SOAR Technology Acquisition Corp. - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021
OR
☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from ___ to _____
Commission File Number 001-40811
SOAR Technology Acquisition Corp.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)
Cayman Islands | 98-1580216 | |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
228
Park Avenue S PMB 74335
New York, NY 10003-1502
(Address of principal executive offices and zip code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (212) 503-2850
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share, $0.0001 par value, and one-third of one redeemable warrant | FLYA.U | New York Stock Exchange | ||
Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share | FLYA | New York Stock Exchange | ||
Warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 per share | FLYA.WT | New York Stock Exchange |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. YES ☐ ☒
Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. YES ☐ ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ☒ NO ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit such files). ☒ NO ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☐ | Accelerated filer ☐ |
Non-accelerated filer ☒ | Smaller reporting company ☒ |
Emerging growth company ☒ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by the 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. YES ☐ NO ☒
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. ☐
Auditor Firm Id: | Auditor Name: | Auditor Location: | ||
688 | Marcum LLP | New York, NY | ||
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). YES ☒ NO ☐
The Registrant’s Units began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on September 16, 2021 and the Registrant’s Class A ordinary shares began separate trading on the New York Stock Exchange on November 8, 2021. 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 $232,530,000.
As of March 25, 2022, there were 23,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, and 7,666,667 Class B ordinary shares, approximately $0.00009 par value, issued and outstanding.
Documents Incorporated by Reference: None.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This annual report includes, and oral statements made from time to time by representatives of the Company may include, 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. Such statements include, but are not limited to, possible business combinations and the financing thereof, and related matters, as well as all other statements other than statements of historical fact included in this annual report. 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. Forward-looking statements in this annual report may include, for example, statements about:
● | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
● | our ability to complete our initial business combination; |
● | our expectations around the performance of the prospective target business or businesses; |
● | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
● | our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination, as a result of which they would then receive expense reimbursements; |
● | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
● | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
● | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential acquisition opportunities; |
● | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
● | the lack of a market for our securities; |
● | the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; |
● | the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; or |
● | our financial performance. |
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 “Item 1A. 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.
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PART I
References in this annual report to “we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to SOAR Technology Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company. References to “management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors. References to our “sponsor” is to SOAR Technology Sponsor, LP, a Delaware limited partnership. References to our “initial shareholders” are to the holders of our founder shares prior to our initial public offering (“IPO”).
Unless otherwise stated in this annual report or the context otherwise requires, references to:
● | “amended and restated memorandum and articles of association” are to the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that the company adopted in connection with the IPO; |
● | “founder shares” are to our Class B ordinary shares initially issued to our sponsor in a private placement prior to the IPO and our Class B ordinary shares issued pursuant to a split of such shares, and our Class A ordinary shares that will be issued upon the automatic conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof (for the avoidance of doubt, such Class A ordinary shares are not “public shares”); |
● | “ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares and our Class B ordinary shares; and |
● | “public shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares that were sold as part of the units in the IPO (whether purchased in the IPO or thereafter in the open market); |
● | “public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our sponsor and/or members of our management team to the extent our sponsor and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that our sponsor’s and each member of our management team’s status as a “public shareholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares; |
Item 1. | Business. |
General
SOAR Technology Acquisition Corp., a blank check company, is led by Joe Poulin through his family office, JPK Capital, and supported by Peter Kern and the Inovia Growth Fund II, represented by Chris Arsenault and Patrick Pichette. Our company was created to leverage the founders’ extensive experience in acquiring, building, and operating businesses across various technology industries. While we may pursue an acquisition or a business combination target in any tech-enabled industry, we intend to partner with a scalable growth company that benefits from secular tailwinds, has a competitive market position, attractive unit economics, and a proven management team.
Our team has decades of operational, investment, and acquisition experience in the technology and media sectors. Mr. Poulin brings an entrepreneurial and investing skillset built over 20 years, having created and grown Luxury Retreats into one of the world’s largest specialty villa rental companies prior to its sale to Airbnb in 2017, one of Airbnb’s largest acquisitions to date. Chris Arsenault co-founded Inovia Capital in 2007 investing in applied services and infrastructure businesses seeking to transform complex industries, such as financial services and commerce. Patrick Pichette, a Partner at Inovia Capital, offers public company capabilities, having served as the Chief Financial Officer of Google from 2008 to 2015 and as Chairman of Twitter from 2020 to 2021 and a director since 2017. Mr. Kern provides operating expertise as well as diverse public company and governance experience, having served on the boards and as Chief Executive Officer of two large public companies including leading Tribune Media Company through its approximately $7.2 billion sale to Nexstar Media Group, Inc. and navigating Expedia Group Inc. during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Martha Tredgett and Greg Greeley also serve on our board, further expanding the capabilities of the team. Ms. Tredgett provides capital raising experience and a vast network of investor relationships and Mr. Greeley enhances the operating experience of our team having recently served as President of Airbnb Homes after spending 19 years at Amazon.com in various senior roles.
We believe that the entrepreneurial backgrounds, operational expertise, and extensive network of relationships of our leadership team will enable us to source and execute a value-focused transaction that will generate attractive returns for our shareholders. In addition, the team has broad experience serving as advisors, board members, and mentors to a variety of business leaders and companies across multiple sectors in the technology industry. We believe that management teams will be able to benefit from the advice of our leaders, who have a large depth of experience ranging from start-ups to global corporations.
We were incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have reviewed a number of opportunities to enter into a business combination. We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenue to date. Based on our business activities, the Company is a “shell company” as defined under the Exchange Act because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting almost entirely of cash.
Market opportunity
We believe there are numerous partners operating in the technology and technology-enabled industries that are well-advantaged and highly scalable with the right guidance from an acquisition partner. We are targeting a company valued between approximately $1 billion and $5 billion that has a sizable market share and capacity to achieve a market leading position. Our vast sourcing network grants us access to a wide range of investment candidates, while our structured acquisition process lends itself to rigorous diligence of underlying fundamentals and evaluation of potential expansion avenues. Our team’s public market experience allows us to mentor founders to become well equipped for the transition to public markets.
Initial business combination process
In evaluating a potential target business, we expect to conduct a comprehensive due diligence review to seek to determine a company’s quality and its intrinsic value. That due diligence review may include, among other things, financial statement analysis, detailed document reviews, multiple meetings with management, consultations with relevant industry experts, competitors, customers and suppliers, as well as a review of additional information that we will seek to obtain as part of our analysis of a target company.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Members of our and JPK’s management teams, including our officers and directors, directly or indirectly own our securities and accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target company is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Our sponsor and certain members of our board of directors acquired founder shares for approximately $0.003 per share and we offered units at a price of $10.00 per unit in our initial public offering; as a result, our sponsor and directors could make a substantial profit after the initial business combination even if public investors experience substantial losses. Because the threshold at which a transaction will be profitable for our sponsor and directors is significantly lower than for investors, the interests of our management and directors in deciding which opportunities to pursue may not align with the interests of public investors. In addition, each of our officers and directors, as well as our and JPK’s management teams, may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers, directors and management team members was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to such business combination.
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Each of our directors and officers, as well as those of JPK and Inovia Capital, 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. Accordingly, if any of our, JPK’s or Inovia Capital’s officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, then, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. Inovia Capital and its affiliates manage a number of funds, separate accounts and other investment vehicles (“Inovia Funds”), which may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these Inovia Funds decide to pursue any such opportunity or have existing investments in the issuer of such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. In addition, investment ideas generated within Inovia Capital, including by any director affiliated with Inovia Capital, may be suitable for both us and for a current or future Inovia Fund and, in such a case, will be directed to such Inovia Fund rather than to us. Neither JPK, Inovia Capital nor, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, any members of our management team who are also employed by JPK or Inovia Capital have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. JPK, Inovia Capital and/or members of our management team, in their capacities as officers, directors or employees of JPK or Inovia Capital or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future Inovia Funds, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us.
In addition, we may be limited in our ability to make investments and to sell existing investments because JPK or Inovia Capital may have material, non-public information regarding the issuers of the applicable securities or as a result of an existing investment by JPK or an Inovia Fund. We may acquire a target from or, in which, JPK or one or more Inovia Funds have an existing investment (or makes an investment at the same time or subsequently) at a different or overlapping level of the target’s capital structure, creating a potential conflict between our position and JPK’s or the applicable Inovia Funds’ position especially in the event of a bankruptcy. JPK, JPK employees, Inovia Capital, Inovia Capital employees and Inovia Funds may also have or make investments in, establish or serve on the boards of, businesses that compete with, provide services to, transact with, or otherwise have significant business relationships with the businesses we invest or seek to invest in. We may also forego an attractive investment opportunity as a result of an existing investment in the target or a competitor of the target by JPK, an Inovia Fund or principals or employees of JPK or Inovia Capital, or to otherwise mitigate any conflict of interest or the perception of any conflict of interest.
JPK, Inovia Capital and the Inovia Growth II Funds and our sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, JPK, Inovia Capital and our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates. In addition, JPK, Inovia Capital and our sponsor, officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time or resources to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time and resources among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. In addition, our memorandum and articles of association contain provisions to indemnify, to the maximum extent permitted by law, such persons in respect of any liability, obligation or duty to the company, that may arise as a consequence of such persons becoming aware of any business opportunity or failing to present such business opportunity.
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Initial business combination
So long as our securities are then listed on the NYSE, our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of the target business or businesses upon standards generally accepted by the financial community. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of a target business or businesses, it may be unable to do so if the board is less familiar or experienced with the target company’s business, there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the company’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value of the target business meets the 80% of net assets threshold, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to shareholders and file with the SEC in connection with a proposed transaction will include such opinion.
We have until 15 months from the closing of our “IPO” to consummate an initial business combination. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 15 months, we may extend the period of time to consummate a business combination two times by an additional three months each time (for a total of up to 21 months to complete a business combination). Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the trust agreement to be entered into between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company on the date of this annual report, in order to extend the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination, our sponsor or its affiliates or designees, upon five days advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, must deposit into the trust account $2,300,000 ($0.10 per share) on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline for each of the available three month extensions, providing a total possible business combination period of 21 months at a total payment value of $4,600,000, in exchange for a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note. Such loans may be converted into warrants, at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Any such loans that are not converted to warrants will be non-interest bearing and payable upon the consummation of our initial business combination. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. If we do not complete a business combination, we will not repay such loans. Furthermore, the letter agreements with our initial shareholders contain a provision pursuant to which our sponsor has agreed to waive its right to be repaid for such loans out of the funds held in the trust account in the event that we do not complete a business combination. Our sponsor and its affiliates or designees are not obligated to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination.
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, or 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 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 shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our 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. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor. If our securities are not then listed on the NYSE for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of net asset test.
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We may, at our option, subject to applicable law, pursue an acquisition opportunity jointly with one or more entities affiliated with JPK, Inovia Capital and/or one or more Inovia Funds and/or one or more investors in Inovia Funds, which we refer to as an “Affiliated Joint Acquisition.” Any such parties may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by issuing to such parties a class of equity or equity-linked securities. We refer to this potential future issuance, or a similar issuance to other specified purchasers, as a “specified future issuance” throughout this annual report. The amount and other terms and conditions of any such specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof. We are not obligated to make any specified future issuance and may determine not to do so. This is not an offer for any specified future issuance. Pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions of our Class B ordinary shares, any such specified future issuance would result in an adjustment to the conversion ratio such that our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees, if any, would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 25% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of our IPO plus all shares issued in the specified future issuance, unless the holders of a majority of the then-outstanding Class B ordinary shares agreed to waive such adjustment with respect to the specified future issuance at the time thereof. We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B ordinary shares at the time of any such specified future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. If such adjustment is not waived, the specified future issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B ordinary shares, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. If such adjustment is waived, the specified future issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our ordinary shares.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. These risks include, among others, investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
Other considerations
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, JPK, the Inovia Growth II Funds, or our officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor or any of JPK, the Inovia Growth II Funds or our officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
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JPK, the Inovia Growth II Funds, members of our management team and our independent directors directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement warrants and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
In addition, JPK, Inovia Capital and certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary and contractual duties to other entities. As a result, if any of JPK, Inovia Capital or our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he, she or it has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, then, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, he, she or it will need to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, before we can pursue such opportunity. If these other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. JPK, Inovia Capital and our sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, JPK, Inovia Capital and our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates.
In addition, we may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity to which an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Any such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such entity.
