office space and certain office and secretarial services. However, this arrangement is solely for our benefit and is not intended to provide our executive officers or directors compensation in lieu of a salary.
Other than the $10,000 per month administrative fee, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our shareholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a general meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares by:
| • | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares; |
| • | each of our officers and directors; and |
| • | all of our officers and directors as a group. |
- 45 -
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all Class A ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record of beneficial ownership of the warrants included in the units offered in the IPO or the Private Placement Warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date hereof.
| Amount and |
Approximate | |||||||
| Nature of | Percentage of |
|||||||
| Beneficial | Outstanding | |||||||
| Name and Address of Beneficial Owner (1) | Ownership | Shares | ||||||
| Sarissa Capital Acquisition Sponsor LLC (our sponsor) (2) |
5,000,000 | 20 | % | |||||
| Alexander Denner |
— | |||||||
| Mark DiPaolo |
— | |||||||
| Eric Vincent |
— | |||||||
| Odysseas Kostas |
— | |||||||
| Patrice Bonfiglio |
— | |||||||
| Keith Horn |
— | |||||||
| Louis Paglia |
6,000 | * | ||||||
| Mark Timney |
— | |||||||
| All directors and executive officers as a group (eight individuals) |
5,000,000 | 20 | % | |||||
| Five Percent Holders: |
||||||||
| Castle Creek Arbitrage, LLC (3) |
1,074,820 | 5.37 | % | |||||
| 683 Capital Management, LLC (4) |
1,200,000 | 6.0 | % | |||||
| Putnam Investments, LLC d/b/a/ Putnam Investments (5) |
1,895,800 | 8.70 | % | |||||
| Linden Advisors LP (6) |
1,055,218 | 5.3 | % | |||||
| BAMCO, Inc. (7) |
1,511,845 | 7.56 | % | |||||
| Highbridge Capital Management, LLC (8) |
1,559,583 | 7.80 | % | |||||
| The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (9) |
1,029,708 | 5.1 | % | |||||
| * | Less than 1%. |
| (1) | Unless otherwise indicated, the business address of each of the individuals is 660 Steamboat Rd., Greenwich, CT 06830. |
| (2) | Sarissa Capital Management LP is the managing member of our sponsor (the “Managing Member”), and as such, has voting and investment discretion with respect to the ordinary shares held of record by our sponsor and may be deemed to have shared beneficial ownership of the ordinary shares held directly by our sponsor. The general partner of the Managing Member is Sarissa Capital Management GP LLC, and the managing member of Sarissa Capital Management GP LLC is Alexander Denner. Both Sarissa Capital Management GP LLC and Alexander Denner may be deemed to have shared beneficial ownership of the ordinary shares held directly by our sponsor. Each of our officers and directors may hold a direct or indirect interest in our sponsor. Each such person disclaims any beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest they may have therein, directly or indirectly. |
| (3) | The business address of Castle Creek Arbitrage, LLC (“Castle Creek”) is 190 South LaSalle Street, Suite 3050, Chicago, Illinois 60603. Castle Creek serves as a registered investment adviser whose clients are CC Arb West, LLC and CC Arbitrage, Ltd., which directly own 902,230 (4.51%) and 172,590 (0.86%) Class A ordinary shares, respectively. Allan Weine is the managing member of Castle Creek. By virtue of these relationships, each of Castle Creek and Mr. Weine may be deemed to beneficially own the Class A ordinary shares directly owned by CC ARB West, LLC and CC Arbitrage, Ltd. |
- 46 -
| (4) | The principal business address of 683 Capital Management, LLC is 3 Columbus Circle, Suite 2205, New York, NY 10019. 683 Capital Management, LLC serves as the investment manager of 683 Capital Partners, LP, which owns 1,200,000 (6.0%) Class A ordinary shares. Ari Zweiman is the Managing Member of 683 Capital Management, LLC. By virtue of these relationships, each of 683 Capital Management, LLC and Mr. Zweiman may be deemed to beneficially own the Class A ordinary shares directly owned by 683 Capital Partners, LP. |
| (5) | The principal business address of Putnam Investments, LLC d/b/a/ Putnam Investments (“PI”) is 100 Federal Street, Boston, MA 02110. PI wholly owns two registered investment advisers: Putnam Investment Management, LLC (“PIM”), which directly owns 1,895,800 (8.70%) Class A ordinary shares and is the investment adviser to the Putnam family of mutual funds as well as other mutual fund clients, and the Putnam Advisory Company, LLC, which is the investment adviser to Putnam’s institutional clients. Both subsidiaries have dispositive power over the shares as investment managers. As part of the Putnam Family of Funds, and the 1,895,800 Class A ordinary shares held by PIM, the Putnam Global Health Care Fund held 1,721,671 (7.90%) Class A ordinary shares. |
| (6) | The principal business address for Linden Advisors LP is 590 Madison Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, New York 10022. Linden Advisors LP and Mr. Siu Min (Joe) Wong may be deemed the beneficial owners of 1,055,318 (5.3%) Class A ordinary shares, consisting of 994,862 shares (5.0%) held by Linden Capital LP and 60,456 shares (0.3%) held by separately managed accounts. Linden GP LLC and Mr. Wong may be deemed the beneficial owner of the 994,862 shares held by Linden Capital LP. Each of Linden Advisors LP and Mr. Wong may be deemed the beneficial owner of approximately 5.3% of Class A ordinary shares outstanding, and each of Linden GP LLC and Linden Capital LP may be deemed the beneficial owner of approximately 5.0% of Class A ordinary shares outstanding. The principal business address for Linden Capital LP is Victoria Place, 31 Victoria Street, Hamilton HM10, Bermuda. The principal business address for each of Linden GP LLC and Mr. Wong is 590 Madison Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, New York 10022. |
