Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4)
Registration No. 333-261753
PROSPECTUS
$200,000,000
Aurora Technology Acquisition Corp.
20,000,000 Units
Aurora Technology Acquisition Corp. is a newly organized blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to as our initial business combination. While we may pursue an initial business combination in any business, industry or geographic location, we intend to prioritize our search with high-growth technology companies based in Asia and North America that were founded by Asian or Asian-American entrepreneurs who are building a global enterprise supported by forward thinking vision and innovative technology in predictable growth businesses with substantial revenue potential in frontier technologies including but not limited to artificial intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing, and electric vehicles. We have not selected any specific business combination target, which we refer to as a target business, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any prospective target business.
There is no restriction in the geographic location of targets we can pursue, although we intend to initially prioritize Asia (excluding the Peoples Republic of China (China)) and the United States as the geographical focus. We will not undertake our initial business combination with any entity with its principal business operations in China (including Hong Kong and Macau).
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit that we are offering has a price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share, one redeemable warrant, and one right to receive one-tenth (1/10) of a Class A ordinary share upon the consummation of an initial business combination, as described in more detail in this prospectus. Each redeemable warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one-half (1/2) of one Class A ordinary share, and each 10 rights entitle the holder thereof to receive one Class A ordinary share at the closing of a business combination. We will not issue fractional Class A ordinary shares. As a result, you must (i) exercise warrants in multiples of two warrants, at a price of $11.50 per full Class A ordinary share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus, to validly exercise your warrants; and (ii) hold rights in multiples of 10 in order to receive Class A ordinary shares for all of your rights upon closing of a business combination. Each warrant will become exercisable on the later of (i) the completion of an initial business combination and (ii) 12 months from the date the registration statement for this offering was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation, as described in this prospectus. We have provided Maxim Group LLC (Maxim), the representative of the underwriters, a 45-day option from the date of this prospectus to purchase up to an additional 3,000,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account described below as of two business days prior to the vote on our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months from the closing of this offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time, as described in more detail in this prospectus), we will 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 on the funds held in the trust account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and certain conditions as further described herein.
Our sponsor, ATAC Sponsor LLC, may extend the time frame for us to complete a business combination from 12 months by up to an additional 6 months. The ability to extend the time frame is contingent upon our sponsor depositing the required amount of funds for each quarterly extension. Holders of our securities will not have to right to approve or disapprove any such quarterly extension. Further, holders of our securities will not have the right to seek or obtain redemption in connection with any such extension.
Our sponsor has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 6,425,000 warrants (private placement warrants) at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant, for an aggregate purchase price of $6,425,000, in a private placement to occur simultaneously with the consummation of the offering. Our sponsor has also agreed that if the over-allotment is exercised by the underwriters, it will purchase an additional number of private placement warrants (up to a maximum of 675,000 additional private placement warrants) at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant, prior to any exercise of the over-allotment option in full or in part. These additional private placement warrants will be purchased in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the purchase of units resulting from the exercise of the over-allotment option. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold in this offering, subject to certain limited exceptions as described in this prospectus.
On August 7, 2021, we issued 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares (up to 750,000 of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised), which will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, as described herein, to our sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. We refer to the Class B ordinary shares purchased by our sponsor as founder shares.
Currently, there is no public market for our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants. Our units have been approved to be listed on The Nasdaq Global Market (Nasdaq), under the symbol ATAKU. We expect that our units will be listed on The Nasdaq Global Market on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We expect the Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Maxim informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our satisfaction of certain conditions. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights will be traded on Nasdaq under the symbols ATAK ATAKW and ATAKR respectively.
We are an emerging growth company under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See Risk Factors beginning on page 24 of this prospectus for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.
Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Per Unit | Total | |||||||
Public offering price |
$ | 10.00 | $ | 200,000,000 | ||||
Underwriting discounts and commissions(1)(2) |
$ | 0.475 | $ | 9,500,000 | ||||
Proceeds, before expenses, to Aurora Technology Acquisition Corp. |
$ | 9.525 | $ | 190,500,000 |
(1) | Includes $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) in the aggregate payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein. The deferred commissions will be released to the underwriters only on completion of an initial business combination, as described in this prospectus. See the section of this prospectus entitled Underwriting beginning on page 136 for a description of compensation and other items of value payable to the underwriters. |
(2) | In addition to the cash compensation set forth herein, we have agreed to issue to Maxim and/or its designees, 300,000 Class A ordinary shares (or 345,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) upon the consummation of this offering (the representative shares). Except with respect to certain registration rights and transfer restrictions, the representative shares will be identical to the public shares underlying the units sold in this offering. |
Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $202,000,000, or $232,300,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.10 per unit in either case), will be deposited into a trust account in the United States, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. Such amount includes $7,000,000, or $0.35 per unit (or $8,050,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable to the underwriters as deferred underwriting discounts and commissions. Except as described in this prospectus, these funds will not be released to us until the earlier of the completion of our initial business combination and our liquidation upon our failure to consummate a business combination within the required time period.
We are offering the units for sale on a firm-commitment basis. Maxim, acting as sole book-running manager and representative of the underwriters, expects to deliver our securities to investors in the offering on or about February 9, 2022.
Sole Book-Running Manager
MAXIM GROUP LLC
February 7, 2022
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MANAGEMENTS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS |
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AURORA TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP. INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
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This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. As this is a summary, it does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making an investment decision. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under the section of this prospectus entitled Risk Factors and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing.
Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus, or the context otherwise requires, references to:
| amended and restated memorandum and articles of association are to our memorandum and articles of association to be in effect upon completion of this offering; |
| Companies Act are to the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time; |
| founder shares are to 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to this offering shares (up to 750,000 of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised), and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the conversion thereof as provided herein; |
| initial shareholders are to the holders of our founder shares prior to this offering; |
| letter agreement refers to the letter agreement, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part; |
| management or our management team are to our officers and directors; |
| Maxim are to Maxim, the representative of the underwriters in this offering; |
| ordinary shares are to our Class A ordinary shares and our Class B ordinary shares, collectively; |
| private placement warrants refer to the 6,425,000 private placement warrants (up to a maximum of 7,100,000 private placement warrants if over-allotment option is exercised in full) we are selling privately to our sponsor that are part of the private placement occurring simultaneously with our offering; |
| public shares are to our Class A ordinary shares offered as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market); |
| public shareholders are to the holders of our public shares; |
| public rights are to the rights to receive one-tenth (1/10) of a Class A ordinary share upon the consummation of an initial business combination sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are subscribed for in this offering or purchased in the open market); |
| public warrants are to the redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are subscribed for in this offering or purchased in the open market); |
| sponsor are to ATAC Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company; and |
| we, us, company, ATAC, or our company are to Aurora Technology Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company. |
Any forfeiture of Class A ordinary shares described in this prospectus will take effect as a surrender of Class A ordinary shares for no consideration of such Class A ordinary shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Any conversion of the Class B ordinary shares described in this prospectus will take effect as a compulsory
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redemption of Class B ordinary shares and an issuance of Class A ordinary shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Any share dividends described in this prospectus will take effect as share capitalizations as a matter of Cayman Islands law.
Each unit consists of one Class A ordinary share, one redeemable warrant and one right to receive one-tenth (1/10) of a Class A ordinary share upon the consummation of an initial business combination. Each two warrants entitle the holder thereof to purchase one full Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per Class A ordinary share, subject to adjustment, as described in this prospectus, and each 10 rights entitle the holder thereof to receive one Class A ordinary share at the closing of a business combination. Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option.
Our Company
We are a newly incorporated Cayman Islands exempted company structured as a blank check company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities and activities related to this offering. We have not selected any specific business combination target, which we refer to as a target business, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any prospective target business. While we may pursue an initial business combination in any business, industry or geographic location, we intend to prioritize our search with high-growth technology companies based in Asia and North America that were founded by Asian or Asian-American entrepreneurs who are building a global enterprise supported by forward thinking vision and innovative technology in predictable growth businesses with substantial revenue potential in frontier technologies including but not limited to artificial intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing, and electric vehicles.
There is no restriction in the geographic location of targets we can pursue, although we intend to initially prioritize Asia (excluding China) and the United States as the geographical focus. We will not undertake our initial business combination with any entity with its principal business operations in China (including Hong Kong and Macau).
Our management team consists of experienced investors and entrepreneurs who have expertise working with companies around the world in the technology and financial sectors. Our management teams deep relationships with founders and investors have afforded them the ability to source and invest in numerous successful private companies prior to exit via public offering, acquisition or business combination. For further information on our management teams experience, see the section titled Management.
Our board of directors has significant expertise founding, operating, advising and investing in global companies across the technology, financial services, and healthcare sectors. Further, their robust experience in both developed and emerging markets provides us with optimal guidance while we search, negotiate and decide upon the potential acquisition target.
Business Combination Criteria
Our business combination criteria will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic sector, however, given the experience of our management team and board, we intend to focus our search on targets founded by Asian or Asian American entrepreneurs who are building a global enterprise supported by forward thinking vision and innovative technology in predictable growth businesses with substantial revenue potential in frontier technologies including but not limited to artificial intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing, and electric vehicles. We have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are consistent with our acquisition philosophy and our managements experience, and that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We intend to use these criteria and guidelines to evaluate business combination opportunities, but we may decide to consummate our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet one or more of these criteria and guidelines.
| Potential to Expand into a Multinational Technology Enterprise. We intend to prioritize technology businesses in Asian and North American markets (excluding China) where there are opportunities to expand internationally to dominate global market share. We prefer to look for industries where a sizable and growing global market is ripe for disruption. |
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| High Growth Business with Substantial Revenue Potential. We will focus on investments in frontier technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, AR/VR, blockchain, quantum computing, and electronic vehicles) that we believe demonstrate attractive long-term growth prospects relative to their acquisition valuations and reasonable overall size or potential. We view growth as an important driver of value and will seek companies whose growth potential can generate meaningful upside potential. |
| Strong Management Teams. We intend to acquire a business that has an experienced management team with a proven track record for producing rapid growth and with an ability to clearly and confidently articulate the business and market opportunities to public market investors. As such, we will spend significant time assessing a companys leadership and personnel, and evaluating what we can do to augment and/or upgrade the team over time as needed. |
| Ability to Efficiently Leverage Capital to Boost Operations. We will seek businesses that we believe are at an inflection point where the utilization of our capital can further propel the expansion of their business to the next operating level. We will spend significant time assessing a companys growth plans and projections to understand how our capital translates to operating growth and investor returns over the long-term. |
| Differentiated Products or Services. We will evaluate metrics such as recurring revenues, product life cycle, market share, cohort consistency, customer lifetime value, and customer acquisition costs to focus on businesses whose products or services are differentiated or where we see an opportunity to create value by implementing best practices. |
| Attractive Valuations. We will seek target companies for our initial business combination based on disciplined valuation-centric metrics. |
| Benefit From Being a Public Company. We intend to pursue a business combination with a company that we believe will benefit from being publicly traded and can effectively utilize the broader access to capital markets and public profile that are associated with being a publicly traded company. |
| Preparedness for the Process and Public Markets. We will seek to acquire a business that has or can put in place prior to the closing of a business combination the governance, financial systems and controls required in the public markets. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management team may deem relevant. In the event that we find an opportunity that has characteristics more compelling to us than the characteristics described above, we would pursue such opportunity.