Risk factors summary
Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those highlighted in the section titled “Risk factors” immediately following this summary. These risks include, but are not limited to, risks associated with:
● | being a company with no operating history and no revenues; |
● | our ability to complete our initial business combination, including risks arising from the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; |
● | our public shareholders’ ability to exercise redemption rights; |
● | the requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame; |
● | the possibility that NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange; |
● | being declared an investment company under the Investment Company Act; |
● | complying with changing laws and regulations; |
● | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
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● | the performance of the prospective target business or businesses; |
● | the pool of prospective target businesses available to us and the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities; |
● | the issuance of additional Class A ordinary shares in connection with a business combination that may dilute the interest of our shareholders; |
● | the incentives to our sponsor, officers and directors to complete a business combination to avoid losing their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed; |
● | 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; |
● | JPK, Inovia Capital and their affiliates manage a number of funds, separate accounts and other investment vehicles that may compete with us for business combination opportunities; |
● | our success in retaining or recruiting, or making changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
● | our ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
● | our ability to amend the terms of warrants in a manner that may be adverse to the holders of public warrants; |
● | our ability to redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise; |
● | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; and |
● | provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and Cayman Islands law. |
Corporate information
Our executive offices are located at 228 Park Avenue S PMB 74335, New York, New York 10003-1502 and our telephone number is (212) 503-2855. We maintain a corporate website at soartechnologyacq.com. The information contained on or accessible through our corporate website or any other website that we may maintain is not part of this annual report.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act (as amended) of the Cayman Islands (the “Companies Act”). As an exempted company, we have received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (2018 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 30 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or 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. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
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In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our IPO, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A ordinary shares that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
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.
Item 1A. | Risk Factors. |
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this annual report, including the financial statements, before making a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks relating to our search for, and consummation of or inability to consummate, an initial business combination
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination, our public shareholders may be forced to wait more than 21 months before receiving distributions from the trust account.
We have until 15 months from the closing of our IPO (or up to 21 months from the closing of our IPO if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail elsewhere in this this annual report) to consummate our initial business combination. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to such date unless we consummate our initial business combination prior thereto or we seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to the consummation of our initial business combination. Only after the expiration of this full time period will holders of our Class A ordinary shares be entitled to distributions from the trust account if we are unable to complete our initial business combination. Accordingly, investors’ funds may be unavailable to them until after such date and to liquidate your investment, public security holders may be forced to sell their public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our sponsor has the right to extend the term we have to consummate our initial business combination up to two times for up to an additional 3 months each time, without providing our shareholders with voting or redemption rights relating thereto.
If we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 15 months, and subject to our sponsor depositing additional funds into the trust account as set out below, our time to consummate a business combination shall be extended up to two times for an additional 3 months each time, for a total of up to 21 months to complete a business combination. This will occur as long as our sponsor or its affiliates or designees, upon five days advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, deposits into the trust account $2,300,000 on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline for each of the available three month extensions, providing a total possible business combination period of 21 months at a total payment value of $4,600,000, in exchange for a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note. Such loans may be converted into warrants, at a price of $1.50 per warrant, at the option of the lender. Our public shareholders will not be entitled to vote or redeem their shares in connection with any such extension. As a result, we may conduct such an extension even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such an extension and will not be able to redeem their shares in connection therewith. This feature is different than the traditional special purpose acquisition company structure, in which any extension of the company’s period to complete a business combination requires a vote of the company’s shareholders and shareholders have the right to redeem their public shares in connection with such vote.
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Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination and, even if we hold a vote, holders of our founder shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our shareholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to hold a shareholder vote before we complete our initial business combination if the business combination would not require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. For instance, if we were seeking to acquire a target business where the consideration we were paying in the transaction was all cash, we would typically not be required to seek shareholder approval to complete such a transaction. Except for as required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Even if we seek shareholder approval, the holders of our founder shares will participate in the vote. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares do not approve of the business combination we complete.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote, in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Our initial shareholders own, on an as-converted basis, 25% of our outstanding ordinary shares. Our sponsor and each member of our management team also may from time to time purchase Class A ordinary shares prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we seek shareholder approval, 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 and who vote at a general meeting. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,666,667, or 33.3% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted) of the 23,000,000 public shares sold in the IPO to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our sponsor and each member of 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
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.
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The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination 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, we will 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) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets 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 with us.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for additional third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B ordinary shares results in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination. 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 underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
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Because our trust account contains approximately $10.30 per Class A ordinary share (or $10.40 or $10.50 per Class A ordinary share if the sponsor extends the period of time for the company to complete a business combination to 18 months or 21 months, respectively) at the time of our initial business combination, public shareholders may be more incentivized to redeem their public shares at the time of our initial business combination.
Our trust account contains $10.30 per Class A ordinary share (or $10.40 or $10.50 per Class A ordinary share if the sponsor extends the period of time for the company to complete a business combination to 18 months or 21 months, respectively). This is different than some other similarly structured blank check companies for which the trust account only contains $10.00 per Class ordinary share. As a result of the additional funds receivable by public shareholders upon redemption of public shares, our public shareholders may be more incentivized to redeem their public shares.
Unlike some other similar blank check companies, we only have 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) to consummate an initial business combination. The requirement that we consummate an initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) after the closing of our IPO may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.
Unlike some other similar blank check companies, we only have 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) to consummate an initial business combination. Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must consummate an initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) from the closing of our IPO. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the time frame described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
The securities in which we invest the proceeds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the interest income available for payment of taxes or reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.30 per share.
The net proceeds of our IPO and certain proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants, in the amount of $236,900,000, are held in an interest-bearing trust account. The proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in direct U.S. Treasury obligations having a maturity of 185 days or less, or in certain money market funds which invest only in direct U.S. Treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. Treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event of very low or negative yields, the amount of interest income (which we may withdraw to pay taxes, if any) would be reduced. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income. If the balance of the trust account is reduced below $236,900,000 as a result of negative interest rates, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.30 per share.
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If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their respective 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, initial shareholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their respective 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. 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, initial shareholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates purchase public 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.
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. For example, we may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy solicitation materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed.
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations 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 within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) from the closing of our IPO 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 within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) from the closing of our IPO, 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 within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) from the closing of our IPO, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
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Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.30 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a shareholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.30 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
If the net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for the 15 months (or up to 21 months if applicable) following the closing of our IPO, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and our ability to complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, only approximately $2,200,000 is available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. We believe that funds available to us outside of the trust account, together with funds available from loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 15 months (or up to 21 months if applicable) following the closing of our IPO; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate, and our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team 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. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public shareholders may only receive an estimated $10.30 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining 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.
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If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.30 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 (other than 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. Making such a request of potential target businesses may make our acquisition proposal less attractive to them and, to the extent prospective target businesses refuse to execute such a waiver, it may limit the field of potential target businesses that we might pursue.
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 within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) from the closing of our IPO, 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 ten years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.30 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 our registration statement), our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by (A) a third-party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or (B) 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) $10.30 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 $10.30 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 that 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 underwriters of our IPO 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. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.30 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Our independent 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) $10.30 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 $10.30 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 $10.30 per public share.
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If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy or insolvency court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the per share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the 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.
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 compliance with other rules and regulations that we are currently not subject to. |
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 total 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-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
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We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly 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 within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) from the closing of our IPO or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares; or (iii) absent our completing an initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) from the closing of our IPO, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public shareholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.30 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.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we are required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry or 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 industry or 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 selected any specific business combination target, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our securities will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any 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.
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Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines and, as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these criteria and guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.30 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may seek acquisition opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s area of expertise if a business combination target is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination target, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our securities will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to our investors than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination target. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this annual report regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any 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.
Any due diligence in connection with an initial business combination may not reveal all relevant considerations or liabilities of a target business, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We intend to conduct such due diligence as we deem reasonably practicable and appropriate based on the target business and the facts and circumstances applicable to the proposed transaction prior to any initial business combination. The objective of the due diligence process will be to identify material issues which might affect the decision to proceed with an initial business combination or the consideration payable in connection with such initial business combination. We also intend to use information provided during the due diligence process to formulate our business and operational planning for, and valuation of, any target company or business. While conducting due diligence and assessing a potential target business, we will rely on publicly available information (if any), information provided by the relevant target business to the extent provided and, in some circumstances, third-party studies.
The due diligence undertaken with respect to a potential initial business combination may not reveal all relevant facts that may be necessary to evaluate such transaction or to formulate a business strategy. Furthermore, the information provided during due diligence may not be adequate or accurate. As part of the due diligence process, we will also make subjective judgments regarding the results of operations, financial condition and prospects of a potential initial business combination, and these judgments may be inaccurate.
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Due diligence conducted in connection with an initial business combination may not result in the initial business combination being successful. If the due diligence investigation fails to identify material information regarding an opportunity, or if we consider such material risks to be commercially acceptable relative to the opportunity, and we proceed with an initial business combination, our company may subsequently incur substantial impairment charges or other losses. In addition, following an initial business combination, we may be subject to significant, previously undisclosed liabilities of the acquired business that were not identified during due diligence and which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
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 investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions 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.
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 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, each having a par or nominal value of $0.0001 per share, 53,333,345.5 Class B ordinary shares, each having a par or nominal value of approximately $0.00009 per share, and 5,000,000 preference shares, each having a par or nominal value of $0.0001 per share. There are 477,000,000 and 45,666,678.5 authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance which amount does not take into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants or shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares, if any. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares (which such Class A ordinary shares delivered upon conversion will not have any redemption rights or be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account if we fail to consummate an initial business combination) at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof as described herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. There are no preference shares issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares in connection with our redeeming the warrants or 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 or in connection with 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 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; |
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● | may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares; |
● | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of Class A ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; |
● | 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. |
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 have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.30 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 have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.30 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our IPO 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 IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants provided us with $228,850,000 that we may use to complete our initial business combination (after taking into account the $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting commissions held in the trust account and the expenses of the IPO).
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.
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Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
● | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or |
● | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
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 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.
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The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The loss of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association do not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that we will 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) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their respective affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments, including our warrant agreement, in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that holders of our securities 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 an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires at least a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law, 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 within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) from the closing of our IPO 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 through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities.
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We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from shareholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. The current economic environment may make it difficult for companies to obtain acquisition financing. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.30 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.30 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Unlike some other similar blank check companies, we have only 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) to consummate an initial business combination. We may not be able to consummate an initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) after the closing of our IPO, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate.
Unlike some other similar blank check companies, we have only 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) to consummate an initial business combination. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and consummate an initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) after the closing of our IPO. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. For example, the outbreak of COVID-19 continues to grow both in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the outbreak on us depends on future developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, the outbreak of COVID-19 may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. Additionally, financial markets may be adversely affected by current or anticipated military conflict, including between Russia and Ukraine, terrorism, sanctions or other geopolitical events globally. If we have not consummated an initial business combination within such applicable time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our 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), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case, to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. 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. In either such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.30 per public share, or less than $10.30 per public share, on the redemption of their 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 $10.30 per public share” and other risk factors herein.
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Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced, which has and is continuing to spread throughout the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization classified the outbreak as a “pandemic.” The pandemic, together with resulting voluntary and U.S. federal and state and non-U.S. governmental actions, including, without limitation, mandatory business closures, public gathering limitations, restrictions on travel and quarantines, has meaningfully disrupted the global economy and markets. Although the long-term economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic is difficult to predict, it has and is expected to continue to have ongoing material adverse effects across many, if not all, aspects of the regional, national and global economy. The COVID-19 pandemic 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 the COVID-19 pandemic continues 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 the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our search for a business combination depends 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 the COVID-19 pandemic 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 the COVID-19 pandemic 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.
We may seek business combination opportunities with a high degree of complexity that require significant operational improvements, which could delay or prevent us from achieving our desired results.
We may seek business combination opportunities with large, highly complex companies that we believe would benefit from operational improvements. While we intend to implement such improvements, to the extent that our efforts are delayed or we are unable to achieve the desired improvements, the business combination may not be as successful as we anticipate.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a large complex business or entity with a complex operating structure, we may also be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine, which could delay or prevent us from implementing our strategy. Although our management team will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business and its operations, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors until we complete our business combination. If we are not able to achieve our desired operational improvements, or the improvements take longer to implement than anticipated, we may not achieve the gains that we anticipate. Furthermore, some of these risks and complexities may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks and complexities will adversely impact a target business. Such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a smaller, less complex organization.
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.
In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, more effort and more resources to identify a suitable target and to consummate an initial business combination.
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In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause target companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.
Risks relating to our securities
The NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on the NYSE. We cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on the NYSE in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on the NYSE prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels, such as a minimum market capitalization (generally $50,000,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders) Additionally, 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 the NYSE initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than the NYSE continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on the NYSE. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, our total market capitalization would be required to be at least $200.0 million, the aggregate market value of publicly held shares would be required to be at least $100.0 million and we would be required to have at least 400 round lot shareholders. We may not be able to meet those listing requirements at that time, especially if there are a significant number of redemptions in connection with our initial business combination.
If the NYSE delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
● | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
● | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
● | a determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
● | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
● | 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, as amended, 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 the NYSE, our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants 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 the NYSE, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under the statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Because we had net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the successful completion of the IPO and have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units are immediately tradable and we have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if the IPO was subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the IPO, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable for a fine of $18,292.68 and imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
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We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination.
In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or extraordinary general meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to appoint directors and to discuss company affairs with management. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term.
Registration of the shares of our Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.
If the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, holders of warrants will not be entitled to exercise such warrants and such warrants 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.
We have agreed, under the terms of the warrant agreement that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to our registration statement or a new registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter to use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following the closing of our initial business combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those 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 cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order.
If the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, under the terms of the warrant agreement, holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do so for cash and, instead, will be required to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. In no event will warrants be exercisable for cash or on a “cashless basis,” and we will not be obligated to issue any Class A ordinary shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder or an exemption from registration or qualification is available.