| (7) | The principal business address for BAMCO Inc. is 767 Fifth Avenue, 49th Floor, New York, New York 10153. BAMCO Inc. is a subsidiary of Baron Capital Group, Inc. and Ronald Baron owns a controlling interest in Baron Capital Group, Inc., and as such, each of Baron Capital Group, Inc. and Ronald Baron may be deemed the beneficial owner of approximately 1,511,845 (7.56%) of Class A ordinary shares outstanding. Baron Global Advantage Fund is an advisory client of BAMCO Inc., and may be deemed the beneficial owner of 1,493,774 (7.47%) of Class A ordinary shares outstanding. |
| (8) | The principal business address for Highbridge Capital Management, LLC is 277 Park Avenue, 23rd Floor New York, New York 10172. Highbridge Capital Management, LLC, as the trading manager of Highbridge Tactical Credit Master Fund, L.P., may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of the 1,559,583 (7.80%) Class A Ordinary Shares held by Highbridge Tactical Credit Master Fund, L.P., and Highbridge Tactical Credit Master Fund, L.P. may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of the 1,559,583 (7.80%) Class A Ordinary Shares held by it. |
| (9) | The principal business address for The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282. |
Our sponsor has the right to appoint all of our directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to appoint any directors to our board of directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Because of this ownership block, our sponsor may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions including our initial business combination.
Our sponsor and our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after our offering in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) 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 provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by October 23, 2022 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. Further, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares purchased during or after our offering in favor of our initial business combination.
- 47 -
Our sponsor is deemed to be our “promoter” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
Equity Compensation Plans
As of December 31, 2021, we had no compensation plans (including individual compensation arrangements) under which equity securities of the registrant were authorized for issuance.
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
For a complete discussion regarding certain relationships and related transactions, see the section titled “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” contained in our prospectus, incorporated by reference herein.
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES.
The firm of WithumSmith+Brown, PC, or Withum, acts as our independent registered public accounting firm. The following is a summary of fees paid to Withum for services rendered.
Audit Fees
For the year ended December 31, 2021 and for the period from August 12, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, fees for our independent registered public accounting firm were approximately $74,595 and $55,700, respectively, for the services Withum performed in connection with our Initial Public Offering, review of the financial information included in our Forms 10-Q for the respective periods and the audit of our December 31, 2021 and 2020 financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Audit-Related Fees
For the year ended December 31, 2021 and for the period from August 12, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, our independent registered public accounting firm did not render assurance and related services related to the performance of the audit or review of financial statements.
Tax Fees
For the year ended December 31, 2021 and for the period from August 12, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, our independent registered public accounting firm rendered services in the amounts of $3,090 and $-0-, respectively, for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning.
All Other Fees
For the year ended December 31, 2021 and for the period from August 12, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, there were no fees billed for products and services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm other than those set forth above.
- 48 -
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, AND SCHEDULES
(a) The following documents are filed as part of this annual report:
(1) Financial Statements:
| Description |
||||
| F-2 | ||||
| F-3 | ||||
| F-4 | ||||
| F-5 | ||||
| F-6 | ||||
| F-7 | ||||
(2) Financial Statement Schedules:
None.
(b) The following Exhibits are filed as part of this annual report:
| * | Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on October 23, 2020 |
| ** | Incorporated by reference to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, as amended (SEC File No. 333- 249171). |
| *** | To be filed by Amendment |
- 49 -
SARISSA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
F-1
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of
Sarissa Capital Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Sarissa Capital Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related statements of operations, changes in shareholders’ deficit and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the period from August 12, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the period from August 12, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, if the Company is unable to complete a business combination by October 23, 2022 then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. The date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.