Competitive Strengths and Advantages
We believe that our management team is well positioned to consummate an initial business combination due to its combination of operating and investing expertise. We believe that the most likely target business will be those companies at a strategic inflection point, such as rapidly growing companies stepping out from the control of private equity or venture capital owners, family owned businesses seeking some liquidity, or business units being carved out from larger conglomerates. In these scenarios in particular, we believe the experience our management team brings in successfully scaling companies, especially those in the public markets, will be looked upon favorably by both the target company as well as public shareholders.
Specifically, we believe our competitive strengths to be the following:
| Experienced Management Team. Our management team and strategic advisors have a substantial investment track record and advisory experience, significant knowledge of technology analytics, access to proprietary deal flow, and strong relationships with business leaders and entrepreneurs, especially in the Asian and Asian American technology sectors. We believe their backgrounds will allow us access to proprietary investment opportunities and position us to successfully complete an initial business combination. |
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| Flexible Structure. With a public market for our Class A ordinary shares and $200 million (or $230 million if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) in trust, we have flexibility to be able to offer a target business a variety of options in structuring a transaction and funding future growth. Flexibility in using our public shares, debt, cash or a mixture of the foregoing, allows us to work with a target company to accommodate their needs. |
| Established Deal Sourcing Network and Personal Contacts. We intend to maximize our pipeline of potential target investments by proactively approaching our managements extensive network of contacts, including private equity and venture capital sponsors, family offices, executives of public and private companies, merger and acquisition advisory firms, investment banks, capital markets desks, lenders and other financial intermediaries. We believe the prior investment experience and track record of our team will give us a competitive advantage when sourcing potential target business opportunities, relationships with private equity and venture capital firms, and through investment bankers who we believe are likely to provide us with potential combination targets. |
| Deal-making and Capital Markets Experience through all Market Cycles. Our management team and strategic advisors consist of seasoned dealmakers with experience in a wide variety of industries, structures and market conditions, as well as experienced equity and debt capital markets professionals. Most have worked in the technology sector, as principal investors and as advisors, through different market cycles. Our management team and strategic advisors intend to apply the same disciplined approach to acquire a business that they have used in connection with their current advisory services and principal investment activities. |
| Experience with Complex Transactions. Members of our management team and strategic advisors have a track record of completing complex transactions requiring creative solutions and that this experience is expected to assist us in negotiating and closing a significant business combination. Members of our management team and strategic advisors also have a history of leveraging their relationship networks for due diligence and to develop a unique perspective and comfort with the issues faced in such complex opportunities. |
| Investment Expertise. Our management team has extensive experience in identifying, evaluating, structuring, acquiring, and investing in privately held companies. Collectively, the members of our management team alone have been involved with or led over 150 acquisitions and investments. |
| Broad Sector Focused Expertise. Our management team brings deep expertise in a wide range of sub-sectors within the technology industry. We believe that our diverse range of expertise increases our chances of identifying a business combination target where we have the expertise to appropriately diligence the investment and to provide value post business combination. Specifically, members of our management team have experience operating, investing or serving on boards of companies in the following sub-sectors: consumer, blockchain, enterprise, fintech, life sciences and emerging markets. |
| Public Company Status. We believe our status as a public company will make us an attractive transaction partner to prospective target businesses. As a public company, we believe the target business would benefit from greater access to capital to fund future growth initiatives, further means of creating incentive and compensation plans for management that are closely aligned with shareholders interests, and increased recognition and awareness potentially benefiting sales and recruiting. |
Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent
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investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) or an independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a targets assets or prospects.
We will have until 12 months from the closing of this offering to consummate an initial business combination. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 12 months, we may extend the period of time to consummate a business combination up to two times, each by an additional three months (for a total of up to 18 months to complete a business combination) without submitting such proposed extensions to our shareholders for approval or offering our public shareholders redemption rights in connection therewith. 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 prospectus, in order to extend the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination, our sponsor or its affiliates or designees, upon ten days advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, must deposit into the trust account $2,000,000, or up to $2,300,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full ($0.10 per public Class A ordinary share in either case) on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline, for each three-month extension (or up to an aggregate of $4,000,000 (or $4,600,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $0.20 per public Class A ordinary share if we extend for the full six months). Any such payments would be made in the form of a loan. Any such loans will be non-interest bearing and payable upon the consummation of our initial business combination. If we complete our initial business combination, we would either repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us, or up to $4,600,000 of such loans may be convertible into private warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. If we do not complete a business combination, the loans would be repaid out of funds not held in the trust account, and only to the extent available. 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. You will not be able to vote on or redeem your shares in connection with any such extension.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination either (i) in such a way so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses, or (ii) in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders, or for other reasons. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the Investment Company Act). Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding share capital, 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-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaqs 80% of net assets test. If the initial 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 transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable.
Our Business Combination Process
In evaluating prospective business combinations, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review process that will encompass, among other things, a review of historical and projected financial and operating data, meetings with
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management and their advisors (if applicable), on-site inspection of facilities and assets, discussion with customers and suppliers, legal reviews and other reviews as we deem appropriate.
We 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 that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
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. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations to present the opportunity to such entity, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. We believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will not materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
Our officers and directors have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) after the closing of this offering.
Corporate Information
We are an emerging growth company, as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the JOBS Act). As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an emerging growth company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (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 is 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 will have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
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Additionally, we are a smaller reporting company as defined in Rule 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of the prior June 30th, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies wishing to conduct business outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have applied for and received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall 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 shall be payable (i) on or in respect of our public 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.
Private Placements
On August 7, 2021, we issued 5,750,000 founder shares to our sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000 (up to 750,000 of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised). We will effect a share dividend or share contribution prior to this offering should the size of the offering change, so that our insiders will collectively own or control 20.0% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering.
The founder shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering. However, our insiders have agreed (A) to vote their founder shares and any public shares acquired in or after this offering in favor of any proposed business combination, (B) not to propose, or vote in favor of, an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, net of taxes payable, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, (C) not to convert any ordinary shares (including the founder shares) into the right to receive cash from the trust account in connection with a shareholder vote to approve our proposed initial business combination (or sell any ordinary shares they hold to us in a tender offer in connection with a proposed initial business combination) or a vote to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association relating to the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering, and (D) that the insider shares shall not be entitled to be redeemed for a pro rata portion of the funds held in the trust account if a business combination is not consummated.
Subject to certain limited exceptions, our sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of (i) six months after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination or (ii) the date on which we consummate a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled Principal Shareholders Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants). Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our sponsor with respect to any founder shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for
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any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing 30 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares will no longer be subject to such transfer restrictions. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up.
The limited exceptions referred to above include (1) transfers among the insiders, to our officers, directors, advisors and employees, any affiliates or family members of any of our officers or directors, any members of our sponsor, or any affiliates of our sponsor, (2) transfers to an insiders affiliates or its members upon its liquidation, (3) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of one of the members of the individuals immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of one of the individuals immediate family, an affiliate of such person or to a charitable organization, (4) in the case of an individual, transfers by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (5) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order, (6) private sales or transfers made at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased, (7) by private sales at negotiated prices, which transfers are not effected until the consummation of an initial business combination, (8) in the event of our liquidation prior to the completion of our initial business combination; (9) by virtue of our sponsors jurisdiction of incorporation or our sponsors limited liability company agreement upon dissolution of our sponsor; (10) in the event of our liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination or (11) transfers to us for cancellation in connection with the consummation of an initial business combination, in each case (except for clauses (8) through (11)) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreements and the escrow agreement, and by the same agreements entered into by our sponsor with respect to such securities (including provisions relating to the escrow agreement, voting, the trust account and liquidation distributions described elsewhere in this prospectus).
Our sponsor, ATAC Sponsor LLC, will purchase from us, pursuant to a written purchase agreement with us, 6,425,000 (or 7,100,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants at a purchase price of $1.00 per warrant for an aggregate purchase price of $6,425,000 (or $7,100,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full). The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold in this offering, subject to certain limited exceptions as described in this prospectus. The proceeds from the private placement of the private placement warrants will be added to the proceeds of this offering and placed in the same trust account described in this prospectus maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee.
If units or Class A ordinary shares are purchased by any of our directors, officers or initial shareholders, they will be entitled to funds from the trust account to the same extent as the units or Class A ordinary shares held by any public shareholder upon our liquidation, but will not have redemption rights related thereto.
Our executive offices are located at 4 Embarcadero Center Suite 1449, San Francisco, California 94105.
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The Offering
In making your decision on whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of the members of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company and the fact that this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. You should carefully consider these and other risks set forth in the section below entitled Risk Factors in this prospectus.