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 “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, not permit holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants to do so for cash and, instead, require them 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 or register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws and, in the event we do not so elect, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
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In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant or issue securities (other than upon a cashless exercise as described above) or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws.
The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders, holders of our private placement warrants and working capital warrants, and each of their respective permitted transferees 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 with our initial shareholders, holders of our private placement warrants, and each of working capital warrants and their respective permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the Class A ordinary shares into which founder shares are converted, 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 extension 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, holders of our private placement warrants or working capital warrants or their respective permitted transferees are registered for resale.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this annual report to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We and our officers have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
● | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
● | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
● | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt 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; |
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● | 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. |
Our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per founder share and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our Class A ordinary shares.
Our initial shareholders acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to the dilution of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the founder shares result in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon the conversion of the founder shares at the time of our initial business combination and would become exacerbated to the extent that public shareholders seek redemptions from the trust for their public shares. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A ordinary shares.
The nominal purchase price paid by our sponsor for the founder shares may result in significant dilution to the implied value of your public shares upon the consummation of our initial business combination.
The amount in our trust account is $10.30 per public share, implying an value of $10.30 per public share. However, prior to our IPO, our sponsor paid a nominal aggregate purchase price of $25,000 for the founder shares, or approximately $0.003 per share. As a result, the value of your public shares may be significantly diluted upon the consummation of our initial business combination, when the founder shares are converted into public shares. For example, the following table shows the dilutive effect of the founder shares on the implied value of the public shares upon the consummation of our initial business combination assuming that our equity value at that time is $228,850,000, which is the amount we would have for our initial business combination in the trust account after payment of $8,050,000 in deferred underwriting commissions, assuming no interest is earned on the funds held in the trust account, and no public shares are redeemed in connection with our initial business combination, and without taking into account any other potential impacts on our valuation at such time, such as the trading price of our public shares, the business combination transaction costs, any equity issued or cash paid to the target’s sellers or other third parties, or the target’s business itself, including its assets, liabilities, management and prospects, as well as the value of our public and private warrants. At such valuation, each of our ordinary shares would have an implied value of $7.46 per share upon consummation of our initial business combination, which is a 27.5% decrease as compared to the initial implied value per public share of $10.30.
Public shares | 23,000,000 | |||
Founder shares | 7,666,667 | |||
Total shares | 30,666,667 | |||
Total funds in trust available for initial business combination, after payment of deferred underwriting fees of $8,050,000 | $ | 228,850,000 | ||
Initial implied value per public share | $ | 10.30 | ||
Implied value per share upon consummation of initial business combination | $ | 7.46 | ||
Sponsor’s investment per share | $ | 0.003 |
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We may engage our underwriters or their affiliates to provide additional services to us after the initial public offering, which may include acting as financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred commissions that will be released from the trust only upon completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after the initial public offering, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
We may engage our underwriters or one of their affiliates to provide additional services to us, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing financial advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing. We may pay such underwriters or their affiliates fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation.. The underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. The underwriters’ or their respective affiliates’ financial interests tied to the consummation of a business combination may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
Certain of our warrants are accounted for as a warrant liability and will be recorded at fair value upon issuance with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings, which may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares or may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
We account for the 17,333,334 warrants issued in connection with our IPO (including the 7,666,667 warrants sold as part of the units in our IPO and the 9,666,667 private placement warrants) in accordance with the guidance contained in Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (ASC 815-40). Such guidance provides that because the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded as a liability. Accordingly, we classify each warrant as a liability at its fair value. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each such remeasurement, the warrant liability will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in our statement of operations and therefore our reported earnings. The impact of changes in fair value on earnings may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, potential targets may seek a SPAC that does not have warrants that are accounted for as a warrant liability, which may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem the outstanding public 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 splits, share dividends, 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, we expect would be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees.
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In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, 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, including that holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of Class A ordinary shares determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A ordinary shares. The value received upon exercise of the warrants (1) may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had exercised their warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (2) may not compensate the holders for the value of the warrants, including because the number of ordinary shares received is capped at 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us as so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees.
Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We issued warrants to purchase 7,666,667 of our Class A ordinary shares as part of the units offered in our IPO and, simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we issued in a private placement an aggregate of 9,666,667 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. In addition, if the sponsor, its affiliates or a member of our management team makes any working capital loans, it may convert up to $2,000,000 of such loans into up to an additional 1,333,333 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.50 per warrant. In addition, if our sponsor or its designees make any extension loans, up to $4,600,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender, The warrants would be in each case be identical to the private placement warrants. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares in connection with our redemption of our warrants.
To the extent we issue ordinary shares for any reason, including to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
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 a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB. These financial 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 within the prescribed time frame.
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Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate a business combination, require substantial financial and management resources and increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, would we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A ordinary shares and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions will include a staggered board of directors, the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference shares, and the fact that prior to the completion of our initial business combination only holders of our Class B ordinary shares, which have been issued to our initial shareholders, are entitled to vote on the appointment of directors, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) from the closing of our IPO, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such 15 months before redemption from our trust account.
If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) from the closing of our IPO, 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 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 Act. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond 15 months from the closing of our IPO 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.
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Holders of Class A ordinary shares will not be entitled to vote on any appointment or removal of directors and to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands prior to our initial business combination.
Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including, but not limited to, the approval of the organizational documents of our company in such other jurisdiction). Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors or to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands during such time. In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. Accordingly, you will not have any say in the management of our company prior to the consummation of an initial business combination.
The warrants may become exercisable and redeemable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares, and you will not have any information regarding such other security at this time.
In certain situations, including if we are not the surviving entity in our initial business combination, the warrants may become exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares. As a result, if the surviving company redeems your warrants for securities pursuant to the warrant agreement, you may receive a security in a company of which you do not have information at this time. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, the surviving company will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to register the issuance of the security underlying the warrants within twenty business days of the closing of an initial business combination.
Unlike some other similarly structured blank check companies, our initial shareholders have founder shares equal to 25% of our outstanding ordinary shares.
Our initial shareholders hold founder shares equal to 25% of the outstanding ordinary shares. This is different than some other similarly structured blank check companies in which the initial shareholders will only be issued an aggregate of 20% of the total number of shares to be outstanding prior to the initial business combination.
Unlike some other similarly structured blank check companies, our initial shareholders will receive additional Class A ordinary shares if we issue shares to consummate an initial business combination.
The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares (which such Class A ordinary shares delivered upon conversion will not have any redemption rights or be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account if we fail to consummate an initial business combination) at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof 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, 25% of the sum of (i) the total number of ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of our IPO, plus (ii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by us 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 of an interest in the target to us in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, any of its affiliates or any members of our management team upon conversion of working capital loans and extension 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. This is different than some other similarly structured blank check companies in which the initial shareholders will only be issued an aggregate of 20% of the total number of shares to be outstanding prior to the initial business combination.
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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 our Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants are issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement, or defective provision (ii) amending the provisions relating to cash dividends on ordinary shares as contemplated by and in accordance with the warrant agreement or (iii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants, provided that the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is required to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants 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.
Risks relating to our management team
Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and do not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for 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 and directors is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he or she may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers and directors are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. If our 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 which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. In addition, senior management of JPK and Inovia Capital will spend a vast majority, if not substantially all, of their business time on their other duties, including managing the Inovia Funds.
We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
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Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our key personnel, at least until we have consummated our initial business combination. None of our officers are required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, they will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote more substantial amounts of time to their other business activities, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs and could have a negative impact on our ability to consummate our initial business combination. In addition, we do not have employment agreements with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our officers. The unexpected loss of the services of our key personnel could have a detrimental effect on us.
The role of our key personnel after our initial business combination, however, remains to be determined. Although some of our key personnel may serve in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that most, if not all, of the management of the target business will remain in place. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a public company which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
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, our sponsor, upon and following consummation of an initial business combination, will be 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.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any 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. The officers and directors of an initial business combination candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an initial business combination candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the initial business combination candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place. As a result, we may need to reconstitute the management team of the post-transaction company in connection with our initial business combination, which may adversely impact our ability to complete an initial business combination in a timely manner or at all.
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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 or entities. 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, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.
In addition, JPK, Inovia Capital and our sponsor, officers and directors are and may in the future become affiliated with other blank check companies that may have acquisition objectives that are similar to ours. For example, Mr. Coleman, our Executive Vice President and General Counsel, is a member of the founding management team and Executive Vice-President and General Counsel of Trine II Acquisition Corp. and was a member of the founding management team and Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Trine since its initial public offering until its business combination with Desktop Metal was completed in December 2020. 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, subject to our officers’ and directors’ fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, executive officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or executive officers, although we do not intend to do so, or we may acquire a target business through an Affiliated Joint Acquisition with JPK, and/or one or more Inovia Funds or accounts advised by JPK or Inovia Capital and/or one or more investors in Inovia Funds. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our shareholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and we or our shareholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our shareholders’ rights. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
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We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or initial shareholders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, executive officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or initial shareholders. JPK, Inovia Capital and our sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, JPK, Inovia Capital and our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved, and such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Inovia Capital and its affiliates manage a number of Inovia Funds, which may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria and guidelines for a business combination and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or initial shareholders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Moreover, we may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity affiliated with JPK, Inovia Capital and/or one or more Inovia Funds and/or one or more investors in Inovia Funds. Any such parties may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such parties.
Since our initial shareholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire during or after our IPO), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On February 5, 2021, we entered into a securities subscription agreement with our sponsor whereby the sponsor agreed to pay $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in consideration of 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares each having a par or nominal value of $0.0001. On February 18, 2021, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of Martha Tredgett and Greg Greeley, in each case for consideration of $87, resulting in our sponsor holding 7,137,500 founder shares. On August 31, 2021, we effected a split of the issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares, resulting in our sponsor holding 7,613,335 founder shares, having a par or nominal value of approximately $0.00009 each, and Martha Tredgett and Greg Greeley each holding 26,666 founder shares, having a par or nominal value of approximately $0.00009 each. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination.
Concurrently with the completion of the IPO, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 9,666,667 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, at a price of $1.50 per warrant (approximately $14,500,000 in the aggregate). If we do not consummate an initial business within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) from the closing of our IPO, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The personal and financial interests of our executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 15-month (or up to 21-months, if applicable) anniversary of the closing of our IPO nears, which is the deadline for our consummation of an initial business combination.
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Since our sponsor and certain members of our board of directors paid only approximately $0.003 per share for the founder shares, our sponsor and members of our board of directors could potentially make a substantial profit even if we acquire a target business that subsequently declines in value.
Our sponsor and certain members of our board of directors acquired founder shares for approximately $0.003 per share and we offered units at a price of $10.00 per unit in our IPO; as a result, our sponsor and directors could make a substantial profit after the initial business combination even if public investors experience substantial losses and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. For example, assuming the value of the Class A ordinary shares is $10.00 following the initial business combination, public investors would not experience a profit (or a loss), but the 7,666,667 founder shares, which were purchased for an aggregate of $25,000, would be valued at $76,666,670 on an as-converted basis, reflecting appreciation of $9.997 per share. In addition, our sponsor will be able to obtain a full return on the capital invested in connection with our formation and initial public offering in any business combination resulting in an aggregate value of the founder shares equal to or greater than $14,525,000. Because the threshold at which a transaction will be profitable for our sponsor and directors is significantly lower than for investors, the interests of our management in deciding which opportunities to pursue may be misaligned with public investors.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
Involvement of members of our management and companies with which they are affiliated in civil disputes and litigation, governmental investigations or negative publicity unrelated to our business affairs could materially impact our ability to consummate an initial business combination.
Members of our management team and companies with which they are affiliated have been, and in the future will continue to be, involved in a wide variety of business affairs, including transactions, such as sales and purchases of businesses, and ongoing operations. As a result of such involvement, members of our management and companies with which they are affiliated in have been, and may in the future be, involved in civil disputes, litigation, governmental investigations and negative publicity relating to their business affairs. Any such claims, investigations, lawsuits or negative publicity may be detrimental to our reputation and could negatively affect our ability to identify and complete an initial business combination in a material manner and may have an adverse effect on the price of our securities.
After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all of our assets will be located outside the United States and, therefore, investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States, and all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.
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Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination.
In recent months, the market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed in ways adverse to us and our management team. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. These trends may continue into the future.
The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. However, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
In addition, even after we were to complete an initial business combination, our directors and officers could still be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to the initial business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity, and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors.
Risks associated with acquiring and operating a business in foreign countries
If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
● | costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations; |
● | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
● | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
● | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
● | exchange listing and/or delisting requirements; |
● | tariffs and trade barriers; |
● | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
● | local or regional economic policies and market conditions; |
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● | unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; |
● | longer payment cycles; |
● | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
● | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
● | rates of inflation; |
● | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
● | cultural and language differences; |
● | employment regulations; |
● | underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems; |
● | corruption; |
● | protection of intellectual property; |
● | social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances; |
● | regime changes and political upheaval; |
● | terrorist attacks, including the conflict in Ukraine and the surrounding region, natural disasters and wars; |
● | government appropriation of assets; and |
● | deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination or, if we complete such combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial business combination, our management may resign from their positions as officers or directors of the company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue may be derived from our operations in any such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and social conditions and government policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
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Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’ ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.