New York, New York
March 31, 2022
PCAOB ID Number 100
F-2
SARISSA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
| December 31, 2021 |
December 31, 2020 |
|||||||
| Assets |
||||||||
| Current assets: |
||||||||
| Cash |
$ | 512,884 | $ | 1,097,856 | ||||
| Due from Related Party |
6,600 | — | ||||||
| Prepaid expenses |
99,857 | 267,935 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Total current assets |
619,341 | 1,365,791 | ||||||
| Marketable securities held in Trust Account |
200,014,811 | 200,002,204 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Total Assets |
$ | 200,634,152 | $ | 201,367,995 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Liabilities and Shareholders’ Deficit |
||||||||
| Current liabilities: |
||||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses |
$ | 52,710 | $ | 14,472 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Total current liabilities |
52,710 | 14,472 | ||||||
| Warrant liabilities |
10,167,733 | 30,336,184 | ||||||
| Deferred underwriters’ discount payable |
7,000,000 | 7,000,000 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Total liabilities |
17,220,443 | 37,350,656 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Commitments and contingencies |
||||||||
| Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, subject to possible redemption at redemption value of $10 per share, 20,000,000 issued and outstanding at December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively |
200,000,000 | 200,000,000 | ||||||
| Shareholders’ Deficit: |
||||||||
| Preference shares, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding at December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 |
— | — | ||||||
| Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 200,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding (excluding 20,000,000 Class A shares subject to redemption) at December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 |
— | — | ||||||
| Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized; 5,000,000 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 |
500 | 500 | ||||||
| Additional paid-in capital |
— | — | ||||||
| Accumulated deficit |
(16,586,791 | ) | (35,983,161 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Total shareholders’ deficit |
(16,586,291 | ) | (35,982,661 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Deficit |
$ | 200,634,152 | $ | 201,367,995 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
See accompanying notes to the financial statements.
F-3
SARISSA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
| Year ended December 31, 2021 |
For the period from August 12, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020 |
|||||||
| Formation and operating costs |
$ | 784,688 | $ | 87,399 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Loss from operations |
(784,688 | ) | (87,399 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Other income |
||||||||
| Interest income on marketable securities held in Trust Account |
12,607 | 2,204 | ||||||
| Change in fair value of warrant liabilities |
20,168,451 | (17,268,428 | ) | |||||
| Offering cost associated with warrants |
— | (472,585 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Total other income |
20,181,058 | (17,738,809 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Net income (loss) |
$ | 19,396,370 | $ | (17,826,208 | ) | |||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding of Class A ordinary shares |
20,000,000 | 9,859,155 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Basic and diluted net income (loss) per Class A ordinary share |
$ | 0.78 | $ | (1.23 | ) | |||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B ordinary shares |
5,000,000 | 4,683,099 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Basic and diluted net income (loss) per Class B ordinary share |
$ | 0.78 | $ | (1.23 | ) | |||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
See accompanying notes to the financial statements.
F-4
SARISSA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021
| Ordinary | Additional Paid-In Capital |
Accumulated Deficit |
Total Shareholders’ Deficit |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class A | Class B | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2020 |
— | $ | — | 5,000,000 | $ | 500 | $ | — | $ | (35,983,161 | ) | $ | (35,982,661 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Net income |
— | — | — | — | — | 19,396,370 | 19,396,370 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2021 |
— | $ | — | 5,000,000 | $ | 500 | $ | — | $ | (16,586,791 | ) | $ | (16,586,291 | ) | ||||||||||||||
FOR THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 12, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020
| Ordinary | Additional Paid-In Capital |
Accumulated Deficit |
Total Shareholders’ Deficit |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class A | Class B | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of August 12, 2020 (inception) |
— | $ | — | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||||||||||||
| Class B ordinary shares issued to Sponsor |
— | — | 5,031,250 | 503 | 24,497 | — | 25,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash in excess of fair value of private placement warrants |
— | — | — | — | 1,064,724 | — | 1,064,724 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Forfeiture of 31,250 shares by initial shareholders |
— | — | (31,250 | ) | (3 | ) | 3 | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| Accretion of carrying value to redemption value |
(1,089,224 | ) | (18,156,953 | ) | (19,246,177 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss |
— | — | — | — | — | (17,826,208 | ) | (17,826,208 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2020 |
— | $ | — | 5,000,000 | $ | 500 | $ | — | $ | (35,983,161 | ) | $ | (35,982,661 | ) | ||||||||||||||
See accompanying notes to the financial statements.