Securities offered |
20,000,000 units, at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of one Class A ordinary share, one redeemable warrant and one right. Each two warrants entitle the holder thereof to purchase one full Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, as described in this prospectus, and each 10 rights entitle the holder thereof to receive one Class A ordinary share at the closing of a business combination. Because the warrants may only be exercised for whole numbers of Class A ordinary shares, only an even number of warrants may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder. |
Nasdaq symbols |
We anticipate the units, and the Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights, once they begin separate trading, will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols ATAKU, ATAK, ATAKW, and ATAKR, respectively. |
Trading commencement and separation of Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights |
The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We expect the Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Maxim informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. |
Once the Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights. |
In no event will the Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights be traded separately until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC containing an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering, which is anticipated to take place three trading days from the date of this prospectus. If the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option. |
Units:
Number outstanding before this offering |
0 units |
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Number outstanding after this offering |
20,000,000 |
Ordinary shares:
Number of ordinary shares outstanding before this offering: |
5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares (1) |
Number of ordinary shares to be issued upon consummation of this offering: |
20,300,000 Class A ordinary shares (2) |
Number of ordinary shares to be outstanding after this offering: |
25,300,000 (20,300,000 Class A ordinary shares and 5,000,000 Class B ordinary shares) (3) |
Rights:
Number of rights issued and outstanding before this offering |
0 rights |
Number of rights to be issued in this offering |
20,000,000 rights (or up to 23,000,000 rights if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) |
Number of rights to be issued after this offering |
20,000,000 rights (or up to 23,000,000 rights if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) |
Warrants:
Number issued and outstanding before this offering and the private placement |
0 |
Number to be issued in this offering |
20,000,000 warrants (or up to 23,000,000 warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) |
Number to be issued in a private placement simultaneously with this offering |
6,425,000 warrants (or up to 7,100,000 warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) |
Number to be outstanding after this offering and the private placement |
26,425,000 warrants (or up to 30,100,000 warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) |
(1) | The 5,750,000 founder shares includes an aggregate of up to 750,000 founder shares that are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised by the underwriters in full. The Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described below. |
(2) | Represents the issuance of 300,000 Class A ordinary shares to the representative of the underwriters upon the consummation of this offering. Except as described herein, the representative shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the units issued in this offering. |
(3) | Assumes (i) the over-allotment option has not been exercised, (ii) an aggregate of 750,000 founder shares have been forfeited, and (iii) the Representatives 300,000 Class A ordinary shares have been issued. |
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Warrants Exercisability |
Each two warrants entitle the holder thereof to purchase one full Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, as described in this prospectus. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of Class A ordinary shares. This means that only an even number of warrants may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder. |
Warrant Exercise price |
$11.50 per whole share, subject to adjustment as described herein. In addition, if (x) 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 an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the Newly Issued Price), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the Market Value) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under Redemption will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. |
Warrant Exercise period |
The warrants will become exercisable on the later of: |
| 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, or |
| 12 months from the closing of this offering; |
provided in each case that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available. |
We have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 30 days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable best efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement for this offering or a new registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement. |
If our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a covered security under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will |
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not be required to file a post-effective amendment to the registration statement for this offering or a new registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrant, but we will be required to use our best efforts to register or qualify the Class A ordinary shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. |
The warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. On the exercise of any warrant, the warrant exercise price will be paid directly to us and not placed in the trust account. |
Redemption of warrants |
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants: |
| in whole and not in part; |
| at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| upon a minimum of 30 days prior written notice of redemption, which we refer to as the 30-day redemption period; and |
| if, and only if, the last sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, 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 the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption, each warrant holder can exercise his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of our Class A ordinary shares may fall below the $18.00 trigger price, as well as the $11.50 warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued. |
We will not redeem the warrants unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, or if we have elected to require the exercise of the public warrants on a cashless basis as described below. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such Class A ordinary shares under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were offered by us in this offering. |
If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis. In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the |
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number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our shareholders of issuing the maximum number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. |
In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the fair market value (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The fair market value shall mean the average reported last sale price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled Description of Securities Redeemable Warrants Public Shareholders Warrants for additional information. |
Terms of Rights |
Except in cases where we are not the surviving company in a business combination, each holder of a right will automatically receive one-tenth (1/10) of one Class A ordinary share upon consummation of our initial business combination. We will not issue fractional Class A ordinary shares in connection with an exchange of rights. Fractional Class A ordinary shares will either be rounded down to the nearest whole share or otherwise addressed in accordance with the applicable provisions of Cayman Islands law. As a result, you must hold rights in multiples of 10 in order to receive Class A ordinary shares for all of your rights upon closing of a business combination. In the event we will not be the surviving company upon completion of our initial business combination, each holder of a right will be required to affirmatively convert his, her or its rights in order to receive the one-tenth (1/10) of one Class A ordinary share underlying each right upon consummation of the business combination. If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the required time period and we redeem the public shares for the funds held in the trust account, holders of rights will not receive any of such funds for their rights and the rights will expire worthless. |
Founder shares |
On August 7, 2021, we issued 5,750,000 founder shares to our sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.0043 per share. The per share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the aggregate number of founder shares issued. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering (not including the representative shares). As such, our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (not including the representative shares and assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Neither our sponsor nor any of our officers or directors have expressed an intention to purchase any units in this offering. Up to 750,000 founder shares will be subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised so that our initial shareholders will maintain ownership of 20% of our ordinary shares after this offering (not including the representative shares). We will effect a share dividend or share contribution prior to this offering should the size of the offering change, in order to maintain such ownership percentage. |
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The founder shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, except that: |
| the founder shares are Class B ordinary shares that automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or at any time prior thereto at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described herein, for no additional consideration; |
| the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; |
| our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (iii) 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 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame; |
| pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. As a result, in addition to our founder shares, we would need 7,650,001, or 38.25% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted, the over-allotment option is not exercised and the sponsors do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have such initial business combination approved, assuming no resolution or other approval is required pursuant to Cayman Islands or other applicable law; and |
| the founder shares are entitled to registration rights. |
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Transfer restrictions on founder shares |
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed to place their founder shares into an escrow account maintained in New York, New York by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as escrow agent, which shares will not be transferred, assigned, sold or released from escrow until the earlier of (i) six months after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination or (ii) the date on which we consummate a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled Principal Shareholders Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants). Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our sponsor with respect to any founder shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing 30 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares will no longer be subject to such transfer restrictions. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. |
Conversion and anti-dilution rights of founder shares |
The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into our Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein, for no additional consideration. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in this prospectus and related to the closing of the initial business combination, the ratio at which Class B ordinary shares shall convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon the completion of this offering (not including the representative shares) plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial business combination (excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination or any private placement-equivalent units issued to our sponsor, its affiliates or certain of our officers and directors upon conversion of working capital loans made to us). Holders of founder shares may also elect to convert their Class B ordinary shares into an equal number of Class A ordinary shares, subject to adjustment as provided above, at any time. The term equity-linked securities refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for Class A ordinary shares issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt. Securities could be deemed issued for purposes of the conversion rate adjustment if such shares are issuable upon the conversion or exercise of convertible securities, warrants or similar securities. |
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Voting rights |
Holders of the Class A ordinary shares and holders of the Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders, with each ordinary share entitling the holder to one vote. |
Private placement warrants and underlying |
Our sponsor has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 6,425,000 private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant, for an aggregate purchase price of $6,425,000. Our sponsor has also agreed that if the over-allotment is exercised by the underwriters, it will purchase at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant an additional number of private placement warrants (up to a maximum of 675,000 additional private placement warrants) prior to any exercise of the over-allotment option in full or in part in the aggregate amount of $675,000. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold in this offering except that the private placement warrants, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) will not be redeemable by us, (ii) may not (including the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until the completion of our initial business combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than the sponsor, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering, the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the private placement warrants (and the underlying securities) will expire worthless. |
Transfer restrictions on private placement warrants and underlying shares |
The private placement warrants (including the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until the completion of our initial business combination (except as described under the section of this prospectus entitled Principal Shareholders Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants). Following such period, the private placement warrants (including the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will be transferable, assignable or salable, except that the private placement warrants will not trade. |
Cashless exercise of private placement warrants |
If holders of private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the fair market value (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The fair market value shall mean the average reported last sale price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the |
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notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent. The reason that we have agreed that these warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees is because it is not known at this time whether they will be affiliated with us following an initial business combination. If they remain affiliated with us, their ability to sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in place that prohibit insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public shareholders who could sell the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants freely in the open market, the insiders could be significantly restricted from doing so. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate. |
Representative Shares |
We have agreed to issue to Maxim and/or its designees 300,000 Class A ordinary shares (or 345,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) at the closing of this offering. The representative shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the units sold in this offering, except that the representative shares will not be transferable, assignable or salable until after the completion of our initial business combination. Maxim has agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their representative shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their representative shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders rights of pre-initial business combination activity and (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their representative shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering. The representative shares have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a lock-up for a period of 180 days immediately following the date of the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part pursuant to Rule 5110(e)(1) of FINRAs Conduct Rules. |
Proceeds to be held in trust account |
Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $202,000,000, or $10.10 per unit (or $232,300,000, or $10.10 per unit, if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be placed into a trust account in the United States, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. The proceeds to be held in the trust account include $7,000,000 (or $8,050,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our |
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income tax obligations (less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of (a) the completion of our initial business combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders rights or pre-business combination activity, and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders. |
Ability to extend time to complete business combination |
We will have until 12 months from the closing of this offering to consummate an initial business combination. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 12 months, we may extend the period of time to consummate a business combination up to two times, each by an additional three months (for a total of up to 18 months to complete a business combination) without submitting such proposed extensions to our shareholders for approval or offering our public shareholders redemption rights in connection therewith. 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 prospectus, in order to extend the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination, our sponsor or its affiliates or designees, upon ten days advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, must deposit an aggregate of $2,000,000, or up to $2,300,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full ($0.10 per public share in either case), on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline, for each three-month extension (or up to an aggregate of $4,000,000 (or $4,600,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $0.20 per public share if we extend for the full six months). Any such payments would be made in the form of a loan. Any such loans will be non-interest bearing and payable upon the consummation of our initial 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. |
Anticipated expenses and funding sources |
Except as described above with respect to the payment of taxes, unless and until we complete our initial business combination, no proceeds held in the trust account will be available for our use. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government securities with a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. We will |
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disclose in each quarterly and annual report filed with the SEC prior to our initial business combination whether the proceeds deposited in the trust account are invested in U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds or a combination thereof. Based upon current interest rates, we expect the trust account to generate approximately $20,200 of interest annually assuming an interest rate of 0.01% per year; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, we may pay our expenses only from: |
| the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account, which will be approximately $1,425,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $500,000 in expenses (not including underwriting commissions) relating to this offering; and |
| any loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or their affiliates or other third parties, although they are under no obligation to advance funds or invest in us, and provided that any such loans will not have any claim on the proceeds held in the trust account unless such proceeds are released to us upon completion of an initial business combination. |
Conditions to completing our initial business combination |
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination either (i) in such a way so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own Class A ordinary shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses, or (ii) in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders, or for other reasons. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding share capital, 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 Class A ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaqs 80% of net assets test. If the initial 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 transactions and we |
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will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable. |
Permitted purchases of public shares and public warrants by our affiliates |
The purpose of any such purchases of Class A ordinary shares could be to vote such Class A ordinary shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public float of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange. |
Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination |
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.10 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their public shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares held by them and any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering in connection with the completion of our initial business combination or otherwise. We may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their public shares in street name, to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy 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 materials, or to deliver their public shares to the transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Companys DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holders option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as |
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applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. |
Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding 15% or more of the shares sold in this offering if we hold shareholder vote |
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, 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 will provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a group (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its public shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the public shares sold in this offering, without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described above will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of public shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their public shares as a means to force us or our management to purchase their public shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the public shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against an initial business combination if such holders public shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders ability to redeem to no more than 15% of the public shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with an initial business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders ability to vote all of their public shares (including all public shares held by those shareholders that hold more than 15% of the public shares sold in this offering) for or against our initial business combination. |
Limited payments to insiders |
There will be no finders fees, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation paid by us to our sponsor, officers or directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, the following payments will be made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination: |
| Repayment of up to an aggregate of $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses; |
| Payment to an affiliate of our sponsor of $10,000 per month, for 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support; |
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| Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination; and |
| Repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the terms of which have not been determined nor have any written agreements been executed with respect thereto. Up to $1,500,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into private placement-equivalent warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant (which, for example, would result in the holders being issued 1,500,000 warrants if $1,500,000 of notes were so converted), at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period of the underlying warrants. The terms of such working capital loans by our sponsor or its affiliates, or our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. |
Risks
We are a newly formed company that has conducted no operations and has generated no revenues. Until we complete our initial business combination, we will have no operations and will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. This offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. For additional information concerning how Rule 419 blank check offerings differ from this offering, please see the section of this prospectus entitled Proposed Business Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section of this prospectus entitled Risk Factors beginning on page 24 of this prospectus.