In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, and the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial business combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction.
General risk factors
We are a recently incorporated company with minimal operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a blank check company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and we commenced operations after obtaining funding through our initial public offering. Because we lack a long 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 not selected any specific business combination target and we may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
As of December 31, 2021, we had $1,486,972 in cash. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our cash reserves will be sufficient to complete our acquisition plans or that our plans to consummate an initial business combination will be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this annual report do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to continue as a going concern.
Past performance by JPK, Inovia Capital, our management team or any of their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience or performance, including related to blank check companies sponsored by JPK, Inovia Capital or their affiliates and the associated business combinations is not a guarantee of either (i) our ability to successfully identify and execute a transaction or (ii) success with respect to any business combination that we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of JPK, Inovia Capital, our management team or any of their respective affiliates as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward. In addition, Inovia Capital advises funds and accounts which have investment mandates that overlap with ours and therefore may compete for investment opportunities with us, and Inovia Capital will not be obligated to present any investment opportunities to us over the funds and accounts it manages.
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Certain agreements related to our IPO may be amended without shareholder approval.
Certain agreements, including the underwriting agreement relating to our IPO, the letter agreement among us and our sponsor, officers and directors, and the registration rights agreement among us and our initial shareholders, may be amended without shareholder approval. These agreements contain various provisions that our public shareholders might deem to be material. While we do not expect our board to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to any such agreement in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Any such amendments would not require approval from our shareholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
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 find our securities less attractive because we 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 election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
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We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section entitled “Taxation—United States Federal income tax considerations—Passive foreign investment company rules” in our prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4) (File No. 333-253273)) of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend on whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception (see “Taxation—United States Federal income tax considerations—U.S. holders—Passive foreign investment company rules”). Depending on the particular circumstances the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Additionally, even if we qualify for the start-up exception with respect to a given taxable year, there cannot be any assurance that we would not be a PFIC in other taxable years. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Moreover, if we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, upon written request, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) may require, including a PFIC Annual Information Statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election with respect to their Class A ordinary shares, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. investors to consult their tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules.
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders or warrant holders.
We may, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite shareholder approval under the Companies Act, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction. The transaction may require a shareholder or warrant holder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrant holder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrant holders to pay such taxes. Shareholders or warrant holders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
Our initial business combination and our structure thereafter may not be tax-efficient to our shareholders and warrant holders. As a result of our business combination, our tax obligations may be more complex, burdensome and uncertain.
Although we will attempt to structure our initial business combination in a tax-efficient manner, tax structuring considerations are complex, the relevant facts and law are uncertain and may change, and we may prioritize commercial and other considerations over tax considerations. For example, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to any requisite shareholder approval, we may structure our business combination in a manner that requires shareholders and/or warrant holders to recognize gain or income for tax purposes, effect a business combination with a target company in another jurisdiction, or reincorporate in a different jurisdiction (including, but not limited to, the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located). We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrant holders to pay taxes in connection with our business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, a shareholder or a warrant holder may need to satisfy any liability resulting from our initial business combination with cash from its own funds or by selling all or a portion of the shares received. In addition, shareholders and warrant holders may also be subject to additional income, withholding or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after our initial business combination.
In addition, we may effect a business combination with a target company that has business operations outside of the United States, and possibly, business operations in multiple jurisdictions. If we effect such a business combination, we could be subject to significant income, withholding and other tax obligations in a number of jurisdictions with respect to income, operations and subsidiaries related to those jurisdictions. Due to the complexity of tax obligations and filings in other jurisdictions, we may have a heightened risk related to audits or examinations by U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. taxing authorities. This additional complexity and risk could have an adverse effect on our after-tax profitability and financial condition.
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The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of a special resolution, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.
Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to the rights of a company’s shareholders, without approval by a certain percentage of the company’s shareholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions related to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of our IPO and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by special resolution and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our ordinary shares; provided that the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination may only be amended by a special resolution passed by not less than 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting at our general meeting. Our initial shareholders and their respective permitted transferees, if any, who collectively beneficially own, on an as-converted basis, 25% of our Class A ordinary shares, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to agreements 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 within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) from the closing of our IPO 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 Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares. Our shareholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, executive officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our shareholders would need to pursue a shareholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
Our initial shareholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial shareholders own, on an as-converted basis, 25% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. If our initial shareholders purchase any additional Class A ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Neither our initial shareholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this annual report. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were appointed by our sponsor, is divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being appointed in each year. We may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual general meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for appointment and our initial shareholders, because of their ownership position, will control the outcome, as only holders of our Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote on the appointment and removal of directors and to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including, but not limited to, the approval of the organizational documents of our company in such other jurisdiction) prior to our initial business combination. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our initial shareholders.
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Our warrant agreement designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our warrant agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We have waived any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement do not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.
This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits or may result in increased costs for investors to bring a claim. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
Because each unit contains one-third of one redeemable warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.
Each unit contains one-third of one redeemable warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole units will trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one whole warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-third of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if a unit included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
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A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike most blank check companies, if (i) we issue additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per ordinary share, (ii) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (iii) the Market Value is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
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 are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We 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.
We have been advised by Walkers, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
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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.
Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of JPK, Inovia Capital and third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early-stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.
Since only holders of our founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors, the NYSE may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.
Only holders of our founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. As a result, the NYSE may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE corporate governance standards. Under the NYSE corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
● | we have a board that includes a majority of “independent directors,” as defined under the rules of the NYSE; |
● | we have a compensation committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and |
● | we have a nominating and corporate governance committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities. |
We do not intend to utilize these exemptions and intend to comply with the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE, subject to applicable phase-in rules. However, if we determine in the future to utilize some or all of these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements.
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.
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We are subject to changing law and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of non-compliance.
We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the SEC, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from seeking a business combination target.
Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.
In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, more effort and more resources to identify a suitable target and to consummate an initial business combination.
In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause target companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.
Item 1B. | Unresolved Staff Comments. |
None.
Item 2. | Properties. |
We currently maintain our executive offices at 228 Park Avenue S PMB 74335, New York, New York 10003-1502. The cost for our use of this space is included in the fee in an amount not to exceed $33,333 per month we pay to an affiliate of our sponsor for office space and secretarial and administrative services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Item 3. | Legal Proceedings. |
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such, and we and the members of our management team have not been subject to any such proceeding in the 12 months preceding the date hereof.
Item 4. | Mine Safety Disclosures. |
None.
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PART II
Item 5. | Market for Registrant’s Ordinary Shares, Related Shareholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities. |
Market Information.
Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are traded on the NYSE under the symbols “FLYA.U”, “FLYA” and “FLYA.WS”, respectively.
Holders
Although there are a larger number of beneficial owners, at March 25, 2022, there was one holder of record of our units, one holder of record of our separately traded Class A ordinary shares and one holder of record of our separately traded 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 our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination and subject to the company having funds lawfully available for distribution under Cayman Islands law. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination is within the discretion of our board of directors at such time and subject to the company having funds lawfully available for distribution under Cayman Islands law. If we incur any indebtedness in connection with a business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
On September 20, 2021, we completed our IPO of 23,000,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $230,000,000. Each unit consists of one Class A ordinary share of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share, and one-third of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to certain adjustments. Following the closing of the IPO, an aggregate of $236,900,000 was placed in the trust account.
The Company incurred $13,412,940 of offering costs in connection with the IPO, comprised of $762,940 of deal costs, $4,600,000 of underwriters’ discount paid, and $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the trust account solely in the event the Company completes a business combination. There has been no material change in the planned use of proceeds from the IPO as described in our final prospectus dated September 13, 2021, which was filed with the SEC.
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Concurrently with the completion of the IPO, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 9,666,667 warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant, or $14,500,000 in the aggregate. An aggregate of $236,900,000 was placed in a trust account at the time of closing of the IPO. Each whole private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to certain adjustments.
Item 6. | [Reserved]. |
Item 7. | MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS |
The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands on January 29, 2021 formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. We intend to effectuate our Business Combination using cash derived from the proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, our shares, debt or a combination of cash, shares and debt.
We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to complete a Business Combination will be successful.
Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities from January 29, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the Initial Public Offering, described below, and identifying a target company for a Business Combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our Business Combination. We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on investments 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 for due diligence expenses.
For the period from January 29, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, we had a net income of $2,965,710, which consists of the change in fair value of warrant liabilities of $3,595,333 and interest earned on marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $3,949, offset by formation and operational costs of $260,378 and transaction costs allocated to warrants associated with the Initial Public Offering of $373,194.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources
On September 20, 2021, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 23,000,000 Units, which includes the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 3,000,000 Units at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $230,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the sale of 9,666,667 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $14,500,000.
Following the Initial Public Offering, the full exercise of the over-allotment option, and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, a total of $236,900,000 was placed in the Trust Account. We incurred $13,412,940 in Initial Public Offering related costs, including $4,600,000 of underwriting fees, $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $762,940 of other costs.
For the period from January 29, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, cash used in operating activities was $771,187. Net income of $2,965,710 was affected by the formation cost paid by the Sponsor in exchange for issuance of Founder Shares of $5,000, interest earned on marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $3,949, transaction costs allocated to warrants associated with the Initial Public Offering of $373,194, and the change in fair value of warrant liabilities of $3,595,333. Changes in operating assets and liabilities further reduced cash by $515,809.
As of December 31, 2021, we had investments held in the Trust Account of $236,903,949 in a money market fund invested in cash, U.S. Treasury bills, notes, and other obligations issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Treasury. We may withdraw interest from the Trust Account to pay taxes, if any. 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 income taxes payable), to complete our Business Combination. To the extent that our share capital or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our 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.
As of December 31, 2021, we had cash of $1,486,972. We intend to use the funds held outside the Trust Account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, structure, negotiate and complete a Business Combination.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor, or certain of our officers and directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete a Business Combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our Trust Account would be used for such repayment. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant, at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants.
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We have 15 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering to complete a Business Combination (or up to 21 months if it extends the period of time to consummate a Business Combination in accordance with the terms described below). If we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate a Business Combination within 15 months, we may, but are not obligated to, extend the period of time to consummate a Business Combination two times by an additional three months each time (for a total of up to 21 months to complete a Business Combination); provided that the Sponsor (or its designees) must deposit into the trust account funds equal to an aggregate of $2,300,000 or $0.10 per Public Share, on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline for each of the available three month extensions, providing a total possible business combination period of 21 months at a total payment value of $4,600,000, in exchange for a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note (an “Extension Loan”). Any such Extension Loan may be converted into Private Placement Warrants, at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a Business Combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial Business Combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our Business Combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such Business Combination.
Going Concern
We have until December 20, 2022 to consummate a Business Combination (or up to June 20, 2023, if applicable). It is uncertain that we will be able to consummate a Business Combination by this time. If a Business Combination is not consummated by this date, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution. Management has determined that the mandatory liquidation, should a Business Combination not occur, and potential subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should we be required to liquidate after December 20, 2022.
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
The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $8,050,000 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Critical Accounting Policies
Accounting policies, methods and estimates are an integral part of the financial statements prepared by management and are based upon management’s current judgments. These judgments are normally based on knowledge and experience regarding past and current events and assumptions about future events. Certain accounting policies, methods and estimates are particularly sensitive because of their significance to the financial statements and because of the possibility that future events affecting them may differ from management’s current judgments. While there are a number of accounting policies, methods and estimates that affect our financial statements, the areas that are particularly significant include use of estimates; Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption; net income (loss) per ordinary share; and the fair value of assets and liabilities.
Our significant accounting policies are summarized in Note 2 to our financial statements.
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Item 7A. | Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk |
Following the consummation of our Initial Public Offering, the net proceeds of our Initial Public Offering, including amounts in the Trust Account, have been 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 US treasuries. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
Item 8. | Financial Statements and Supplementary Data |
This information appears following Item 15 of this Report and is included herein by reference.
Item 9. | Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure |
None.
Item 9A. | Controls and Procedures. |
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this Report, is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management evaluated, with the participation of our current chief executive officer and chief financial officer (our “Certifying Officers”), the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2021, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our Certifying Officers concluded that, as of December 31, 2021, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9B. | Other Information. |
None.
Item 9C. | Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections. |
Not applicable.
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PART III
Item 10. | Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance. |
Our current directors and executive officers are as follows:
Name | Age | Title | ||
Joe Poulin | 40 | Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors | ||
Vicky Bathija | 37 | Executive Vice President Chief Financial Officer | ||
Mark J. Coleman | 63 | Executive Vice President and General Counsel | ||
Peter Kern | 54 | Director | ||
Chris Arsenault | 50 | Director | ||
Patrick Pichette | 59 | Director | ||
Martha Tredgett | 55 | Director | ||
Greg Greeley | 58 | Director |
Joe Poulin has served as our Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman of our board of directors since February 2021. Mr. Poulin has served as Founder and Managing Partner of JPK Capital Management, Inc., his family office, since 2017. Previously, Mr. Poulin was Vice President of Airbnb’s global luxury business from February 2017 to 2019. Prior to that, he served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Luxury Retreats International Holdings, Inc., which he founded in 1999, until its sale to Airbnb, Inc. in February 2017. Mr. Poulin serves as Chairman of the board of directors for Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited and is on the board of advisors of Wheels Up. Mr. Poulin was selected as our Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman of our board of directors due to his significant leadership, investing and operating experience in the technology and technology-enabled industries.