F-5
SARISSA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
| Year ended December 31, 2021 |
For the period from August 12, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 |
|||||||
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities: |
||||||||
| Net income (loss) |
$ | 19,396,370 | $ | (17,826,208 | ) | |||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities: |
||||||||
| Formation costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for Class B ordinary shares |
— | 3,793 | ||||||
| Interest earned on marketable securities held in trust |
(12,607 | ) | (2,204 | ) | ||||
| Change in fair value of warrant liabilities |
(20,168,451 | ) | 17,268,428 | |||||
| Offering costs allocated with warrants |
— | 472,585 | ||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
||||||||
| Prepaid expenses |
168,078 | (267,935 | ) | |||||
| Due from Related Party |
(6,600 | ) | — | |||||
| Accounts payable |
38,238 | 14,472 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Net cash used in operating activities |
(584,972 | ) | (337,069 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Cash Flows from Investing Activities: |
||||||||
| Investment of cash into trust account |
— | (200,000,000 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Net cash used in investing activities |
— | (200,000,000 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Cash Flows from Financing Activities: |
||||||||
| Proceeds from Initial Public Offering, net of underwriters’ discount |
— | 196,000,000 | ||||||
| Proceeds from private placement |
— | 6,000,000 | ||||||
| Payments of offering costs |
— | (565,075 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities |
— | 201,434,925 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Net Change in Cash |
(584,972 | ) | 1,097,856 | |||||
| Cash—Beginning |
1,097,856 | — | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Cash—Ending |
$ | 512,884 | $ | 1,097,856 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| 1,097,856 | ||||||||
| Supplemental Disclosure of Non-cash Financing Activities: |
||||||||
| Deferred underwriters’ discount payable |
$ | — | $ | 7,000,000 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Offering costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of Class B ordinary shares |
$ | — | $ | 21,207 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
See accompanying notes to the financial statements.
F-6
SARISSA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP.
Note 1 – Organization and Business Operations
Organization and General
Sarissa Capital Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) was incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on August 12, 2020. The Company was incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company is not limited to a particular industry or geographic region for purposes of consummating a Business Combination. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had not yet commenced any operations. All activity through December 31, 2021, relates to the Company’s formation and the Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) described below and locating a merger target post IPO. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial business combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the IPO.
Trust Account
Following the closing of the IPO on October 23, 2020, an amount of $200,000,000 ($10.00 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the 20,000,000 units (the “Units”) in the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement was placed in a trust account (“Trust Account”) which was invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations, until the earlier of: (a) the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum of association, and (c) the redemption of the Company’s public shares if the Company is unable to complete the initial Business Combination within 24 months from October 23, 2020 (the “Combination Period”), the closing of the IPO.
Initial Business Combination
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the IPO, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully.
The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the signing of the agreement to enter into the initial Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Upon the closing of the IPO, management has agreed that an amount equal to at least $10.00 per Unit sold in the IPO, will be held in the Trust Account, located in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and will be invested only in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market fund meeting the conditions of paragraphs (d)(1), (d)(2), (d)(3) and (d)(4) of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below.
The Company will provide the holders (the “Public Shareholders”) of its Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001, sold in the IPO (the “Public Shares”), with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The Public Shareholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $10.00 per Public Share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay income taxes). The per-share amount to be distributed to Public Shareholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to Cantor Fitzgerald (as discussed in Note 6).
F-7
These Public Shares will be classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the IPO in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” In such case, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, only if a majority of the ordinary shares, represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon, voted at a shareholder meeting are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a shareholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, the Company will, pursuant to the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which the Company will adopt upon the consummation of the IPO (the “Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, shareholder approval of the transactions is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules.
Additionally, each Public Shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or vote at all. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the initial shareholders (as defined below) have agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined below in Note 5) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the IPO in favor of a Business Combination. Subsequent to the consummation of the IPO, the Company will adopt an insider trading policy which will require insiders to: (i) refrain from purchasing shares during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information and (ii) to clear all trades with the Company’s legal counsel prior to execution. In addition, the initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares in connection with the completion of a Business Combination.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company seeks shareholder approval of its Business Combination and does not conduct redemptions in connection with its Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association will provide that a Public Shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the Class A ordinary shares sold in the IPO, without the prior consent of the Company.
The Company’s Sponsor, officers and directors (the “initial shareholders”) have agreed not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (a) that would modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide holders of its Public Shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with a Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Company’s Public Shares if the Company does not complete its Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the IPO (the “Combination Period”) or with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of Public Shareholders, unless the Company provides the Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares in conjunction with any such amendment.
If the Company has not completed a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay for its income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then-outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining shareholders and its board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the Company’s warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination within the Combination Period.
F-8
The initial shareholders have agreed to waive their liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares held by them if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the initial shareholders acquire Public Shares in or after the IPO, 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 Combination Period.
The underwriter has agreed to waive its rights to the deferred underwriting commission (see Note 7) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be only $10.00 per share initially held in the Trust Account. In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per Public Share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account if less than $10.00 per Public Share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account or to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (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 (excluding the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
Liquidity and Going Concern
As of December 31, 2021, the Company held cash outside the Trust Account of $512,884 available for working capital needs. All remaining cash held in the Trust Account is generally unavailable for the Company’s use, prior to an initial Business Combination, and is restricted for use either in a Business Combination or to redeem ordinary shares. As of December 31, 2021, none of the amount in the Trust Account was available to be withdrawn as described above.