A brief summary of some of the risk factors that make an investment in us speculative or risky include:
| Whether we will be able to complete our initial business combination, particularly in light of disruption that may result from limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic; |
| Whether we will be successful in retaining or recruiting, or making changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
| How much time our officers and directors allocate to us 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 and other benefits; |
| Whether we will need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
| Whether there is a sufficient pool of prospective target businesses for us to acquire, given competition; |
| Whether our officers and directors are able to generate a number of potential investment opportunities; |
| Whether our securities are delisted from Nasdaq prior to our business combination or an inability to have our securities listed on Nasdaq following a business combination; |
| The fact that we may have limited liquidity in our securities; |
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| The fact there has not previously been a market for our securities; and |
| Our financial performance following our business combination. |
Summary Financial Data
The following table summarizes the relevant financial data for our business and should be read with our financial statements, which are included in this prospectus. We have not had any significant operations to date, and accordingly only balance sheet data is presented.
December 31, 2021 | ||||||||
Actual | As Adjusted | |||||||
Balance Sheet Data: |
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Working (deficiency) capital |
$ | (292,365 | ) | $ | 1,132,635 | |||
Total assets |
372,775 | $ | 203,505,410 | |||||
Total liabilities |
357,738 | $ | 15,568,373 | |||||
Value of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible conversion/tender |
| $ | 202,000,000 | |||||
Shareholders equity |
15,037 | $ | (14,062,963 | ) |
The as adjusted information gives effect to the sale of the units in this offering, the sale of the private placement warrants, repayment of up to an aggregate of $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor and the payment of the estimated expenses of this offering and assumes no exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option. The as adjusted total assets amount includes the $202,000,000 held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, which amount, less deferred underwriting commissions, will be available to us only upon the completion of our initial business combination within 12 months (or 18 months, as applicable) from the closing of this offering. The as adjusted working capital and as adjusted total assets include $7,000,000 being held in the trust account representing deferred underwriting commissions. The underwriters will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions. The as adjusted total liabilities includes warrant liability of $8,503,000 and deferred underwriting commission of $7,000,000.
If no business combination is completed within 12 months (or 18 months, as applicable) from the closing of this offering, 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 and working capital needs as described herein (less $50,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses) will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares. Our sponsor, initial shareholders, officers and directors have entered into letter agreements with us pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period.
We will consummate our initial business combination only if we have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 immediately prior to and immediately after the consummation and, solely if we seek shareholder approval, only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company.
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An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the risks described below, which we believe represent the material risks related to the offering, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our units. This prospectus also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of specific factors, including the risks described below.
Risks Related to Our Business and Structure
We are a newly formed company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a newly formed company with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through this offering. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning an initial business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Our independent registered public accounting firms 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 $65,373 of cash and a working capital deficit of $292,365. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our financing and acquisition plans. Managements plans to address this need for capital through this offering are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or 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 prospectus do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to consummate this offering or our inability to continue as a going concern.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been identified, we may be deemed to be a blank check company under the United States securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the successful completion of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and will file 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 will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if this offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination. For a more detailed comparison of our offering to offerings that comply with Rule 419, please see the section of this prospectus entitled Proposed Business Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.
Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our founder shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.
Except as required by law, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their public 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
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the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Even if we seek shareholder approval, the holders of our founder shares will participate in the vote on such approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our public shares do not approve of the initial business combination we complete. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled Proposed Business Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination for additional information.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, as well as any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions), in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our founder shares, we would need 7,650,001, or 38.25% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted, the over-allotment option is not exercised and the sponsors do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have such initial business combination approved, assuming no resolution or other approval is required pursuant to Cayman Islands or other applicable law. Our initial shareholders will own ordinary shares representing 20% of our outstanding ordinary shares of immediately following the completion of this offering (not including the representative shares). Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial shareholders 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.
Unlike other blank check companies, we may extend the time to complete a business combination by up to six months without a shareholder vote or your ability to redeem your public shares.
We will have until 12 months from the closing of this offering to consummate an initial business combination. However, unlike other similarly structured blank check companies, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 12 months, we may extend the period of time to consummate a business combination up to two times, each by an additional three months (for a total of up to 18 months to complete a business combination) without submitting such proposed extensions to our shareholders for approval or offering our public shareholders redemption rights in connection therewith. 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 prospectus, in order to extend the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination, our sponsor or its affiliates or designees, upon ten days advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, must deposit into the trust account $2,000,000, or up to $2,300,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full ($0.10 per public share in either case) on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline, for each three-month extension (or up to an aggregate of $4,000,000 (or $4,600,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $0.20 per public share if we extend for the full six months). Any such payments would be made in the form of a loan. Any such loans will be non-interest bearing and payable upon the consummation of our initial business combination. If we complete our initial business combination, we would either repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us, or up to $4,600,000 of such loans may be convertible into private warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. If we do not complete a business combination, the loans would be repaid out of funds not held in the trust account, and only to the extent available. 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. You will not be able to vote on or redeem your shares in connection with any such extension.
Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your public shares from us for cash, unless we seek shareholder approval of the initial business combination.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of our initial business combination. Since our board of directors may complete an initial business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the initial business combination, unless we seek such shareholder vote. Accordingly, if we do not seek shareholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
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The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their public shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into an initial business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with minimum cash requirements for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the initial business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or immediately after the consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or immediately after the consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters fees and commissions 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 an initial business combination with us.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our public 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 public 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 public shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B 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 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 public 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 per-share value of public shares held by non-redeeming shareholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our public 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 public shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your public shares in the open market; however, at such time our public 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 the exercise of your redemption rights until we liquidate or you are able to sell your public shares in the open market.
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We may extend our time period to consummate our initial business combination for up to six months and accordingly have a total of up to 18 months from the closing of this offering to consummate a business combination without submitting such proposed extensions to our shareholders for approval or offering our public shareholders redemption rights in connection therewith.
We will have until 12 months from the closing of this offering to consummate an initial business combination. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 12 months, we may extend the period of time to consummate a business combination up to two times, each by an additional three months (for a total of up to 18 months to complete a business combination) without submitting such proposed extensions to our shareholders for approval or offering our public shareholders redemption rights in connection therewith. Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and subject to deposit of additional funds by our sponsor or its affiliates or designees into our trust account as set forth thereunder, we may effectuate such extensions without submitting such proposed extensions to our shareholders for approval or offering our public shareholders redemption rights in connection with the proposed extensions.
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within prescribed time frame after the closing of this offering may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating an initial business combination and may decrease our ability to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning an initial business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating an initial business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame after the closing of this offering, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public shareholders may only receive $10.10 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our rights and warrants will expire worthless.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we must complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period.
If we have not completed our initial business combination within such 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 franchise and income taxes (less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, 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. In such case, our public shareholders may only receive $10.10 per share, and our rights and warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.10 per share on the redemption of their public shares. 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 $10.10 per share and other risk factors below.
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If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase public shares or public warrants from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed initial business combination and reduce the public float of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants or a combination thereof in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. There is no limit on the number of public shares our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, other than as expressly stated herein, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or public warrants in such transactions.
Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our public shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase 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 public shares. The purpose of any such purchases of public shares could be to vote such public shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the initial business combination, or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. We expect that any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public float of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
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 public shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its public shares. In addition, proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares. For example, we may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their public shares in street name, to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their public shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures, its public shares may not be redeemed. See the section of this prospectus entitled Proposed Business Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights.
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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. 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. There can be no assurance that these trends will not continue.
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 combinations 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.
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares or public 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 submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the 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 public warrants, potentially at a loss.
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 Class A ordinary 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 will provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a group (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering without our prior consent, which we refer to as the Excess Shares. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders ability to vote all of their public 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
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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 Class A ordinary shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such Class A ordinary shares, would be required to sell your public shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.10 per share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our rights and 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 similar or greater technical, human and other resources to ours or more local industry knowledge than we do, and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable 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, because we are obligated to pay cash for the Class A ordinary shares which our public shareholders redeem in connection with our initial business combination, target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.10 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our rights and warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.10 per share upon our liquidation. 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 $10.10 per share and other risk factors below.
If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time), it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, in which case our public shareholders may only receive $10.10 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our rights and warrants will expire worthless.
Of the net proceeds of this offering, only $1,425,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time), assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that, upon the closing of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time); however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a no-shop provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from shopping around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed initial business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent or merger agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.10 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our rights and warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders
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may receive less than $10.10 per share upon our liquidation. 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 $10.10 per share and other risk factors below.
If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search for an initial business combination, to pay our income taxes and to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, only approximately $1,425,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $500,000 (excluding underwriting commissions), we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. The amount held in the trust account will not be impacted as a result of such increase or decrease. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $500,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. None of our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into private placement-equivalent warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant (which, for example, would result in the holders being issued 1,500,000 warrants if $1,500,000 of notes were so converted), at the option of the lender. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public shareholders may only receive approximately $10.10 per share on our redemption of our public shares, and our rights and warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.10 per share on the redemption of their public shares. 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 $10.10 per share and other risk factors below.