Vicky Bathija has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since February 2021. Mr. Bathija has fifteen years of investment banking, private equity and operating experience. Prior to joining JPK Capital in March 2020, Mr. Bathija was Head of Hospitality at Airbnb, Inc.’s luxury division where he led a global operations team and worked closely with product, engineering, design, and data science teams to drive scale and efficiency. Prior to joining Airbnb, Inc., from 2015 to 2017, Mr. Bathija was EVP, Corporate Development & Investor Relations at Hemisphere Media Group, Inc. and was responsible for identifying investment opportunities as well as managing all capital markets activities and investor relations policies. Prior to joining Hemisphere, from 2008 through 2015, Mr. Bathija was employed at InterMedia Partners VII, LP (a private equity fund), most recently as Vice President and was responsible for evaluating potential new investments, all aspects of deal execution and oversight of existing portfolio companies. Prior to joining InterMedia Partners VII, LP, Mr. Bathija was an investment banker in the Healthcare group at Bank of America in New York, where he provided capital raising and advisory services to a broad range of public and private healthcare clients. Mr. Bathija serves on the board of directors of Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited. Mr. Bathija holds a B.S. from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University and is a CFA® charterholder.
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Mark J. Coleman has served as our Executive Vice President and General Counsel since February 2021. Mr. Coleman has served as General Counsel to JPK Capital Management, Inc. since February 2017 and Executive Vice President and General Counsel to InterMedia Advisors, LLC since 2005. Mr. Coleman is currently Executive Vice-President and General Counsel of Trine II Acquisition Corp. and was Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Trine Acquisition Corp. from March 2019 to January 2021. Mr. Coleman is also an Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the fund that manages the controlling shareholder of Hemisphere Media Group, Inc. Previously, Mr. Coleman was Executive Vice President and General Counsel of The YES Network, the regional sports network home of the New York Yankees, which he co-founded in June 2001. Prior to YES, Mr. Coleman was Executive Vice President and General Counsel at GlobalCenter Inc., a Silicon Valley-based internet services and web-hosting company. Previously, from June 1998 to December 1999, Mr. Coleman was a Senior Partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, prior to which he was a Partner at Pillsbury Madison & Sutro LLP, which he joined in 1984. Mr. Coleman serves on the board of directors of TILT Holdings Inc. He has a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.A. from Pomona College.
Peter Kern has served as a director on our board of directors since February 2021. Mr. Kern is the Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Expedia Group, Inc. Mr. Kern has been a director of Expedia Group, Inc. since the completion of the Expedia Group, Inc. spin-off from IAC in 2005 and has served as Vice Chairman of Expedia Group, Inc. since June 2018. Previously, Mr. Kern was CEO of Tribune Media Company from March 2017 to September 2019. In addition, he was Managing Partner of InterMedia Partners VII, LP, a private equity fund. Prior to joining InterMedia, Mr. Kern was Senior Managing Director and Principal of Alpine Capital LLC. Prior to Alpine Capital, Mr. Kern founded Gemini Associates in 1996 and served as President from its inception through its merger with Alpine Capital in 2001. Prior to founding Gemini Associates, Mr. Kern was at the Home Shopping Network and Whittle Communications. Mr. Kern had served on the board of directors of Tribune Media Company from October 2016 until its sale to Nexstar Media Group, Inc. in 2019, as Chairman of the board of directors of Hemisphere Media Group, Inc., a publicly-traded Spanish-language media company, since April 2013, and as a member of supervisory board of trivago N.V., a majority-owned subsidiary of Expedia Group, Inc., since 2016. Mr. Kern also serves on the boards of several private companies. Mr. Kern holds a B.S. degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Kern was selected as a director on our board of directors due to his significant leadership and operating experience in the technology and technology-enabled industries.
Chris Arsenault has served as a director on our board of directors since February 2021. Mr. Arsenault co-founded Inovia Capital in 2007 and leveraged his entrepreneurial instincts to not only shape the culture of the firm, but also its vision and path forward which led to the inception of Inovia Capital’s growth funds. He currently serves as a director on the boards of AppDirect, Inc, Poka Inc., Snapcommerce Technologies Inc., Groupe Dynamite Inc., Local House International, Inc., Talent.com Inc. and previously served on a number of other boards, including Lightspeed POS Inc. (until its IPO), Luxury Retreats International Inc. (acquired by Airbnb, Inc. in 2017), Reflex Photonics, Inc. (acquired by Smiths Interconnect Group Limited in 2019), and Well.ca (acquired by McKesson Corporation in 2017). Mr. Arsenault is also a board member of Montreal Heart Institute Foundation, and of Forum AI Québec (part of the Quebec Supercluster for Artificial Intelligence), and a Charter Member of Silicon Valley based The C100. Mr. Arsenault was selected as a director on our board of directors due to his significant leadership experience in finance and the technology and technology-enabled industries.
Patrick Pichette has served as a director on our board of directors since February 2021. Mr. Pichette has served as a Partner at Inovia Capital since April 2018, leading the firm’s European operations from its London, UK offices. Mr. Pichette served as Chairman of Twitter, Inc. from 2020 to 2021, served as the lead independent director from 2018 to 2020 and a director since 2017. From 2013 to 2017, Mr. Pichette served as a director of Bombardier Inc. Previously, Mr. Pichette served as the Chief Financial Officer of Google Inc. from 2008 to 2015. Mr. Pichette also serves as the Chairman of the board of directors of Lightspeed POS Inc., is a director of Hopper Inc., GoForward, Inc., Zwift, Inc., Wealthsimple Financial Corp. and NEO4J, Inc. Mr. Pichette is also a founding member of the Oxford University Creative Destruction Lab, an early stage incubator hosted at the Saïd Business School, and a board member of the Kenauk Institute. Mr. Pichette was selected as a director on our board of directors due to his significant leadership experience in the technology and technology-enabled industries.
Martha Tredgett has served as a director on our board of directors since February 2021. Ms. Tredgett is a Managing Partner of Sera Global (f/k/a BFIN), which she joined in October 2020 to lead the Private Capital Advisory coverage within Canada. Ms. Tredgett joined Sera Global after working with LGT Capital Partners, a provider of alternative investment solutions. Previously, she served as a Managing Director for a division of Bear Stearns/J.P. Morgan in Toronto. Earlier in her career, Ms. Tredgett worked as a Director and Vice President in Institutional Equities at UBS and Credit Suisse First Boston respectively, in London, Paris & New York. Ms. Tredgett earned a post-graduate degree in Business (D.B.S.) in 1990 from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor of Commerce in International Business from McGill University in 1989. Ms. Tredgett is currently serving on the Investment Committee of the Royal Ontario Museum and the Investment Committee for the Canada Council for the Arts. Ms. Tredgett was selected as a director on our board of directors due to her significant leadership experience in finance.
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Greg Greeley has served as a director on our board of directors since February 2021. Mr. Greeley has been the president and COO of Opentrons and Chairman, Marketplace of Wheels Up since January 2021. Mr. Greeley was President of Airbnb Homes from March 2018 until July 2020, overseeing all aspects of the Homes & Stays business. From 1999 to 2018, Mr. Greeley served various roles at Amazon.com, Inc. including overseeing: the Global Prime program, International Expansion, the European consumer and marketplace businesses, Worldwide Media (books, music, video, software and video games), and GlobalWorldwide Retail & Marketing Finance. Prior to Amazon, Mr. Greeley held leadership positions at Sun Microsystems, United Airlines, and McDonnell Douglas. He holds an M.B.A. from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, an M.S. in Systems Management from the University of Southern California, and a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Washington. Mr. Greeley was selected as a director on our board of directors due to his significant leadership and operating experience in the technology and technology-enabled industries.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors is divided into three classes, with only one class of directors being appointed in each year, and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Martha Tredgett and Greg Greeley, will expire at our first annual general meeting. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Patrick Pichette and Peter Kern, will expire at our second annual general meeting. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Joe Poulin and Chris Arsenault, will expire at our third annual general meeting.
Prior to the completion of an initial business combination, any vacancy on the board of directors may be filled by a nominee chosen by holders of a majority of our founder shares. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.
Our sponsor, upon and following consummation of an initial business combination, is be 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.
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our officers may consist of one or more chairman of the board, chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, vice presidents, secretary, treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Director Independence
The NYSE listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. Our board of directors has determined that each of Peter Kern, Chris Arsenault, Patrick Pichette, Martha Tredgett and Greg Greeley are “independent directors” as defined in the NYSE listing standards. Our independent directors will have an annual executive session at which only independent directors are present.
Executive Officer and Director Compensation
None of our executive officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Until the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will reimburse an affiliate of our sponsor for office space and secretarial and administrative services provided to us in an amount not to exceed $33,333 per month. In addition, our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
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After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has three standing committees: an audit committee, a nominating committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of the NYSE and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of the NYSE require that the compensation committee and the nominating committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors.
Audit Committee
Chris Arsenault, Patrick Pichette and Martha Tredgett serve as members of our audit committee. Our board of directors has determined that each of Chris Arsenault, Patrick Pichette and Martha Tredgett is independent under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Chris Arsenault serves as the Chairman of the audit committee. Under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules, all the directors on the audit committee must be independent. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Chris Arsenault qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
The audit committee is responsible for:
● | 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; |
● | 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; |
● | 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 the initial public offering and, if any noncompliance is identified, immediately taking all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise causing compliance with the terms of the initial public offering; 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. |
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Nominating committee
The members of our nominating committee are Chris Arsenault and Patrick Pichette, and Chris Arsenault serves as chairman of the nominating committee. Under the NYSE listing standards, we are required to have a nominating committee composed entirely of independent directors. Our board of directors has determined that each of Chris Arsenault and Patrick Pichette is independent.
The nominating committee is responsible for overseeing the selection of persons to be nominated to serve on our board of directors. The nominating committee considers persons identified by its members, management, shareholders, investment bankers and others.
Guidelines for selecting director nominees
The guidelines for selecting nominees, which will be specified in a charter to be adopted by us, generally will 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 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 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 committee does not distinguish among nominees recommended by shareholders and other persons.
Compensation committee
The members of our compensation committee are Chris Arsenault and Patrick Pichette, and Chris Arsenault serves as chairman of the compensation committee. Under the NYSE listing standards, we are required to have a compensation committee composed entirely of independent directors. Our board of directors has determined that each of Chris Arsenault and Patrick Pichette is independent. We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
● | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer 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; |
● | 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. |
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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 the NYSE and the SEC.
Compensation committee interlocks and insider participation
None of our executive officers currently serves, and in the past year has not served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of directors.
Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, requires our officers, directors and persons who beneficially own more than ten percent of our ordinary shares to file reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the SEC. These reporting persons are also required to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms they file. Based solely upon a review of such forms, we believe that during the period from January 29, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, there were no delinquent filers.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees.
You may review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Corporate Governance Guidelines
Our board of directors adopted corporate governance guidelines in accordance with the corporate governance rules of the NYSE that serve as a flexible framework within which our board of directors and its committees operate. These guidelines cover a number of areas including board membership criteria and director qualifications, director responsibilities, board agenda, roles of the chairman of the board, chief executive officer and presiding director, meetings of independent directors, committee responsibilities and assignments, board member access to management and independent advisors, director communications with third parties, director compensation, director orientation and continuing education, evaluation of senior management and management succession planning. A copy of our corporate governance guidelines is posted on our website.
Conflicts of Interest
Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:
● | duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the company as a whole; |
● | duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose; |
● | directors should not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion; |
● | duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders; |
● | duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a conflict between their duty to the company and their personal interests; and |
● | duty to exercise independent judgment. |
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In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of care which is not fiduciary in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the company and the general knowledge skill and experience of that director.
As set out above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be forgiven and/or authorized in advance by the shareholders, provided that there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by way of permission granted in the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.
JPK, Inovia Capital and certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary and contractual duties to other entities. As a result, if any of JPK, Inovia Capital or our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, then, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, he or she will need to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, before we can pursue such opportunity. If these other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
Inovia Capital and its affiliates manage a number of Inovia Funds, which may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these Inovia Funds decide to pursue any such opportunity or have existing investments in the issuer of such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. In addition, investment ideas generated within Inovia Capital, including by any director affiliated with Inovia Capital, may be suitable for both us and for a current or future Inovia Fund and, in such a case, will be directed to such Inovia Fund rather than to us. Neither Inovia Capital nor, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, any members of our management team who are also employed by Inovia Capital have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware. Inovia Capital and/or members of our management team, in their capacities as officers, directors or employees of Inovia Capital or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future Inovia Funds, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us.