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Financial Accounting Standard Board’s Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” the Company has until October 23, 2022 to consummate a Business Combination. It is uncertain that the Company will be able to consummate a Business Combination by this time. If a Business Combination is not consummated by this date and an extension not requested by the Sponsor, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution of the Company. The Company plans to complete a business combination prior to the mandatory liquidation date. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after October 23, 2022.
Through December 31, 2021, the Company’s liquidity needs were satisfied through receipt of $25,000 from the sale of the founder shares and the remaining net proceeds from the IPO and the sale of Private Placement Warrants. The Company anticipates that the $512,884 held outside of the Trust Account as of December 31, 2021, will be sufficient to allow the Company to operate for at least the next 12 months from the issuance of the financial statements, assuming that a Business Combination is not consummated during that time. Until consummation of its Business Combination, the Company will be using the funds not held in the Trust Account, and any additional Working Capital Loans (as defined in Note 5) from the initial shareholders, the Company’s officers and directors, or their respective affiliates (which is described in Note 5), for identifying and evaluating prospective acquisition candidates, performing business due diligence on prospective target businesses, traveling to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses, reviewing corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, selecting the target business to acquire and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination. The Company has obtained a commitment letter from the Sponsor and its members for additional $600,000 funding as needed.
Based upon the above, the Company does not believe it will need to raise additional funds in excess of funds available and committed by the Sponsor in order to meet the expenditures required for operating its business for the period until Business Combination.
F-9
Risks and Uncertainties
On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) announced a global health emergency because of a new strain of coronavirus (the “COVID-19 outbreak”). In March 2020, the WHO classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic, based on the rapid increase in exposure globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve. The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the Company’s financial position will depend on future developments, including the duration and spread of the outbreak and related advisories and restrictions. These developments and the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the financial markets and the overall economy are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. If the financial markets and/or the overall economy are impacted for an extended period, the Company’s financial position may be materially adversely affected. Additionally, the Company’s ability to complete an initial business combination may be materially adversely affected due to significant governmental measures being implemented to contain the COVID-19 outbreak or treat its impact, including travel restrictions, the shutdown of businesses and quarantines, among others, which may limit the Company’s ability to have meetings with potential investors or affect the ability of a potential target company’s personnel, vendors and service providers to negotiate and consummate an initial business combination in a timely manner. The Company’s ability to consummate an initial business combination may also be dependent on the ability to raise additional equity and debt financing, which may be impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting market downturn.
Emerging Growth Company Status
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act of 2012, (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
F-10
Note 2 – Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements of the Company are presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and warrant liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. One of the more significant accounting estimates included in these financial statements is the determination of the fair value of the warrant liabilities. Such estimates may be subject to change as more current information becomes available and accordingly the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. At December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the Company had $512,884 and $1,097,856 in cash, respectively, and no cash equivalents.
Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account
At December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the Trust Account had $200,014,811 and $200,002,204 held in marketable securities, respectively. The Company’s 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, investments in money market funds that invest in U.S. government securities, cash, or a combination thereof. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of these securities is included in interest income on marketable securities held in Trust Account in the accompanying statements of operations. The estimated fair values of investments held in the Trust Account are determined using available market information.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation coverage limit of $250,000.
As of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the Company had not experienced losses on this account.
Income Taxes
The Company complies with the accounting and reporting requirements of ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes,” which prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s only major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. As of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, there were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception. There is currently no taxation imposed on income 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. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
F-11
Net Income (Loss) per Ordinary Share
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, Earnings Per
Share. The Company applies the two-class method in calculating earnings per share. The contractual formula utilized to calculate the redemption amount approximates fair value. The Class feature to redeem at fair value means that there is effectively only one class of stock. Changes in fair value are not considered a dividend of the purposes of the numerator in the earnings per share calculation. Net income (loss) per ordinary share is computed by dividing the pro rata net income (loss) between the Class A ordinary shares and the Class B ordinary shares by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding for each of the periods. The calculation of diluted income (loss) per ordinary share does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the IPO since the exercise of the warrants are contingent upon the occurrence of future events and the inclusion of such warrants would be anti-dilutive.
| For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
For the period from August 12, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 |
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| Class A | Class B | Class A | Class B | |||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share: |
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| Numerator: |
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| Allocation of net income (loss) |
$ | 15,517,096 | $ | 3,879,274 | $ | (12,111,224 | ) | $ | (5,714,984 | ) | ||||||
| Denominator: |
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| Weighted-average shares outstanding |
20,000,000 | 5,000,000 | 9,859,155 | 4,683,099 | ||||||||||||
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| Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share |
$ | 0.78 | $ | 0.78 | $ | (1.23 | ) | $ | (1.23 | ) | ||||||
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Warrant Liabilities
The Company does not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. The Company evaluates all of its financial instruments, including issued stock purchase warrants, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC 480 and ASC 815-15. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is reassessed at the end of each reporting period. The Company accounts for its 10,666,667 ordinary shares warrants issued in connection with its IPO (6,666,667) and Private Placement (4,000,000) as derivative warrant liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40.