Subsequent to the completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our public shares price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will surface all material issues that may be present inside a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining debt financing to partially finance the initial business combination. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their public shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they
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are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the initial business combination constituted an actionable material misstatement or omission.
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 $10.10 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, 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 partys engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. EisnerAmper LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of the offering, will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.10 per 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 Exhibit 10.1 to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.10 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 $10.10 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsors 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 redemption could be reduced to less than $10.10 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.
Because our trust account will initially contain $10.10 per Class A ordinary share, public stockholders may be more incentivized to redeem their public shares at the time of our initial business combination.
Our trust account will initially contain $10.10 per Class A ordinary share. This is different than some other similarly structured blank check companies for which the trust account will only contain $10.00 per Class A ordinary share.
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As a result of the additional funds that could be available to public stockholders upon redemption of public shares, our public stockholders may be more incentivized to redeem their public shares and not to hold those Class A ordinary shares through our initial business combination. A higher percentage of redemptions by our public stockholders could make it more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.10 per share and (ii) the actual amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.10 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations.
While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.10 per share.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholders investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public 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 we and our board may be exposed to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public 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 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
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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; |
| adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading in securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading investment securities constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete an initial business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States government securities within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 180 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. This offering is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association(A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent an initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering, 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 an initial business combination or may result in our liquidation. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.10 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our rights and warrants will expire worthless.
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Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly.
Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination and results of operations.
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 public 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.
We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our shareholders to appoint directors.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. We may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.
Risks Related to Completing a Business Combination
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted 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. We may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target companys personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target businesss operations.
Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target businesss operations, results of
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operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.
Past Information regarding performance, or businesses associated with our management team or businesses associated with them is presented for informational purposes only. The past performance of our management team or their respective affiliates is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of our management teams or their respective affiliates performance as indicative of our future performance of an investment in the company or the returns the company will, or is likely to, generate going forward.
Involvement of members of our management and companies with which they are affiliated in civil disputes and litigation or governmental investigations 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 past have been, and may in the future continue to be, involved in civil disputes and litigation and governmental investigations relating to their business affairs unrelated to our company which may progress. Given our managements extensive involvement in regulated industries, those civil disputes, litigation and governmental investigations could involve FINRA, SEC and/or state regulatory bodies and could result in settlements where parties are named publicly. Any such claims, investigations or settlements may be detrimental to our reputation and could negatively affect our ability to identify and complete an initial business combination and may have an adverse effect on the price of our securities.
We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may not be outside of our managements area of expertise.
We may consider an initial business combination outside of our managements area of expertise if an initial business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive business combination opportunity for our company or we are unable to identify a suitable candidate in this sector after having expanded a reasonable amount of time and effort in an attempt to do so. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in this offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in an initial business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue a business combination outside of the areas of our managements expertise, our managements expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this prospectus regarding the areas of our managements expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a
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result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their public shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.10 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our rights and warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.10 per share on the redemption of their public shares. 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 $10.10 per share and other risk factors below.
We may seek business combination opportunities with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue, cash flow or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues, cash flows or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenues or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include volatile revenues or earnings and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting 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 company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
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We may issue additional 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 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 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.
Immediately after this offering, there will be 230,000,000 and 5,000,000 (assuming in each case that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option) 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 Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares. Immediately after this offering, there will be no preference shares issued and outstanding. The Class B ordinary shares are automatically convertible into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
We may issue a substantial number of additional ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination (although our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we may not issue securities that can vote with ordinary shareholders on matters related to our pre-initial business combination activity). We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares, for no additional consideration, 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. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with the approval of our shareholders. However, our executive officers, and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares.
The issuance of additional ordinary or preference shares:
| may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering; |
| may subordinate the rights of holders of ordinary shares if preference shares is issued with rights senior to those afforded our ordinary shares; |
| could cause a change of control if a substantial number of ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and |
| may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants. |
The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private placement warrants,
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the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants and upon conversion of the founder shares held, or to be held, by them and holders of securities that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such warrants or the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion or exercise of such warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares that is expected when the securities owned by our initial shareholders, holders of our private placement warrants, holders of the representative shares or holders of working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
Resources could be wasted in researching business combinations that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.10 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our rights and warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys, consultants and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.10 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our rights and warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.10 per share on the redemption of their public shares. 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 $10.10 per share and other risk factors below.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we employ after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements. In addition, the officers and directors of an initial business combination candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of an initial business combination targets key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an initial business combination candidates key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an initial business combination candidates management team will remain associated with the initial business combination candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an initial business combination candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
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We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our executive officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. 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.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. 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 the company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the initial business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the initial business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the initial business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnels 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. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company, which could, in turn, negatively impact the value of our shareholders investment in us.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target businesss management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the targets management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the targets management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their public shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value, unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty off care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
Our officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for an initial business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers is engaged in other business endeavors for which he may be
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entitled to substantial compensation and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors may also serve as officers or board members for other entities. If our officers and directors other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our officers and directors other business affairs, please see the section of this prospectus entitled Management Directors and Officers.
Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of this offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor and officers and directors are, and may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business, although they may not participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other special purpose acquisition companies with a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) after the closing of this offering. Our officers and directors also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties.
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. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
For a complete discussion of our officers and directors business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see the sections of this prospectus entitled Management Directors and Officers, Management Conflicts of Interest and Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.
Our officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into an initial business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or officers, although we do not intend to do so. We do not have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
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 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 again 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 an initial business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under the section of this prospectus entitled Management Conflicts of Interest. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no preliminary discussions concerning an initial business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for an initial business combination as set forth in the section of this prospectus entitled Proposed Business Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination and such transaction was approved by a majority of our disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, regarding the fairness to our shareholders from a financial point of view of an initial business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the initial business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Since our sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire during or after this offering), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
Our sponsor has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 6,425,000 warrants or private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant, for an aggregate purchase price of $6,425,000, in a private placement to occur simultaneously with the consummation of the offering. Our sponsor has also agreed that if the over-allotment is exercised by the underwriters, it will purchase an additional number of private placement warrants (up to a maximum of 675,000 additional private placement warrants) at a price of $1.00 per private placement prior to any exercise of the over-allotment option in full or in part. These additional private placement warrants will be purchased in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the purchase of units resulting from the exercise of the over-allotment option. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold in this offering, subject to certain limited exceptions as described in this prospectus.
On August 7, 2021, we issued an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares to our sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.0043 per share (up to 750,000 of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised). The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering (not including the ordinary shares issuable to Maxim, or the ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants, or the warrants issuable upon conversion of working capital loans). The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor has agreed to purchase private placement warrants for an aggregate purchase price of $6,425,000 (or $7,100,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) from us that will also be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. Holders of founder shares have agreed (A) to vote any ordinary shares owned by them in favor of any proposed initial business combination and (B) not to redeem any founder shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination or in connection with a tender offer. In addition, we may obtain loans from our sponsor, affiliates of our sponsor or an officer or director. The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination nears.
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We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete an initial business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following this offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
| default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; |
| our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding; |
| our inability to pay dividends on our Class A ordinary shares; |
| using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A ordinary shares if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes; |
| limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; |
| limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and |
| other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of services and limited operating activities. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operating results and profitability.
Of the net proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $202,000,000 (or $232,300,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be available to complete our initial business combination and pay related fees and expenses (which includes up to $7,000,000, or up to $8,050,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, for the payment of deferred underwriting commissions).
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
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which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. In addition, we intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
| solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or |
| dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. We do not, however, intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in an initial business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our initial business combination strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in an initial business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination.
We may structure an initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own Class A ordinary shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding share capital, 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 portion of the companys Class A ordinary shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
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We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete an initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or immediately after the consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters fees and commissions (such that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their public 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 public shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any Class A ordinary 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 in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our shareholders may not support.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination and extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to the completion of the initial business combination (other than in connection with an amendment that would only be effective upon completion of the initial business combination in which case only approval of a majority of holders of our ordinary shares would be required) will require the approval of holders of at least 50% of our ordinary shares, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the public warrants. In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders rights or pre-initial business combination activity. To the extent any such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments in order to effectuate our initial business combination.
Our initial shareholders, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to written agreements with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering or with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders rights or pre-initial business combination activity.
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
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agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our shareholders would need to pursue a shareholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
Certain agreements related to this offering may be amended without shareholder approval.
Each of the agreements related to this offering to which we are a party, other than the warrant agreement and the investment management trust agreement, may be amended without shareholder approval. Such agreements are: the underwriting agreement; the letter agreement among us and our initial shareholders, sponsor, officers and directors; the registration rights agreement among us and our initial shareholders; the private placement warrants purchase agreement between us and our sponsor; the private placement warrants purchase agreement between us and our sponsor; and the administrative services agreement among us and our sponsor. These agreements contain various provisions that our public shareholders might deem to be material. For example, our letter agreement and the underwriting agreement contain certain lock-up provisions with respect to the founder shares, private placement warrants and other securities held by our initial shareholders, sponsor, officers and directors. Amendments to such agreements would require the consent of the applicable parties thereto and would need to be approved by our board of directors, which may do so for a variety of reasons, including to facilitate our initial business combination. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to any such agreement. Any amendment entered into in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to such initial business combination will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to such initial business combination, and any other material amendment to any of our material agreements will be disclosed in a filing with the SEC. 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 initial shareholders selling their securities earlier than they would otherwise be permitted, which may have an adverse effect on the price of our securities.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
We have not selected any specific business combination target, but intend to target businesses larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants. As a result, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. Further, the amount of additional financing we may be required to obtain could increase as a result of future growth capital needs for any particular transaction, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to repurchase for cash a significant number of public shares from shareholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination and/or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase ordinary shares in connection with our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.10 per share plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes on the liquidation of our trust account and our rights and 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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive approximately $10.10 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our rights and warrants will expire worthless. Furthermore, as described in the risk factor entitled If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.10 per share, under certain circumstances our public shareholders may receive less than $10.10 per share upon the liquidation of the trust account.
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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 an initial business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
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.
Upon the closing of this offering, our initial shareholders will own ordinary shares representing 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (including the ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants and assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). 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 and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial shareholders purchase any units in this offering or if our initial shareholders purchase any additional ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control.