In addition, we may be limited in our ability to make investments and to sell existing investments because JPK or Inovia Capital may have material, non-public information regarding the issuers of the applicable securities or as a result of an existing investment by JPK or an Inovia Fund. We may acquire a target from or, in which, JPK or one or more Inovia Funds have an existing investment (or makes an investment at the same time or subsequently) at a different or overlapping level of the target’s capital structure, creating a potential conflict between our position and JPK or the applicable Inovia Funds’ position especially in the event of a bankruptcy. JPK, JPK employees, Inovia Capital, Inovia Capital employees and Inovia Funds may also have or make investments in, establish or serve on the boards of, businesses that compete with, provide services to, transact with, or otherwise have significant business relationships with the businesses we invest or seek to invest in. We may also forego an attractive investment opportunity as a result of an existing investment in the target or a competitor of the target by JPK, an Inovia Fund or principals or employees of JPK or Inovia Capital, or to otherwise mitigate any conflict of interest or the perception of any conflict of interest.
JPK, Inovia Capital and our sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, JPK, Inovia Capital and our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates. In addition, JPK, Inovia Capital and our sponsor, officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time or resources to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time and resources among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.
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We may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with one or more entities affiliated with JPK, Inovia Capital and/or one or more Inovia Funds and/or one or more investors in Inovia Funds. Such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such entity. Any participation by such entity in a Joint Acquisition or co-investment may be under terms that are different and more favorable to such entity than those applicable to us. Expenses incurred in connection with any Joint Acquisition or co-investment (including any broken deal expenses) may get allocated between us and such entity, which allocation is inherently subjective and creates a conflict of interest between JPK, Inovia Capital and us.
Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties, contractual obligations or other material management relationships:
Name of Individual | Entity Name | Entity’s Business | Affiliation | |||
Joe Poulin(1) | JPK Capital Management, Inc. | Asset Management | Managing Partner | |||
Wheels Up | Private Aviation | Advisor | ||||
Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited | Insurance | Chairman | ||||
Vicky Bathija | JPK Capital Management, Inc. | Asset Management | Partner | |||
Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited | Insurance | Director | ||||
Mark J. Coleman | Trine II Acquisition Corp. | Media | Executive Vice President and General Counsel | |||
InterMedia Advisors, LLC | Private Equity | General Counsel | ||||
JPK Capital Management, Inc. | Asset Management | General Counsel | ||||
TILT Holdings Inc. | Cannabis | Director | ||||
Peter Kern | Expedia Group, Inc. | Travel | Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | |||
Hemisphere Media Group, Inc. | Media | Chairman of the Board | ||||
Trivago N.V. | Travel | Member of the Supervisory Board | ||||
TV Squared Limited | TV Data Analytics | Director | ||||
Chris Arsenault(2) | AppDirect Inc. | E-commerce | Director, Chair of the Compensation & HR Committee and Member of the Finance & Audit Committee | |||
Inovia Capital Inc. | Venture Capital | Director, President and Chief Executive Officer | ||||
Poka Inc. | Manufacturing - Collaboration | Director and Chair of the Finance & Audit Committee | ||||
Snapcommerce Technologies Inc. | Travel | Director, Chair of the Finance & Audit Committee and Member of the Compensation Committee | ||||
Groupe Dynamite, Inc. | Retail | Director and Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee | ||||
Local House International Inc. | Travel | Director | ||||
Talent.com Inc. | Recruiting | Director | ||||
Patrick Pichette(2) | Lightspeed POS Inc. | E-commerce | Director, Lead Independent Chair and Member of the Audit Committee | |||
Twitter, Inc. | Social Media | Director and Chair of the Audit Committee | ||||
Zwift, Inc. | Fitness | Director | ||||
GoForward, Inc. | Healthcare | Director | ||||
Hopper Inc. | Travel | Director | ||||
Inovia Capital Inc. | Venture Capital | Director | ||||
NEO4J, Inc. | Graph Database | Director | ||||
Wealthsimple Inc. | Fintech | Director & Chair of Audit Committee | ||||
Martha Tredgett | Sera Global (f/k/a BFIN) | Financial Advisory | Managing Director | |||
LGT Capital Partners | Alternative Investments | Member of the Global Advisory Board | ||||
Greg Greeley | Opentrons Labworks Inc. | Automation | President and Chief Operating Officer | |||
Tapas Capital LLC | Venture Capital | Advisor | ||||
Wheels Up | Private Aviation | Advisor | ||||
TCV | Venture Capital | Advisor |
(1) | Includes accounts advised by JPK and affiliates. |
(2) | Includes funds and accounts advised by Inovia Capital and affiliates. |
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If any of the above executive officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for any of the above entities to which he or she has current fiduciary or contractual obligations, then, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity.
Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
● | Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and do not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for 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. |
● | Our initial shareholders subscribed for founder shares prior to the date of our initial public offering and purchased private placement warrants in a transaction that closed simultaneously with the closing of the initial public offering. |
● | 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 redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) 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 within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if applicable) from the closing of our initial public offering or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. Additionally, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. Except as described herein, our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. In addition, our sponsor has agreed, subject to exceptions, not to transfer any unvested founder shares prior to the date such securities become vested. Except as described herein, the private placement warrants will not be transferable until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. Because our directors own ordinary shares or warrants directly or indirectly, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. |
● | Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors is included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. In addition, JPK, Inovia Capital and our sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates. |
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We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, JPK, Inovia Capital, or our officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor or any of JPK, Inovia Capital or our officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
Furthermore, in no event will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or their respective affiliates, be paid by us any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination. We also reimburse an affiliate of our sponsor for office space and secretarial and administrative services provided to us in an amount not to exceed $33,333 per month.
We cannot assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares in favor of our initial business combination.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, willful neglect, civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide for indemnification of our officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect. We have entered into agreements with our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. We purchased a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.
Our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination.
Our indemnification obligations may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
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Item 11. | Executive Compensation. |
None of our executive officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Until the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will reimburse an affiliate of our sponsor for office space and secretarial and administrative services provided to us in an amount not to exceed $33,333 per month. In addition, our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Item 12. | Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters. |
We have no compensation plans under which equity securities are authorized for issuance.
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this annual report, by:
● | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding ordinary shares; |
● | each of our executive officers and directors; and |
● | all our executive officers and directors as a group. |
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this annual report.
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Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned(2) | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Ordinary Shares | ||||||
SOAR Technology Sponsor, LP (our sponsor) | 7,613,335 | (3) | 24.8 | % | ||||
Sculptor Capital LP(4) | 1,600,000 | 7.0 | % | |||||
Citadel Advisors LLC(5) | 1,349,037 | 5.9 | % | |||||
Joe Poulin | 7,613,335 | (3) | 24.8 | % | ||||
Vicky Bathija | — | — | ||||||
Mark J. Coleman | — | — | ||||||
Peter Kern | — | — | ||||||
Chris Arsenault | — | — | ||||||
Patrick Pichette | — | — | ||||||
Martha Tredgett | 26,666 | * | ||||||
Greg Greeley | 26,666 | * | ||||||
All officers and directors as a group (8 individuals) | 7,666,667 | 25 | % |
(1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of our shareholders is 228 Park Avenue S PMB 74335, New York, New York 10003-1502. |
(2) | Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B ordinary shares. Such shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof as described in the section entitled “Description of securities.” |
(3) | Such shares are held in the name of our sponsor. JPK Seed is the general partner of our sponsor, and JPK Seed is controlled by Joe Poulin. The shares beneficially owned by our sponsor may also be deemed to be beneficially owned by JPK Seed and Joe Poulin. JPK Seed and Joe Poulin disclaim beneficial ownership of any shares held by our sponsor other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest they may have therein. |
(4) | According to Schedule 13G/A, filed on February 11, 2022 by Sculptor Capital LP (“Sculptor”), Sculptor, a Delaware limited partnership, is the principal investment manager to a number of private funds and discretionary accounts (collectively, the “Sculptor Accounts”). Sculptor Capital II LP (“Sculptor-II”), a Delaware limited partnership that is wholly owned by Sculptor, also serves as the investment manager to certain of the Sculptor Accounts. The Ordinary Shares are held in the Sculptor Accounts managed by Sculptor and Sculptor-II. Sculptor Capital Holding Corporation (“SCHC”), a Delaware corporation, serves as the general partner of Sculptor. Sculptor Capital Management, Inc. (“SCU”), a Delaware limited liability company, is a holding company that is the sole shareholder of SCHC and the ultimate parent company of Sculptor and Sculptor-II. Sculptor is the investment adviser to the following Sculptor Accounts: Sculptor Master Fund, Ltd. (“SCMF”), a Cayman Islands company, Sculptor Special Funding, LP (“NRMD”), a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership that is wholly owned by SCMF, and Sculptor Credit Opportunities Master Fund, Ltd. (“SCCO”) a Cayman Islands company. Sculptor-II is the investment adviser to the following Sculptor Accounts: Sculptor SC II LP (“NJGC”), a Delaware limited partnership and Sculptor Enhanced Master Fund, Ltd. (“SCEN”), a Cayman Islands company. The business address of each of these entities is 9 West 57th Street, New York, New York 10019. |
(5) | According to Schedule 13G/A, filed on February 14, 2022 by Citadel Advisors LLC (“Citadel Advisors”), Citadel Advisors Holdings LP (“CAH”), Citadel GP LLC (“CGP”), Citadel Securities LLC (“Citadel Securities”), Citadel Securities Group LP (“CALC4”), Citadel Securities GP LLC (“CSGP”) and Mr. Kenneth Griffin (collectively with Citadel Advisors, CAH, CGP, Citadel Securities, CALC4 and CSGP, the “Citadel Parties”). Mr. Griffin is the President and Chief Executive Officer of CGP, and owns a controlling interest in CGP and CSGP. The Citadel Parties own 1,349,037 ordinary shares through Citadel Multi-Strategy Equities Master Fund Ltd., a Cayman Islands company (“CM”), and Citadel Securities. Citadel Advisors is the portfolio manager for CM. CAH is the sole member of Citadel Advisors. CGP is the general partner of CAH. CALC4 is the non-member manager of Citadel Securities. CSGP is the general partner of CALC4. Such beneficially owned shares may include other instruments exercisable for or convertible into ordinary shares. The business address of such persons is 131 S. Dearborn Street, 32nd Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60603. |
Our initial shareholders beneficially own 25% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares and will have the right to appoint all of our directors and to vote to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including, but not limited to, the approval of the organizational documents of our company in such other jurisdiction) prior to our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to appoint any directors to our board of directors or to vote to continue our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands prior to our initial business combination. Because of this ownership block, our initial shareholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions including our initial business combination.
Our initial shareholders have agreed (a) to vote any founder shares and public shares held by them in favor of any proposed business combination and (b) not to redeem any founder shares or public shares held by them in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination.
Concurrently with the completion of the IPO, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 9,666,667 warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant, or $14,500,000 in the aggregate. An aggregate of $236,900,000 was placed in a trust account at the time of closing of the IPO. Each whole private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to certain adjustments.
Our sponsor and our executive officers and directors are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws. See “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence” below for additional information regarding our relationships with our promoters.
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Item 13. | Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence. |
On February 5, 2021, we entered into a subscription agreement with the sponsor, pursuant to which the sponsor agreed to pay $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in consideration of 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares, each having a par or nominal value of $0.0001. On February 18, 2021, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of Martha Tredgett and Greg Greeley, in each case for consideration of $87, resulting in our sponsor holding 7,137,500 founder shares. On August 31, 2021, we effected a split of the issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares, resulting in our sponsor holding 7,613,335 founder shares, each having a par or nominal value of approximately $0.00009, and Martha Tredgett and Greg Greeley each holding 26,666 founder shares, each having a par or nominal value of approximately $0.00009. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 25% of the issued and outstanding shares upon completion of our initial public offering. The founder shares (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
We have until 15 months from the closing of the initial public offering to consummate an initial business combination. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 15 months from the date of the initial public offering, we may extend the period of time to consummate a business combination two times by an additional three months each time (for a total of up to 21 months to complete a business combination). Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the trust agreement to be entered into between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company on the date of this annual report, in order to extend the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination, our sponsor or its affiliates or designees, upon five days advance notice prior to the deadline, must deposit into the trust account $2,300,000 ($0.10 per share) on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline for each of the available three month extensions, providing a total possible business combination period of 21 months at a total payment value of $4,600,000, in exchange for a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note. Such loans may be converted into warrants, at a price of $1.50 per warrant, at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Any such loans that are not converted to warrants will be non-interest bearing and payable upon the consummation of our initial business combination. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. If we do not complete a business combination, we will not repay such loans. Furthermore, the letter agreements with our initial shareholders contain a provision pursuant to which our sponsor has agreed to waive its right to be repaid for such loans out of the funds held in the trust account in the event that we do not complete a business combination. Our sponsor and its affiliates or designees are not obligated to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination.
As more fully discussed in the section of this annual report entitled “Management—Conflicts of interest,” if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, then, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us. Additionally, Inovia Capital and its affiliates manage a number of Inovia Funds, which may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. We may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity to which an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Any such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such entity.
We currently maintain our executive offices at 228 Park Avenue S PMB 74335, New York, New York 10003-1502. The cost for our use of this space is included in the fee in an amount not to exceed $33,333 per month we pay to an affiliate of our sponsor for office space and secretarial and administrative services, commencing on the date that our securities were first listed on the NYSE. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
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No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our sponsor, officers and directors, or 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 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.