Accordingly, the Company recognizes the warrant instruments as liabilities at fair value and adjusts the instruments to fair value at each reporting period. The liabilities are subject to remeasurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in the Company’s statement of operations. At December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the Company used the quoted share price in the active market to value the public warrants and a Modified Black Scholes to value the private warrants with changes in fair value charged to the statement of operations.
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable ordinary shares (including ordinary shares that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, 20,000,000 shares of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheets.
F-12
At December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Class A ordinary shares reflected in the balance sheets are reconciled in the following table:
| Gross Proceeds |
$ | 200,000,000 | ||
| Less: Proceeds allocated to Public Warrants |
(8,132,480 | ) | ||
| Less: Issuance costs related to Class A ordinary shares |
(11,113,697 | ) | ||
| Plus: Accretion of carrying value to redemption value |
19,246,177 | |||
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| Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption |
$ | 200,000,000 |
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under the FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheets, other than derivative warrant liabilities (see Note 9).
Recent Accounting Standards
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, Debt – Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging – Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40) (“ASU 2020-06”) to simplify accounting for certain financial instruments. ASU 2020-06 eliminates the current models that require separation of beneficial conversion and cash conversion features from convertible instruments and simplifies the derivative scope exception guidance pertaining to equity classification of contracts in an entity’s own equity. The new standard also introduces additional disclosures for convertible debt and freestanding instruments that are indexed to and settled in an entity’s own equity. ASU 2020-06 amends the diluted earnings per share guidance, including the requirement to use the if-converted method for all convertible instruments. ASU 2020-06 is effective January 1, 2024 for smaller reporting companies and should be applied on a full or modified retrospective basis, with early adoption permitted beginning on January 1, 2021. The Company is currently assessing the impact, if any, that ASU 2020-06 would have on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
Note 3 – Initial Public Offering
On October 23, 2020, the Company sold 20,000,000 Units at a price of $10.00 per Unit, including the issuance of 2,500,000 Units as a result of the underwriter’s partial exercise of its over-allotment option. Each Unit consists of one share of Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share and one-third of one redeemable warrant (each, a “Public Warrant”). Each whole 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 7). The Company paid an underwriting discount at the closing of the IPO of $4,000,000.
Note 4 – Private Placement
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 3,333,333 Sponsor Private Warrants and the underwriter purchased an aggregate of 666,667 Cantor Private Warrants, at a price of $1.50 per unit, for an aggregate purchase price of $6,000,000. A portion of the proceeds from the Private Warrants were added to the net proceeds from the IPO held in the Trust Account. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share.
F-13
Each private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants being sold as part of the units in IPO, subject to certain limited exceptions. If we do not consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants (i) will be non-redeemable and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the sponsor, underwriter or their permitted transferees. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than the sponsor, underwriter or their permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. In addition, for as long as the private placement warrants are held by underwriter or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the effective date of the registration statement.
Note 5 – Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On August 13, 2020, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain offering costs and formation costs of the Company in consideration for 5,031,250 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001, (the “Founder Shares”). The Sponsor had agreed to forfeit up to 656,250 Founder Shares to the extent that the over-allotment option was not exercised in full by the underwriters. On October 23, 2020, the underwriter partially exercised its over-allotment option, hence, 625,000 Founder Shares were no longer subject to forfeiture, and 31,250 Founder Shares were forfeited, resulting in an aggregate of 5,000,000 Founders Shares issued and outstanding, so that the number of shares of Class B ordinary shares collectively equaled 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares after the IPO.
The initial shareholders have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination and (B) subsequent to the initial Business Combination, (x) if the closing price of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, 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, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of the Public Shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
Promissory Note – Related Party
On August 14, 2020, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover for expenses related to the IPO pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). The Note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of March 31, 2021 and the completion of the IPO. This note was repaid on October 23, 2020 and the promissory note is no longer available to the Company.
Administrative Service Fee
The Company entered into an agreement whereby, commencing on October 23, 2020 through the earlier of the Company’s consummation of a Business Combination and its liquidation, the Company will pay an affiliate of the Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company had incurred and paid $120,000 of administrative fees. For the period August 12, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, the Company incurred and paid $23,667 of administrative fees.
Related Party Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company may repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of the proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company had no outstanding borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.