Other than as disclosed in this prospectus, neither our initial shareholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our ordinary shares. 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 initial business combination. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike some other blank check companies, if
(i) | we issue additional 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 share; |
(ii) | the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and |
(iii) | the Market Value is below $9.20 per share, |
then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
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Risks Related to Acquiring and Operating a Business Outside of the United States
If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in the target business home jurisdiction, including any of the following:
| rules and regulations or currency redemption or 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; |
| 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; |
| crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks and wars; 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, our operations might suffer. |
Because of the costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations, our results of operations may be negatively impacted.
Managing a business, operations, personnel or assets in another country is challenging and costly. Any management that we may have (whether based abroad or in the U.S.) may be inexperienced in cross-border business practices and unaware of significant differences in accounting rules, legal regimes and labor practices. Even with a seasoned and experienced management team, the costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations, personnel and assets can be significant (and much higher than in a purely domestic business) and may negatively impact our financial and operational performance.
If social unrest, acts of terrorism, regime changes, changes in laws and regulations, political upheaval, or policy changes or enactments occur in a country in which we may operate after we effect our initial business combination, it may result in a negative impact on our business.
Political events in another country may significantly affect our business, assets or operations. Social unrest, acts of terrorism, regime changes, changes in laws and regulations, political upheaval, and policy changes or enactments could negatively impact our business in a particular country.
Many countries have difficult and unpredictable legal systems and underdeveloped laws and regulations that are unclear and subject to corruption and inexperience, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
Our ability to seek and enforce legal protections, including with respect to intellectual property and other property rights, or to defend ourselves with regard to legal actions taken against us in a given country, may be difficult or impossible, which could adversely impact our operations, assets or financial condition.
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Rules and regulations in many countries are often ambiguous or open to differing interpretation by responsible individuals and agencies at the municipal, state, regional and federal levels. The attitudes and actions of such individuals and agencies are often difficult to predict and inconsistent.
Delay with respect to the enforcement of particular rules and regulations, including those relating to customs, tax, environmental and labor, could cause serious disruption to operations abroad and negatively impact our results.
If we effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States, the laws applicable to such company will likely govern all of our material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
If we effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States, the laws of the country in which such company operates will govern almost all of the material agreements relating to its operations. We cannot assure you that the target business will be able to enforce any of its material agreements or that remedies will be available in this new jurisdiction. 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. Additionally, if we acquire a company located outside of the United States, it is likely that substantially all of our assets would be located outside of the United States and some of our officers and directors might reside outside of the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties of our directors and officers under Federal securities laws.
If relations between the United States and foreign governments deteriorate, it could cause potential target businesses or their goods and services to become less attractive.
The relationship between the United States and foreign governments could be subject to sudden fluctuation and periodic tension. For instance, the United States may announce its intention to impose or increase quotas or tariffs on certain imports. Such import quotas or tariffs may adversely affect political relations between the two countries and result in retaliatory countermeasures by the foreign government in industries that may affect our ultimate target business. Changes in political conditions in foreign countries and changes in the state of U.S. relations with such countries are difficult to predict and could adversely affect our operations or cause potential target businesses or their goods and services to become less attractive. Because we are not limited to any specific industry, there is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible extent of any impact on our ultimate operations if relations are strained between the United States and a foreign country in which we acquire a target business or move our principal manufacturing or service operations.
If any dividend is declared in the future and paid in a foreign currency, you may be taxed on a larger amount in U.S. dollars than the U.S. dollar amount that you will actually ultimately receive.
If you are a U.S. holder of our ordinary shares, you will be taxed on the U.S. dollar value of your dividends, if any, at the time you receive them, even if you actually receive a smaller amount of U.S. dollars when the payment is in fact converted into U.S. dollars. Specifically, if a dividend is declared and paid in a foreign currency, the amount of the dividend distribution that you must include in your income as a U.S. holder will be the U.S. dollar value of the payments made in the foreign currency, determined at the spot rate of the foreign currency to the U.S. dollar on the date the dividend distribution is includible in your income, regardless of whether the payment is in fact converted into U.S. dollars. Thus, if the value of the foreign currency decreases before you actually convert the currency into U.S. dollars, you will be taxed on a larger amount in U.S. dollars than the U.S. dollar amount that you will actually ultimately receive.
After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all or substantially all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all or substantially all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it
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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.
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 such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and legal policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. The economies across the Asia-pacific region differ from the economies of most developed countries in many respects. Such economic growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future predominant regional economies experience 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.
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, 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.
Because foreign law could govern almost all of our material agreements, we may not be able to enforce our rights within such jurisdiction or elsewhere, which could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.
Foreign law could govern almost all of our material agreements. The target business may not be able to enforce any of its material agreements or that remedies will be available outside of such foreign jurisdictions legal system. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws and contracts in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The judiciaries in the Asia-pacific region are relatively inexperienced in enforcing corporate and commercial law, leading to a higher than usual degree of uncertainty as to the outcome of any litigation. As a result, the inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business and business opportunities.
Many of the economies in the Asia-pacific region are experiencing substantial inflationary pressures which may prompt the governments to take action to control the growth of the economy and inflation that could lead to a significant decrease in our profitability following our initial business combination.
While many of the economies in the Asia-pacific region have experienced rapid growth over the last two decades, they have also experienced inflationary pressures. As governments take steps to address inflationary pressures, there may be significant changes in the availability of bank credits, interest rates, limitations on loans, restrictions on currency conversions and foreign investment. There also may be imposition of price controls. If prices for the products of our ultimate target business rise at a rate that is insufficient to compensate for the rise in the costs of supplies, it may have an adverse effect on our profitability. If these or other similar restrictions are imposed by a government to influence the economy, it may lead to a slowing of economic growth. Because we are not limited to any specific industry, the ultimate industry that we operate in may be affected more severely by such a slowing of economic growth.
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Many industries in Asia are subject to government regulations that limit or prohibit foreign investments in such industries, which may limit the potential number of acquisition candidates.
Governments in many Asian countries have imposed regulations that limit foreign investors equity ownership or prohibit foreign investments altogether in companies that operate in certain industries. As a result, the number of potential acquisition candidates available to us may be limited or our ability to grow and sustain the business, which we ultimately acquire will be limited.
If a country in Asia enacts regulations in industry segments that forbid or restrict foreign investment, our ability to consummate our initial business combination could be severely impaired.
Many of the rules and regulations that companies face concerning foreign ownership are not explicitly communicated. If new laws or regulations forbid or limit foreign investment in industries in which we want to complete our initial business combination, they could severely impair our candidate pool of potential target businesses. Additionally, if the relevant central and local authorities find us or the target business with which we ultimately complete our initial business combination to be in violation of any existing or future laws or regulations, they would have broad discretion in dealing with such a violation, including, without limitation:
| levying fines; |
| revoking our business and other licenses; |
| requiring that we restructure our ownership or operations; and |
| requiring that we discontinue any portion or all of our business. |
Any of the above could have an adverse effect on our company post-business combination and could materially reduce the value of your investment.
Corporate governance standards in Asia may not be as strict or developed as in the United States and such weakness may hide issues and operational practices that are detrimental to a target business.
General corporate governance standards in some countries are weak in that they do not prevent business practices that cause unfavorable related party transactions, over-leveraging, improper accounting, family company interconnectivity and poor management. Local laws often do not go far enough to prevent improper business practices. Therefore, shareholders may not be treated impartially and equally as a result of poor management practices, asset shifting, conglomerate structures that result in preferential treatment to some parts of the overall company, and cronyism. The lack of transparency and ambiguity in the regulatory process also may result in inadequate credit evaluation and weakness that may precipitate or encourage financial crisis. In our evaluation of a business combination we will have to evaluate the corporate governance of a target and the business environment, and in accordance with United States laws for reporting companies take steps to implement practices that will cause compliance with all applicable rules and accounting practices. Notwithstanding these intended efforts, there may be endemic practices and local laws that could add risk to an investment we ultimately make and that result in an adverse effect on our operations and financial results.
Risks Related to our Securities
We may issue our public shares to investors in connection with our initial business combination at a price which is less than the prevailing market price of our public shares at that time.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may issue ordinary shares to investors in private placement transactions (so-called PIPE transactions) at a price of $10.00 per share or which approximates the per-share amounts in our trust account at such time, which is generally approximately $10.10. The purpose of such issuances will be to enable us to provide sufficient liquidity to the post-business combination entity. The price of the ordinary shares we issue may therefore be less, and potentially significantly less, than the market price for our public shares at such time.
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Our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.0043 per founder share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our Class A ordinary shares.
The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the Class A ordinary shares and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per Class A ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our sponsor acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon the closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public shareholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 121.2% (or $11.02 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $(1.93) and the initial offering price per unit. 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 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 rights of 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 determination of the offering price of our units and the size of this offering is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.
Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriters. In determining the size of this offering, management held customary organizational meetings with representatives of the underwriters, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of this offering, prices and terms of the units, including the Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights underlying the units, include:
| the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies; |
| prior offerings of those companies; |
| our prospects for acquiring an operating business; |
| a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions; |
| our capital structure; |
| an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies; |
| general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and |
| other factors as were deemed relevant. |
Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.
There is currently no market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
There is currently no market for our securities. Shareholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following this offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
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Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our units have been approved to be listed on Nasdaq. We expect that our units will be listed on Nasdaq on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. Following the date our Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that our Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights will be separately listed on Nasdaq. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the Nasdaq listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 400 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaqs initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaqs continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, our public shares price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and we would be required to have a minimum of 400 round lot holders of our securities, of which at least half of such round lot holders must own Class A ordinary shares valued at a minimum of $2,500. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
| a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
| reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| a determination that our Class A ordinary shares is 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. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as covered securities. Because we expect that our units and eventually our Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights will be listed on Nasdaq, our units, Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights will be covered securities. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities, including in connection with our initial business combination.
Redeeming shareholders may be unable to sell their securities when they wish to in the event that the proposed business combination is not approved.
We will require public shareholders who wish to redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with any proposed business combination to comply with the delivery requirements discussed above for redemption. If such proposed business combination is not consummated, we will promptly return such certificates to the tendering public shareholders. Accordingly, investors who attempted to redeem their public shares in such a circumstance will be unable to sell their securities after the failed acquisition until we have returned their securities to them. The market price for our Class A ordinary shares may decline during this time and you may not be able to sell your
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securities when you wish, even while other shareholders that did not seek redemption may be able to sell their securities.
Although we are registering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act, in connection with our initial business combination, we will need to file a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or a new registration statement with respect to such securities. Such post-effective amendment or new registration statement may not be in effect 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.
Under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 30 days, after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable best efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement for this offering or a new registration statement covering the registration under the Securities Act of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 days following our initial business combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration or redemption of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We 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 in connection with our initial business combination, 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 shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is at such time registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration or qualification is available.