Prior to the consummation of our IPO, our sponsor agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of the IPO. The loan was non-interest bearing, unsecured and was due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 and the closing of the IPO. The loan was repaid in full on October 22, 2021 as noted in the Form 10-Q dated November 11, 2021.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete an initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be converted into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, its affiliates or our management team as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our 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.
We will enter into a registration and shareholder rights agreement pursuant to which our sponsor will be entitled to certain registration rights with respect to the private placement warrants, the warrants issuable upon conversion of working capital loans and extension loans (if any) and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the foregoing and upon conversion of the founder shares, and, upon consummation of our initial business combination, to nominate three individuals for appointment to our board of directors, as long as our initial shareholders hold any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Related Party Policy
The audit committee of our board of directors adopted a charter providing for the review, approval and/or ratification of “related party transactions,” which are those transactions required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K as promulgated by the SEC, by the audit committee. At its meetings, the audit committee is provided with the details of each new, existing, or proposed related party transaction, including the terms of the transaction, any contractual restrictions that the company has already committed to, the business purpose of the transaction, and the benefits of the transaction to the company and to the relevant related party. Any member of the committee who has an interest in the related party transaction under review by the committee shall abstain from voting on the approval of the related party transaction, but may, if so requested by the chairman of the committee, participate in some or all of the committee’s discussions of the related party transaction. Upon completion of its review of the related party transaction, the committee may determine to permit or to prohibit the related party transaction.
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Director Independence
The rules of the NYSE require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our IPO. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person that, in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, has no material relationship with the listed company (either directly or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the company). We have “independent directors” as defined in the NYSE rules and applicable SEC rules. Our board has determined that each of Peter Kern, Chris Arsenault, Patrick Pichette, Martha Tredgett and Greg Greeley is an independent director under applicable SEC and NYSE rules. Our independent directors will have an annual executive session at which only independent directors are present.
Item 14. | Principal Accountant Fees and Services. |
The following is a summary of fees paid or to be paid to Marcum LLP, or Marcum, for services rendered.
Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by Marcum in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees billed by Marcum for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements, review of the financial information included in our Forms 10-Q for the respective periods and other required filings with the SEC for the period from January 29, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 totaled $98,880. The above amounts include services performed in connection with our Initial Public Offering, interim procedures and audit fees, as well as attendance at audit committee meetings.
Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related services consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. We did not pay Marcum for consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards for the period from January 29, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021.
Tax Fees. We did not pay Marcum for tax planning and tax advice for the period from January 29, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021.
All Other Fees. We did not pay Marcum for other for the period from January 29, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021.
Pre-Approval Policy
Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our Initial Public Offering. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
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Item 15. | Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules |
(a) The following documents are filed as part of this Form 10-K:
(1) Financial Statements:
(2) Financial Statement Schedules:
None.
(3) Exhibits
We hereby file as part of this Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Exhibits which are incorporated herein by reference can be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such material can also be obtained from the Public Reference Section of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549, at prescribed rates or on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
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* | Filed herewith |
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary.
Not applicable.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this annual report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in New York City, New York, on the 25th day of March, 2022.
|
SOAR TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP. | |
By: | /s/ Joe Poulin | |
Name: | Joe Poulin | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, this annual report has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Name | Position | Date | ||
/s/ Joe Poulin | Chief Executive Officer, | March 25, 2022 | ||
Joe Poulin | Chairman of the Board | |||
of Directors and Director | ||||
(Principal Executive Officer) | ||||
/s/ Vicky Bathija | Chief Financial Officer | March 25, 2022 | ||
Vicky Bathija | (Principal Financial and | |||
Accounting Officer) | ||||
/s/ Chris Arsenault | Director | March 25, 2022 | ||
Chris Arsenault | ||||
/s/ Greg Greeley | Director | March 25, 2022 | ||
Greg Greeley | ||||
/s/ Peter Kern | Director | March 25, 2022 | ||
Peter Kern | ||||
/s/ Patrick Pichette | Director | March 25, 2022 | ||
Patrick Pichette | ||||
/s/ Martha Tredgett | Director | March 25, 2022 | ||
Martha Tredgett |
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SOAR TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID #688) | F-2 |
Financial Statements: | |
Balance Sheet | F-3 |
Statement of Operations | F-4 |
Statement of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity | F-5 |
Statement of Cash Flows | F-6 |
Notes to Financial Statements | F-7 to F-20 |
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of
SOAR Technology Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of SOAR Technology Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021, the related statement of operations, changes in shareholders’ deficit and cash flows for the period from January 29, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from January 29, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, 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 the close of business on December 20, 2022 (or June 20, 2023, if applicable), then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. This date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (the “PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and any significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Marcum LLP
Marcum LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.
Los Angeles, CA
March 25, 2022
F-2
SOAR
TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
BALANCE SHEET
DECEMBER 31, 2021
ASSETS | ||||
Current assets | ||||
Cash | $ | 1,486,972 | ||
Prepaid expenses | 353,541 | |||
Total Current Assets | 1,840,513 | |||
Other noncurrent assets | 233,482 | |||
Investments held in Trust Account | 236,903,949 | |||
TOTAL ASSETS | $ | 238,977,944 | ||
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | ||||
Current liabilities | ||||
Accrued expenses | $ | 71,214 | ||
Accrued offering costs | 1,098 | |||
Total Current Liabilities | 72,312 | |||
Deferred underwriting fee payable | 8,050,000 | |||
Warrant liabilities | 10,189,334 | |||
Total Liabilities | 18,311,646 | |||
Commitments and Contingencies | ||||
Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, $0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; 23,000,000 shares at redemption value | 236,903,949 | |||
Shareholders’ Deficit | ||||
Preference shares, each having a par or nominal value of $0.0001; 5,000,000 shares authorized; | issued and outstanding||||
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized, | shares issued and outstanding (excluding 23,000,000 shares subject to possible redemption)||||
Class B ordinary shares, each having a par or nominal value of approximately $0.00009; 53,333,345.5 shares authorized; 7,666,667 shares issued and outstanding | 690 | |||
Accumulated deficit | (16,238,341 | ) | ||
Total Shareholders’ Deficit | (16,237,651 | ) | ||
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT | $ | 238,977,944 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-3
SOAR
TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JANUARY 29, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
Formation and operational costs | $ | 260,378 | ||
Loss from operations | (260,378 | ) | ||
Other income (expense): | ||||
Transaction costs allocated to warrants associated with the Initial Public Offering | (373,194 | ) | ||
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities | 3,595,333 | |||
Interest earned on investments held in Trust Account | 3,949 | |||
Other income, net | 3,226,088 | |||
Net income | $ | 2,965,710 | ||
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption | 7,029,674 | |||
Basic and diluted net income per share, Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption | $ | 0.21 | ||
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class B ordinary shares | 6,972,305 | |||
Basic and diluted net income per share, Class B ordinary shares | $ | 0.21 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-4
SOAR
TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JANUARY 29, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
Class A | Class B | Additional | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ordinary Shares | Ordinary Shares | Paid-in | Accumulated | Shareholders’ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Capital | Deficit | Deficit | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance – January 29, 2021 (inception) | $ | — | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of Class B ordinary shares to Sponsor | — | 7,666,667 | 690 | 24,310 | 25,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Sale of Private Placement Warrants | — | — | 6,742,595 | 6,742,595 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Remeasurement of Class A ordinary shares to redemption value | — | — | (6,766,905 | ) | (19,204,051 | ) | (25,970,956 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Net income | — | — | 2,965,710 | 2,965,710 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance – December 31, 2021 | — | $ | 7,666,667 | $ | 690 | $ | $ | (16,238,341 | ) | $ | (16,237,651 | ) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-5
SOAR
TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JANUARY 29, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | ||||
Net income | $ | 2,965,710 | ||
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||
Formation cost paid by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of Founder Shares | 5,000 | |||
Interest earned on investments held in the Trust Account | (3,949 | ) | ||
Transaction costs allocated to warrants associated with the Initial Public Offering | 373,194 | |||
Change in the fair value of warrant liability | (3,595,333 | ) | ||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||
Prepaid expenses | (353,541 | ) | ||
Other noncurrent assets | (233,482 | ) | ||
Accrued expenses | 71,214 | |||
Net cash used in operating activities | (771,187 | ) | ||
Cash Flows from Investing Activities: | ||||
Investment of cash in Trust Account | (236,900,000 | ) | ||
Net cash used in investing activities | (236,900,000 | ) | ||
Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | ||||
Proceeds from sale of Units, net of underwriting discounts paid | 225,400,000 | |||
Proceeds from sale of Private Placement Warrants | 14,500,000 | |||
Proceeds from promissory note – related party | 132,446 | |||
Repayment of promissory note – related party | (132,446 | ) | ||
Payment of offering costs | (741,841 | ) | ||
Net cash provided by financing activities | 239,158,159 | |||
Net Change in Cash | 1,486,972 | |||
Cash – Beginning | ||||
Cash – Ending | $ | 1,486,972 | ||
Non-Cash Investing and Financing Activities: | ||||
Initial classification of warrant liability | $ | 13,784,667 | ||
Initial value of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption | $ | 236,900,000 | ||
Offering costs paid directly by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of Founder Shares | $ | 20,000 | ||
Offering costs included in accrued offering costs | $ | 1,098 | ||
Deferred underwriting fee payable | $ | 8,050,000 | ||
Remeasurement of Class A ordinary shares to redemption value | $ | 25,970,956 |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-6
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
SOAR Technology Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on January 29, 2021. The Company was incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (a “Business Combination”).
The Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from January 29, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation, the initial public offering (“Initial Public Offering”), which is described below, and subsequent to the Initial Public Offering, identifying a target company for a Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of a Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering.
The Registration Statement on Form S-1, as amended (File No. 333-253273) (the “Registration Statement”) for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on September 15, 2021. On September 20, 2021, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 23,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”), which includes the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 3,000,000 Units at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $230,000,000, which is described in Note 3.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 9,666,667 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to SOAR Technology Sponsor, LP (the “Sponsor”), generating gross proceeds of $14,500,000, which is described in Note 4.
Transaction costs amounted to $13,412,940, consisting of $4,600,000 of underwriting fees, $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $762,940 of other offering costs.
Following the closing of the Initial Public Offering on September 20, 2021, an amount of $236,900,000 ($10.30 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) which will be invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), with a maturity of 185 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund meeting the conditions of Rule2a-7of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination or (ii) the distribution of the funds in the Trust Account to the Company’s shareholders, as described below.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward completing a Business Combination. The stock exchange listing rules require that the Business Combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (as defined below) (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the Trust Account). The Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-Business Combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully complete a Business Combination.
F-7
The Company will provide the holders of the Public Shares (the “Public Shareholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The Public Shareholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the Business Combination (initially anticipated to be $10.30 per Public Share), including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to certain limitations as described in the Company’s prospectus relating to its Initial Public Offering filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on September 17, 2021. The per-share amount to be distributed to the Public Shareholders who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters (as discussed in Note 6). There will be no redemption rights in connection with a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants.
If the Company seeks shareholder approval of the Business Combination, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination only if the Company receives an ordinary resolution or such other vote as required by law or stock exchange rule. If a shareholder vote is not required and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, and file tender offer documents containing substantially the same information as would be included in a proxy statement with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor has agreed to vote its Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of approving a Business Combination. Additionally, each Public Shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares, without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against a proposed Business Combination.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company seeks shareholder approval of the Business Combination and the Company does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, a Public Shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the Public Shares without the Company’s prior written consent.
Each initial shareholder has agreed (a) to waive its redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares and Public Shares held by it in connection with the completion of a Business Combination and (b) not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the Company’s initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period (as defined below) or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless the Company provides the Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the Trust account and not previously released to pay taxes, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares.
The Company will have until December 20, 2022 (or up to June 20, 2023, if applicable) to consummate a Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). However, if the Company has not completed a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish the rights of the Public Shareholders as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining Public Shareholders and its Board of Directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. 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 complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period.
F-8
Each initial shareholder has agreed to waive its rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to the Founder Shares it will receive if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the Sponsor or any of its respective affiliates acquire Public Shares, such Public Shares will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 6) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, and in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than $10.30 per unit.
In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (1) $10.30 per Public Share and (2) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.30 per Public Share, due to reductions in the value of trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay taxes. This liability will not apply to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account and as to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
Liquidity and Going Concern
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had approximately $1,486,972 in its operating bank account and working capital of $1,768,201. In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsors or an affiliate of the Sponsors, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors, may provide the Company with Working Capital Loans (as defined below) (see Note 5).
The Company may raise additional capital through loans or additional investments from the Sponsors or its stockholders, officers, directors or third parties. The Company’s officers and directors and the Sponsors may but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds, from time to time, in whatever amount they deem reasonable in their sole discretion, to meet the Company’s working capital needs. Based on the foregoing, the Company believes it will have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity from the Sponsors or an affiliate of the Sponsors, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors, to meet its needs through the earlier of the consummation of a Business Combination or at least one year from the date that the financial statements were issued.