F-14
Note 6 – Commitments and Contingencies
Registration Rights
The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants, Class A ordinary shares underlying the 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), will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement that was signed upon consummation of the IPO. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company registers such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the Company’s completion of its Business Combination. However, the registration and shareholder rights agreement provides that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period, which occurs (i) in the case of the Founder Shares, in accordance with the letter agreement the Company’s initial shareholders entered into and (ii) in the case of the Private Placement Warrants and the respective Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants, 30 days after the completion of the Company’s Business Combination and, for as long as the Private Placement Warrants are held by the underwriter or its designees or affiliates, the lock-up and registration rights limitations imposed by FINRA Rule 5110 and five years from the effective date of the registration statement for the Company’s IPO which was declared effective by the SEC on the Effective Date. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriters Agreement
On October 23, 2020, the underwriters were paid an underwriting discount of two percent (2.0%) of the gross proceeds of the IPO, or $4,000,000.
The underwriters are entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.35 per unit payable to Cantor Fitzgerald for deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred fee of $7,000,000 will become payable to Cantor Fitzgerald 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.
Note 7 – Shareholders’ Deficit
Preference Shares – The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 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 December 31, 2021 and 2020, there were no preference shares issued or outstanding.
Class A Ordinary Shares – The Company is authorized to issue a total of 200,000,000 shares of Class A ordinary shares at par value of $0.0001 each. At December 31, 2021 and 2020, there were 20,000,000
shares issued and outstanding. All Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption have been classified as temporary equity (see Note 2).
Class B Ordinary Shares – The Company is authorized to issue a total of 20,000,000 shares of Class B ordinary shares at par value of $0.0001 each. At December 31, 2021 and 2020, there were 5,000,000 shares of Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding.
F-15
Holders of the Class A ordinary shares and holders of the Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders, except as required by law or stock exchange rule; provided that only holders of the Class B ordinary shares have the right to vote on the appointment of the Company’s directors prior to the initial Business Combination and holders of a majority of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares on the first business day following the consummation of the initial Business Combination at a ratio such that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the consummation of the IPO, plus (ii) the sum of 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 Sponsor, members of the Company’s management team or any of their affiliates upon conversion of Working Capital Loans. In no event will the Class B ordinary shares convert into Class A ordinary shares at a rate of less than one-to-one.
Note 8 – Warrants
At December 31, 2021 and 2020, there were 6,666,667 Public Warrants and 4,000,000 Private Placement Warrants outstanding.
Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination or (b) 12 months from the closing of the IPO. The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of the initial Business Combination, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of the initial Business Combination, and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement; provided that if the Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of Public Warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement.
If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not
effective by the 60th day after the closing of the initial Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption, but the Company will use its best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. The Public Warrants will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Private Placement Warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination (except pursuant to limited exceptions to the Company’s officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with the initial purchasers of the Private Placement Warrants) and they will not be redeemable by the Company so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees. The Sponsor, or its permitted transferees, has the option to exercise the Private Placement Warrants on a cashless basis. Except as described below, the Private Placement Warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the Public Warrants. 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.
F-16
Redemption of warrants for cash.
Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the Public Warrants for cash (except 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 sales price (the “closing price”) of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day0 period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may exercise its redemption right even if it is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption, as described above, management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement.
If the Company has not completed the initial 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.
The accounting treatment of derivative financial instruments requires that the Company record a derivative liability upon the closing of the IPO. Accordingly, the Company has classified each warrant as a liability at its fair value and the warrants were allocated a portion of the proceeds from the issuance of the Units equal to its fair value determined by the Monte Carlo simulation. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet due. With each such re-measurement, the warrant liability will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in the Company’s statements of operations. The Company will reassess the classification at each balance sheet date. If the classification changes as a result of events during the period, the warrants will be reclassified as of the date of the event that causes the reclassification. As such, the Company recorded $13,067,756 of warrant liability upon issuance as of October 23, 2020. For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company recorded a change in the fair value of the warrant liabilities in the amount of 17,268,428. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company recorded a change in the fair value of the warrant liabilities in the amount of ($20,168,451) on the statements of operations, resulting in warrant liabilities of $10,167,733 as of December 31, 2021 on the balance sheet.
Note 9 – Fair Value Measurements
Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for sale of an asset or paid for transfer of a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). These tiers consist of:
| • | Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical instruments in active markets; |
| • | Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable such as quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and |
| • | Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions, such as valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable. |
As of December 31, 2021, marketable securities held in the Company’s Trust Account consisted of a treasury securities fund in the amount of $200,014,811. As of December 31, 2020, marketable securities held in the Company’s Trust Account consisted of a treasury securities fund in the amount of $200,002,204 which was held as money market funds.
The following table presents information about the Company’s assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2021 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:
F-17
| December 31, | Quoted Prices In Active Markets |
Significant Other Observable Inputs |
Significant Other Unobservable Inputs |
|||||||||||||
| 2021 | (Level 1) | (Level 2) | (Level 3) | |||||||||||||
| Description |
||||||||||||||||
| Assets: |
||||||||||||||||
| Marketable Securities held in Trust Account |
$ | 200,014,811 | $ | 200,014,811 | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||||
| Liabilities: |
||||||||||||||||
| Warrant Liability – Public Warrants |
$ | 6,333,333 | $ | 6,333,333 | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||||
| Warrant Liability – Private Warrants |
$ | 3,834,400 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 3,834,400 | ||||||||
The following table presents information about the Company’s assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2020 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:
| December 31, | Quoted Prices In Active Markets |
Significant Other Observable Inputs |
Significant Other Unobservable Inputs |
|||||||||||||
| 2020 | (Level 1) | (Level 2) | (Level 3) | |||||||||||||
| Description |
||||||||||||||||
| Assets: |
||||||||||||||||
| Marketable Securities held in Trust Account |
$ | 200,002,204 | $ | 200,002,204 | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||||
| Liabilities: |
||||||||||||||||
| Warrant Liability – Public Warrants |
$ | 18,333,334 | $ | 18,333,334 | $ | — | $ | — | ||||||||
| Warrant Liability – Private Warrants |
$ | 12,002,850 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 12,002,850 | ||||||||
Transfers to/from Levels 1, 2 and 3 are recognized at the end of the reporting period. There were no transfers between levels for the period from August 12, 2020 (inception) and December 31, 2020, other than the transfer of the Public Warrants from Level 3 to Level 1 due to the Public Warrants being separately listed and traded in an active market.
There were no transfers between Levels 1, 2 or 3 during the year ended December 31, 2021. At December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the Company used the quoted share price in the active market to value the public warrants and a Modified Black Scholes to value the private warrants with changes in fair value charged to the statement of operations. The estimated fair value of the private warrant liability is determined using Level 3 inputs. If factors or assumptions change, the estimated fair values could be materially different. Inherent in a Modified Black Scholes pricing model are assumptions related to expected share-price volatility, expected life, risk-free interest rate and dividend yield. The Company estimates the volatility of its ordinary shares based on historical volatility that matches the expected remaining life of the warrants and volatilities from selected publicly traded SPACs. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S.
Treasury zero-coupon yield curve on the grant date for a maturity similar to the expected remaining life of the warrants. The expected life of the warrants is assumed to be equivalent to their remaining contractual term. The dividend rate is based on the historical rate, which the Company anticipates to remain at zero.
The following table provides quantitative information regarding Level 3 fair value measurements:
| As of December 31, 2021 |
As of December 31, 2020 |
|||||||
| Share price |
$ | 9.79 | $ | 10.12 | ||||
| Strike price |
$ | 11.50 | $ | 11.50 | ||||
| Term (in years) |
5.41 | 5.91 | ||||||
| Volatility |
14.5 | % | 35.0 | % | ||||
| Risk-free rate |
1.30 | % | 0.49 | % | ||||
| Dividend yield |
0.0 | % | 0.0 | % | ||||
F-18
The primary significant unobservable input used in the fair value measurement of the Company’s private warrants is the expected volatility of the ordinary shares. Significant increases (decreases) in the expected volatility in isolation would result in a significantly higher (lower) fair value measurement.
The following table provides a reconciliation of changes in fair value of the beginning and ending balances for our assets and liabilities classified as Level 3:
| Warrant Liabilities |
||||
| Fair value at August 12, 2020 (inception) |
$ | — | ||
| Initial measurement on October 23, 2020 |
13,067,756 | |||
| Change in fair value |
17,268,428 | |||
| Transfer of Public warrants to Level 1 |
(18,333,334 | ) | ||
|
|
|
|||
| Fair value at December 31, 2020 |
12,002,850 | |||
| Change in fair value |
(8,168,450 | ) | ||
|
|
|
|||
| Fair Value at December 31, 2021 |
$ | 3,834,400 | ||
|
|
|
|||
Note 10 – Subsequent Events
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date through the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
In February 2022, the Russian Federation and Belarus commenced a military action with the country of Ukraine. As a result of this action, various nations, including the United States, have instituted economic sanctions against the Russian Federation and Belarus. Further, the impact of this action and related sanctions on the world economy are not determinable as of the date of these financial statements and the specific impact on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows is also not determinable as of the date of these financial statements
F-19
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Section 13 or 15 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this annual report on Form 10-K to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized on the 31st day of March, 2022.
| SARISSA CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. | ||
| By: | /s/ Alexander Denner | |
| Name: | Alexander Denner | |
| Title: | Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) | |
In accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this annual report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Name | Title |
Date | ||
| /s/ Louis Paglia |
Director | March 31, 2022 | ||
| Louis Paglia | ||||
| /s/ Mark Timney |
Director | March 31, 2022 | ||
| Mark Timney | ||||
| /s/ Alexander Denner |
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) | March 31, 2022 | ||
| Alexander Denner | ||||
| /s/ Patrice Bonfiglio |
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer | March 31, 2022 | ||
| Patrice Bonfiglio | ||||
| /s/ Keith Horn |
Director | March 31, 2022 | ||
| Keith Horn | ||||