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 December 20, 2022 (or up to June 20, 2023, if applicable) to consummate a Business Combination. It is uncertain that the Company will be able to consummate a Business Combination by this time. If a Business Combination is not consummated by this date, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution of the Company. Management has determined that the mandatory liquidation, should a Business Combination not occur, and potential subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after December 20, 2022 (or June 20, 2023, if applicable).
Risks and Uncertainties
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
F-9
NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.
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.
Investments Held in Trust Account
At December 31, 2021, all of the assets held in the Trust Account were held in money market funds which are invested primarily in U.S. Treasury securities. All of the Company’s investments held in the Trust Account are classified as trading securities. Trading securities are presented on the balance sheet at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of investments held in Trust Account will be included in interest earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account in the accompanying statement of operations. The estimated fair values of investments held in Trust Account are determined using available market information.
F-10
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable ordinary shares (including ordinary shares that feature redemption rights that is either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, at December 31, 2021, Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ deficit section of the Company’s balance sheet.
The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable ordinary shares to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable ordinary shares are affected by charges against additional paid in capital and accumulated deficit.
At December 31, 2021, the Class A ordinary shares reflected in the balance sheet are reconciled in the following table:
Gross proceeds | $ | 230,000,000 | ||
Less: | ||||
Proceeds allocated to Public Warrants | $ | (6,003,000 | ) | |
Class A ordinary shares issuance costs | (13,064,007 | ) | ||
Plus: | ||||
Remeasurement of carrying value to redemption value | $ | 25,970,956 | ||
Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption | $ | 236,903,949 |
Warrant Liabilities
The Company accounts for the Public Warrants (as defined in Note 3) and the Private Placement Warrants (collectively, with the Public Warrants, the “Warrants”) in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40 under which the Warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment and must be recorded as liabilities. Accordingly, the Company classifies the Warrants as liabilities at their fair value and adjusts the Warrants to fair value at each reporting period. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in the statement of operations. The Public Warrants for periods where no observable traded price was available were valued using a Monte Carlo simulation. For periods subsequent to the detachment of the Public Warrants from the Units, the Public Warrant quoted market price is used as the fair value as of each relevant date. The Private Placement Warrants are valued using a Black Scholes simulation.
Offering Costs
Offering costs consist of underwriting, legal, accounting and other expenses incurred through the Initial Public Offering that are directly related to the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs are allocated to the separable financial instruments issued in the Initial Public Offering based on a relative fair value basis, compared to total proceeds received. Offering costs associated with derivative warrant liabilities are expensed as incurred, presented as non-operating expenses in the statement of operations. Offering costs associated with the Public Shares were charged to shareholders’ deficit upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs amounted to $13,412,940, of which $13,039,746 were charged to shareholders’ deficit upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering and $373,194 were expensed to the statement of operations.
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes under ASC 740, “Income Taxes” (“ASC 740”). ASC 740 requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for both the expected impact of differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities and for the expected future tax benefit to be derived from tax loss and tax credit carry forwards. ASC 740 additionally requires a valuation allowance to be established when it is more likely than not that all or a portion of deferred tax assets will not be realized.
F-11
ASC Topic 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. As of December 31, 2021, there were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position.
Net Income Per Ordinary Share
The Company complies with the accounting and disclosure requirements of ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share”. Net income per ordinary share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding for the period. We have two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Income is shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. Net income per ordinary share is calculated by dividing the net income by the weighted average ordinary shares outstanding for the respective period. Accretion associated with the redeemable Class A ordinary shares is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
The calculation of diluted net income per share does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the (i) Initial Public Offering, and (ii) the private placement since the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events. The warrants are exercisable to purchase 17,333,334 Class A ordinary shares in the aggregate. As of December 31, 2021, the Company did not have any dilutive securities or other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into ordinary shares and then share in the income of the Company.
For the Period from January 29, 2021 (Inception) through December 31, 2021 | ||||||||
Class A | Class B | |||||||
Basic and diluted net income per ordinary share | ||||||||
Numerator: | ||||||||
Allocation of net income, as adjusted | $ | 1,488,931 | $ | 1,476,779 | ||||
Denominator: | ||||||||
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding | 7,029,674 | 6,972,305 | ||||||
Basic and diluted net income per ordinary share | $ | 0.21 | $ | 0.21 |
F-12
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on these accounts.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Derivative Financial Instruments
The Company evaluates its financial instrument to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging”. Derivative instruments are initially recorded at fair value on the grant date and revalued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the statement of operations. Derivative assets and liabilities are classified in the balance sheet as current or non-current based on whether or not net-cash settlement or conversion of the instrument could be required within 15 months of the balance sheet date.
Recent Accounting Standards
In August 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“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. ASU2020-06is for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021 and should be applied on a full or modified retrospective basis. Early adoption is permitted, but no earlier than fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company adopted ASU 2020-06 effective January 29, 2021. The adoption of ASU 2020-06 did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements.
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
NOTE 3. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
Pursuant to the Initial Public Offering, the Company sold 23,000,000 Units, which includes a full exercise by the underwriters of their overallotment option in the amount of 3,000,000 Units, at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 per whole share.
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NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 9,666,667 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, for an aggregate purchase price of $14,500,000, in a private placement. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 9). A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement Warrants were added to the net proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
On February 5, 2021, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain offering and formation costs of the Company in consideration of 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares (the “Founder Shares”). On February 18, 2021, the Sponsor transferred 25,000 Founder Shares to each of Martha Tredgett and Greg Greeley, in each case for consideration of $87, resulting in the Sponsor holding 7,137,500 Founder Shares. On August 31, 2021, the Company effected a split of the outstanding Class B ordinary shares, resulting in the Sponsor holding 7,613,335 Founder Shares and Martha Tredgett and Greg Greeley each holding 26,666 Founder Shares (see Note 7). All share and per-share amounts were retroactively restated to reflect the share split. As a result of the underwriters’ election to fully exercise their over-allotment option at the Initial Public Offering, a total of 1,000,000 Founder Shares are no longer subject to forfeiture.
Each initial shareholder has agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination and (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, (x) if the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any30-tradingday period commencing at least 150 days after a Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Public Shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
Promissory Note — Related Party
On February 5, 2021, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note (the “Promissory Note”) to the Sponsor, pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000. The Promissory Note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of December 31, 2021 and the completion of the Initial Public Offering. The Promissory Note was repaid in full on October 22, 2021.
As of December 31, 2021, there was $0 outstanding under the Promissory Note.
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 would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans, but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. 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 $2,000,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be converted 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, the Company had no outstanding borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.
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The Company will have 15 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering to complete a Business Combination (or up to 21 months if it extends the period of time to consummate a Business Combination in accordance with the terms described below). If the Company anticipates that it may not be able to consummate a Business Combination within 15 months, it may, but is not obligated to, extend the period of time to consummate a Business Combination two times by an additional three months each time (for a total of up to 21 months to complete a Business Combination); provided that the Sponsor (or its designees) must deposit into the trust account funds equal to an aggregate of $2,300,000 or $0.10 per Public Share, on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline for each of the available three month extensions, providing a total possible business combination period of 21 months at a total payment value of $4,600,000, in exchange for a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note (an “Extension Loan”). Any such Extension Loan may be converted into Private Placement Warrants, at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender.
NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Registration and Shareholders Rights
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into on September 15, 2021, the holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and any warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans) are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a 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 lockup period. The registration rights agreement does not contain liquidating damages or other cash settlement provisions resulting from delays in registering the Company’s securities. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $8,050,000 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
NOTE 7. SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Preference Shares—The Company is authorized to issue 5,000,000 preference shares with a par or nominal value of $0.0001 per share, with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. At December 31, 2021, there were no preference shares issued or outstanding.
Class A Ordinary Shares— The Company is authorized to issue 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, with a par or nominal value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class A ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. At December 31, 2021, there were no Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding, excluding 23,000,000 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption which are presented as temporary equity.
Class B Ordinary Shares— The Company is authorized to issue 53,333,345.5 Class B ordinary shares, with a par or nominal value of approximately $0.00009 per share. Holders of the Class B ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. At December 31, 2021, there were 7,666,667 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding.
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Only holders of the Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote on the election of directors prior to the Business Combination. Holders of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all other matters submitted to a vote of shareholders, except as required by law. In connection with a Business Combination, the Company may enter into a shareholders agreement or other arrangements with the shareholders of the target or other investors to provide for voting or other governance arrangements that differ from those in effect upon completion of the Initial Public Offering.
The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of a Business Combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof 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, 25% of the sum of (i) the total number of ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of the Initial Public Offering, plus (ii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of a Business Combination, excluding 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 of an interest in the target to the Company in a Business Combination and any Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsor, its affiliates or any member of the Company’s management team 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. WARRANT LIABILITIES
Warrants— As of December 31, 2021, there are 7,666,667 outstanding Public Warrants. Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the Public Warrants. The Public Warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination. The Public Warrants will expire five years from the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available. No warrant will be exercisable and the Company will not be obligated to issue a Class A ordinary share upon exercise of a warrant unless the Class A ordinary share issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants.
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of a Business Combination, it will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or a new registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following the closing of a Business Combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the expiration or redemption of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of a 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. In addition, 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 the 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 elects to do so, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and, in the event the Company does not so elect, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the Class A ordinary shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):
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● | 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 to each warrant holder; and |
● | if, and only if, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three trading days before 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.
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants:
● | in whole and not in part; |
● | at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of the Class A ordinary shares; |
● | if, and only if, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equal or exceeds $10.00 per public share (as adjusted) for any 20 trading days within the 30-trading day period ending three trading days before the Company sends the notice of redemption of the warrant holders. |
If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption, as described above, its 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. The exercise price and number of ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend, extraordinary dividend or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the Public Warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of ordinary shares at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the Public Warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of Public Warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their Public Warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with respect to such Public Warrants. Accordingly, the Public Warrants may expire worthless.
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In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of a Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or holders of the Class B ordinary shares or their respective affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor, holders of the Class B ordinary shares or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of a Business Combination on the date of the consummation of a Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price of its Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day after the day on which the Company consummates its Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
As of December 31, 2021, there are 9,666,667 outstanding Private Placement Warrants. The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis and be non-redeemable, except as described above, so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.
NOTE 9. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
The Company follows the guidance in ASC 820 for its financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at each reporting period, and non-financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at least annually.
The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The following fair value hierarchy is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities:
Level 1: | Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. An active market for an asset or liability is a market in which transactions for the asset or liability occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis. | |
Level 2: | Observable inputs other than Level 1 inputs. Examples of Level 2 inputs include quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active. | |
Level 3: | Unobservable inputs based on our assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. |
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The following table presents information about the Company’s assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2021, and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:
Description | Level | December 31, 2021 | ||||||
Assets: | ||||||||
Investments held in Trust Account | 1 | $ | 236,903,949 | |||||
Liabilities: | ||||||||
Warrant liabilities – Public Warrants | 1 | $ | 4,370,000 | |||||
Warrant liabilities – Private Placement Warrants | 3 | $ | 5,819,334 |
The Warrants were accounted for as liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40 and are presented within warrant liabilities in the accompanying balance sheet. The warrant liabilities are measured at fair value at inception and on a recurring basis, with changes in fair value presented within the statement of operations.
The Private Placement Warrants were valued using a Black Scholes Option Pricing Model, which is considered to be a Level 3 fair value measurement. The Black Scholes model’s primary unobservable input utilized in determining the fair value of the Private Placement Warrants is the expected volatility of the ordinary shares. The expected volatility was derived from observable public warrant pricing on comparable ‘blank-check’ companies without an identified target. A Monte Carlo simulation methodology was used in estimating the fair value of the Public Warrants using the same expected volatility as was used in measuring the fair value of the Private Placement Warrants. For periods subsequent to the detachment of the warrants from the Units, the close price of the public warrants is used as the fair value as of each relevant date.
The following table provides quantitative information regarding Level 3 fair value measurements:
September 20, 2021 | December 31, 2021 | |||||||
Share price | $ | 10.00 | $ | 10.11 | ||||
Exercise price | $ | 11.50 | $ | 11.50 | ||||
Expected term (in years) | 6.0 | 5.71 | ||||||
Volatility | 12.6 | % | 8.6 | % | ||||
Risk-free rate | 0.95 | % | 1.32 | % | ||||
Dividend yield | 0.0 | % | 0.0 | % |
The following table presents the changes in the fair value of Level 3 warrant liabilities:
Private Placement | Public | Warrant Liabilities | ||||||||||
Fair value as of January 29, 2021 (inception) | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
Initial measurement on September 20, 2021 | 7,781,667 | 6,003,000 | 13,784,667 | |||||||||
Change in valuation inputs or other assumptions | (1,962,333 | ) | (1,633,000 | ) | (3,595,333 | ) | ||||||
Transfer to Level 1 on December 31, 2021 | (4,370,000 | ) | (4,370,000 | ) | ||||||||
Fair value as of December 31, 2021 | $ | 5,819,334 | $ | $ | 5,819,334 |
Transfers to/from Levels 1, 2 and 3 are recognized at the end of the reporting period in which a change in valuation technique or methodology occurs. The estimated fair value of the Public Warrants transferred from a Level 3 measurement to a Level 1 fair value measurement as of December 31, 2021 was $4,370,000.
NOTE 10. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
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