If our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of 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; 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 best efforts to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities (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 shares underlying the warrants under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current, complete or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not, at the relevant time, registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the above requirements, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. Exercising the warrants on a cashless basis could have the effect of reducing the potential upside of the holders investment in our company because the warrant holder will hold a smaller number of Class A ordinary shares upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws and no exemption is available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant shall not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A ordinary shares included in the units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private
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placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the public warrants included as part of units sold in this offering. In such an instance, our sponsor and its permitted transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to exercise their warrants and sell the ordinary shares underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying ordinary shares. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying Class A ordinary shares 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 their warrants.
Our warrants and founder shares 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 will be issuing warrants to purchase 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares (or up to 23,000,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing in a private placement to our sponsor, private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of 6,425,000 Class A ordinary shares (or up to 7,100,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full). Our initial shareholders currently own an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares (up to 750,000 of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised). The founder shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our sponsor or its affiliates, or any of our officers or directors, makes any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into private placement-equivalent warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant (which, for example, would result in the holders being issued 1,500,000 warrants if $1,500,000 of notes were so converted), at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
To the extent we issue Class A ordinary shares to effectuate an initial business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon conversion of these rights or exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive business combination vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding our Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the initial business combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate an initial business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by us, (ii) they (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor until the completion of our initial business combination and (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis.
The exercise price for the public warrants is higher than in some similar blank check company offerings in the past, and, accordingly, the warrants are more likely to expire worthless.
The exercise price of the public warrants is higher than some similar blank check companies in the past. Historically, the exercise price of a warrant was generally a fraction of the purchase price of the units in the initial public offering. The exercise price for our public warrants is $11.50 per full share. As a result, the warrants are less likely to ever be in the money and more likely to expire worthless.
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 will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that
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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. 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 or shares, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of our ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
We may amend the terms of the rights in a manner that may be adverse to holders of rights with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding rights. As a result, the number of our Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a right could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a rights agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as rights agent, and us. The rights agreement provides that the terms of the rights may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding rights to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of rights. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the rights in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the rights with the consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding rights is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, decrease the number of our ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a right.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the last reported sales price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, 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 the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption and provided certain other conditions are met. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such Class A ordinary shares under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were offered by us in this offering. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you (i) to exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) to sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees.
Our warrant agreement and rights agreement will designate 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 and/or rights, which could limit the ability of warrant holders and rights holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our warrant agreement and rights agreement will provide 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 or rights 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 will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement and rights agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act, the Securities 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 or rights shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement and rights agreement. If any action, the
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subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the warrant agreement and the rights 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 or rights, 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 or rights holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holders or rights holders counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder or rights holder.
This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder or rights holders ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement or rights 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.
We have no obligation to net cash settle the warrants.
In no event will we have any obligation to net cash settle the warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accountant standards used. Additionally, we are a smaller reporting company as defined in Rule 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain
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a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of the prior June 30th, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th. 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.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an initial business combination.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2023. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target company with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.
An investment in this offering may result in uncertain or adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.
An investment in this offering may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there are no authorities that directly address instruments similar to the units we are issuing in this offering, the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of a unit among the one ordinary share, one warrant and one right included in each unit could be challenged by the IRS or the courts. Furthermore, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of a cashless exercise of warrants included in the units we are issuing in this offering is unclear under current law. It is also unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to our Class A ordinary shares suspend the running of a U.S. holders holding period for purposes of determining whether any gain or loss realized by such holder on the sale or exchange of Class A ordinary shares is long-term capital gain or loss and for determining whether any dividend we pay would be considered qualified dividends for federal income tax purposes. See the section titled Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations for a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax consequences of an investment in our securities. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences when purchasing, holding or disposing of our securities.
Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. Federal courts may be limited.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or 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. 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
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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 Dentons, Dinner Martin Attorneys, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the Board of Directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.
Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A ordinary shares and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions may include three-year director terms, 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.
The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to our pre-initial business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account), including an amendment to permit us to withdraw funds from the trust account such that the per share amount investors will receive upon any redemption or liquidation is substantially reduced or eliminated, may be amended with the approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in a general meeting, 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 and the trust agreement 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 a companys pre-initial business combination activity, without approval by a certain percentage of the companys shareholders. In those companies amendment of these provisions requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the companys public shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that any of its provisions, including those related to pre-initial business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement of units into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders as described herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or an amendment to permit us to withdraw funds from the trust account such that the per share amount investors will receive upon any redemption or liquidation is substantially reduced or eliminated) may be amended if approved by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in a general meeting, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 50% of our ordinary shares. Should our sponsor vote all its founder
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shares in favor of any such amendment, we would require 7,650,001 of the public shares issued in this offering to be voted in favor of any such amendment for its approval (assuming no exercise of the underwriters overallotment option and no purchase by our sponsor or its affiliates of public shares in this offering or thereafter). We may not issue additional securities that can vote on amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Our initial shareholders, which will collectively beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (not including the representative shares, and assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), 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 it chooses. 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.
Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early state company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The statements contained in this prospectus that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our managements expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words anticipates, believe, continue, could, estimate, expect, intends, may, might, plan, possible, potential, predicts, project, should, would and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about:
| our ability to complete our initial business combination; |
| our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
| our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination, as a result of which they would then receive expense reimbursements and other benefits; |
| our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete a business combination; |
| our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential investment opportunities; |
| potential changes in control of us if we acquire one or more target businesses for shares; |
| our public securities potential liquidity and trading; |
| the lack of a market for our securities; |
| our expectations regarding the time during which we will be an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act; |
| our use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; or |
| our financial performance following this offering or following an initial business combination. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading Risk Factors. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
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We are offering 20,000,000 units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit. We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering, in addition to the funds we will receive from the sale of the private placement securities (all of which will be deposited into the trust account), will be as set forth in the following table:
Without Over-Allotment Option |
Over-Allotment Option Exercised |
|||||||
Gross proceeds |
||||||||
From offering |
$ | 200,000,000 | $ | 230,000,000 | ||||
From private placement |
6,425,000 | 7,100,000 | ||||||
Total gross proceeds |
206,425,000 | 237,100,000 | ||||||
Offering expenses(1) |
||||||||
Underwriting commission (1.25% of gross proceeds from units offered to public, excluding deferred portion)(2) |
2,500,000 | (2) | 2,875,000 | (2) | ||||
Legal fees and expenses |
175,000 | 175,000 | ||||||
Nasdaq listing and filing fees |
50,000 | 50,000 | ||||||
Printing and engraving expenses |
25,000 | 25,000 | ||||||
Accounting fees and expenses |
60,000 | 60,000 | ||||||
FINRA/SEC filing fees |
55,000 | 55,000 | ||||||
Reimbursement for underwriter expenses(3) |
125,000 | 125,000 | ||||||
Miscellaneous expenses |
10,000 | 10,000 | ||||||
Total offering expenses (excluding deferred underwriting commissions) |
3,000,000 | 3,375,000 | ||||||
Net proceeds |
203,425,000 | 233,725,000 | ||||||
Held in trust(2) |
202,000,000 | 232,300,000 | ||||||
% of public offering size |
101 | % | 101 | % | ||||
Not held in trust |
1,425,000 | 1,425,000 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total net proceeds |
$ | 203,425,000 | $ | 233,725,000 | ||||
|
|
|
|
The following table shows the use of the approximately $1,425,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account.(4)
Amount | Percentage | |||||||
Legal, accounting and other third party expenses attendant to the search for target businesses and to the due diligence investigation, structuring and negotiation of a business combination |
$ | 200,000 | 14.0 | % | ||||
Due diligence, identification and research of prospective target business and reimbursement of out of pocket due diligence expenses to management |
150,000 | 10.5 | % | |||||
Legal and accounting fees relating to SEC reporting obligations |
150,000 | 10.5 | % | |||||
Payment of administrative fee to an affiliate of our sponsor ($10,000 per month for 12 months) |
120,000 | 8.4 | % | |||||
Nasdaq and other regulatory fees |
50,000 | 3.5 | % | |||||
Director and Officer liability insurance premiums |
675,000 | 47.4 | ||||||
Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses |
80,000 | 5.6 | % | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total |
$ | 1,425,000 | 100.0 | % | ||||
|
|
|
|
(1) | A portion of the offering expenses, including the SEC registration fee, the FINRA filing fee, the non-refundable portion of the Nasdaq listing fee and a portion of the legal and audit fees, have been paid from the loans we received from our sponsor described below. These amounts will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $500,000 of offering proceeds that have been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions). |
(2) | The underwriters have agreed to defer underwriting commissions equal to 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering. Upon completion of our initial business combination, $7,000,000, which constitutes the underwriters deferred commissions (or $8,050,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be paid to the underwriters from the funds held in the trust account, and the remaining funds, less amounts released to the trustee to pay redeeming shareholders, will be released to us and can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial business combination occurs or for general corporate purposes, including payment of |
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principal or interest on indebtedness incurred in connection with our initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other companies or for working capital. The underwriters will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions. |
(3) | The Company has agreed to reimburse the underwriters for certain expenses incurred in connection with the offering, including but not limited to road show expenses, in an amount not to exceed $125,000 in the aggregate. |
(4) | These expenses are estimates only and do not include interest which may be available to us from the trust account. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring our initial business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify an initial business combination target in a specific industry subject to specific regulations, we may incur additional expenses associated with legal due diligence and the engagement of special legal counsel. In addition, our staffing needs may vary and as a result, we may engage a number of consultants to assist with legal and financial due diligence. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would not be available for our expenses. |
Our sponsor has committed to purchase the private placement warrants for an aggregate purchase price of $6,425,000 (or $7,100,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) from us on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. All of the proceeds we receive from these purchases will be placed in the trust account described below.
Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $202,000,000 (or $232,300,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full), including $7,000,000 (or $8,050,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions, will be placed in a trust account in the United States, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations.
We will have until 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering to consummate an initial business combination.
We estimate that the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $20,200 per year, assuming an interest rate of 0.01% per year; however, we can provide no assurance regarding this amount. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our franchise and income tax obligations (less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of: (a) the completion of our initial business combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association(A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law.
The net proceeds held in the trust account may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we ultimately complete our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination, we may apply the balance of the cash released from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination.
We believe that amounts not held in trust will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. This belief is based on the fact that while we may begin preliminary due diligence of a target business in
63
connection with an indication of interest, we intend to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective business combination, only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of an initial business combination. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. If we are required to seek additional capital, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or their affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us.
Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we have agreed to pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of December 31, 2021, we had drawn down $242,801 under the promissory note with our sponsor to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. This loan is non-interest bearing, unsecured and due at the earlier of March 31, 2022 or the closing of this offering. If the loan is repaid upon the closing of this offering it will be repaid out of the offering proceeds not held in the trust account.
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 our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into private placement-equivalent warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant (which, for example, would result in the holders being issued 1,500,000 warrants if $1,500,000 of notes were so converted) at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such working capital loans by our sponsor or its affiliates, or 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 or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
If we 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, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of public shares our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or public warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination. See Proposed Business Permitted purchases of our securities for a description of how our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
The purpose of any such purchases of public shares could be to vote such public shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the initial business
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combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public float of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
We may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or immediately after the consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules) and the agreement for our initial business combination may require 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 so that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement or any net worth or cash requirements, we would not proceed with the redemption of our public shares or the initial business combination, and instead may search for an alternate business combination.
A public shareholder 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, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association(A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) following the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed initial business combination. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if our sponsor or any of our officers, directors or affiliates acquires public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
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We have not paid any cash dividends on our Class A ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of an 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 a business combination. Further, if we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith. The payment of any dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time and we will only pay such dividend out of our profits or share premium (subject to solvency requirements) as permitted under Cayman Islands law.
If we increase or decrease the size of the offering prior to the effective date of this registration statement, or pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, we will effect a share dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial shareholders at 20.0% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering (not including the representative shares). Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
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The difference between the public offering price per ordinary share, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering by this prospectus and the private placement warrants, and the pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of warrants, including the private placement warrants, which would cause the actual dilution to the public shareholders to be higher, particularly where a cashless exercise is utilized. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of Class A ordinary shares which may be redeemed for cash, by the number of outstanding ordinary shares).
At December 31, 2021, our net tangible book deficit was $292,365, or approximately a net tangible book deficit of $(0.05). After giving effect to the founder shares and the sale of 20,000,000 ordinary shares included in the units we are offering by this prospectus (or 23,000,000 ordinary shares if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full), the sale of the private placement warrants, the issuance of the representative shares and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at December 31, 2021 would have been $(14,062,963), or approximately $(1.93) per share (or $(1.93) per share if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full), representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of the 20,000,000 ordinary shares that may be redeemed for cash, or 23,000,000 ordinary shares if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) of $(1.87) per share (or $(1.88) per share if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) to our initial shareholders as of the date of this prospectus and dilution to public shareholders from this offering will be $11.02 per share (or $11.03 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full).
The following table illustrates the dilution to the new investors on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units and the private placement warrants:
Without Over-allotment |
With Over-allotment |
|||||||
Public offering price (including shares underlying rights) |
$ | 9.09 | $ | 9.09 | ||||
Net tangible book deficit before this offering |
(0.06 | ) | (0.05 | ) | ||||
Increase attributable to public shareholders |
(1.87 | ) | (1.88 | ) | ||||
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants |
(1.93 | ) | (1.93 | ) | ||||
Dilution to public shareholders |
$ | 11.02 | 11.03 | |||||
Percentage of dilution to public shareholders |
121.2 | % | 121.3 | % |
For purposes of presentation, we have reduced our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option) by $202,000,000 because holders of up to approximately 100.0% of our public shares may redeem their public shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account as set forth in our tender offer or proxy materials (initially anticipated to be the aggregate amount held in trust two days prior to the commencement of our tender offer or stockholders meeting, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes), divided by the number of Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering.
The following table sets forth information with respect to our initial shareholders and the public shareholders:
Shares Purchased | Total Consideration | Average Price Per Share |
||||||||||||||||||
Holder of |
Number | Percentage | Amount | Percentage | ||||||||||||||||
Sponsor(1) |
5,000,000 | 18.32 | % | $ | 25,000 | 0.01 | % | $ | 0.005 | |||||||||||
Representative shares |
300,000 | 1.10 | % | | | | ||||||||||||||
Public shareholders(2) |
22,000,000 | 80.59 | % | 200,000,000 | 99.99 | % | 9.09 | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Total |
27,300,000 | 100.00 | % | $ | 200,025,000 | 100.00 | % | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) | Assumes no exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of an aggregate of 750,000 Class B ordinary shares by our sponsor. |
(2) | Assumes the issuance of 2,000,000 shares underlying the rights. |
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The pro forma net tangible book value after the offering is calculated as follows:
Without Over-Allotment |
With Over-Allotment |
|||||||
Numerator: |
||||||||
Net tangible book value before this offering |
$(292,365) | (292,365) | (292,365 | ) | ||||
Net proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement warrants, net of expenses |
203,425,000 | 233,725,000 | ||||||
Plus: Offering costs paid in advance, excluded from tangible book value |
307,402 | 307,402 | ||||||
Less: Deferred underwriting commissions |
(7,000,000 | ) | (8,050,000 | ) | ||||
Less: Warrant liability |
(8,503,000 | ) | (9,629,000 | ) | ||||
Less: Proceeds held in trust subject to redemption(2) |
(202,000,000 | ) | (232,300,000 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
$ | (14,062,963 | ) | (16,238,963 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
Without Over-Allotment |
With Over-Allotment |
|||||||
Denominator: |
||||||||
Ordinary shares outstanding prior to this offering |
5,750,000 | 5,750,000 | ||||||
Ordinary shares forfeited if over-allotment is not exercised |
(750,000 | ) | | |||||
Ordinary shares to be issued to the representative |
300,000 | 345,000 | ||||||
Ordinary shares included in the units offered |
20,000,000 | 23,000,000 | ||||||
Class A units underlying the Rights |
2,000,000 | 2,300,000 | ||||||
Less: Shares subject to redemption/tender |
(20,000,000 | ) | (23,000,000 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
7,300,000 | 8,395,000 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
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CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our capitalization at December 31, 2021 and as adjusted to give effect to the sale of our units and the private securities and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities, assuming no exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option:
$ Actual | As Adjusted(1) | |||||||
Promissory note related party(2) |
242,801 | | ||||||
Deferred underwriting commissions |
| 7,000,000 | ||||||
Warrant liability(4) |
| 8,503,000 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 500,000,000 shares authorized; 0 and 20,000,000 shares subject to possible redemption, actual and as adjusted, respectively(3) |
| 202,000,000 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Preference shares, $0.0001 par value, 5,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted |
| | ||||||
Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 50,000,000 shares authorized; 5,750,000 and 5,000,000 shares issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted, respectively |
575 | 500 | ||||||
Additional paid-in capital |
24,425 | | ||||||
Accumulated deficit |
(9,963 | ) | (14,063,463 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total shareholders equity |
15,037 | (14,062,963 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total capitalization |
257,838 | 203,440,037 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
(1) | Assumes the full forfeiture of 750,000 Class B ordinary shares that are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised. The proceeds of the sale of such Class B ordinary shares will not be deposited into the trust account, the Class B ordinary shares will not be eligible for redemption from the trust account nor will they be eligible to vote upon the initial business combination. |
(2) | Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. The as adjusted information gives effect to the repayment of any loans made under this note out of the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants. As of December 31, 2021, we had drawn down $242,801 under the promissory note with our sponsor to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. |
(3) | Upon the completion of our initial business combination, we will provide our shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, subject to the limitations described herein whereby our net tangible assets will be maintained at a minimum of $5,000,001 and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed initial business combination. |
(4) | We will account for the 26,425,000 warrants to be issued in connection with this offering (the 20,000,000 warrants included in the units and the 6,425,000 private placement warrants, assuming the underwriters over-allotment option is not exercised) in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40. Such guidance provides that because the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded as a liability. Accordingly, we will 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. |
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MANAGEMENTS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated on August 6, 2021, for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more target businesses. While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any business, industry or geographical location, we intend to focus our search on targets founded by Asian or Asian American entrepreneurs who are building a global enterprise supported by forward thinking vision and innovative technology in predictable growth businesses with substantial revenue potential in frontier technologies including but not limited to artificial intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing, and electric vehicles. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination (including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following the consummation of this offering or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing. The issuance of additional ordinary shares in connection with an initial business combination to the owners of the target or other investors:
| may significantly reduce the equity interest of our shareholders, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis; |
| may subordinate the rights of holders of our ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our ordinary shares; |
| could cause a change in control if a substantial number of our ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and most likely will also result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and |
| may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our securities. |
Similarly, if we issue debt securities, or otherwise incur significant debt to bank or other lenders or the owners of a target it could result in:
| default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after a business combination are insufficient to pay our debt obligations; |
| acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we have made all principal and interest payments when due if the debt security contains covenants that required the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves and we breach any such covenant without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; |
| our inability to obtain additional financing, if necessary, if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain additional financing while such security is outstanding; |
| our inability to pay dividends on our Class A ordinary shares; |
| using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A ordinary shares if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes; |
| limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
| other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
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We are an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act. As an emerging growth company, we have elected to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until those standards apply to private companies. As such, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with public company effective dates.
Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for this offering. Following this offering, we will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination. We expect to generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after this offering. There has been no significant change in our financial or trading position and no material adverse change has occurred since the date of our audited financial statements. After this offering, we expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. We expect our expenses to increase substantially after the closing of this offering.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at December 31, 2021, we had $65,373 in cash and a working capital deficit of $292,365. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our financing and acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or 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.
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to the completion of this offering through a capital contribution from our sponsor of $25,000 for the founder shares and up to $300,000 in loans available from our sponsor under an unsecured promissory note. We estimate that the net proceeds from (i) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $500,000, underwriting commissions of $2,500,000 ($2,875,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) (excluding deferred underwriting commissions of $7,000,000 (or $8,050,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full), and (ii) the sale of the private placement warrants for a purchase price of $6,425,000 (or $7,100,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be $203,425,000 (or $233,725,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full). Of this amount, $202,000,000 (or $232,300,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be held in the trust account, which includes $7,000,000 (or $8,050,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. The remaining approximately $1,425,000 will not be held in the trust account. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,425,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $500,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
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 deferred underwriting commissions) to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay income taxes. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. We expect the interest earned on the amount in the trust account will be sufficient to pay our income taxes. To the extent that our public shares or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us the approximately $1,425,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account. We will use these funds 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
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and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete an initial business combination.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or 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 our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into private placement-equivalent warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant (which, for example, would result in the holders being issued 1,500,000 warrants if $1,500,000 of notes were so converted), at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such working capital loans by our sponsor or its affiliates, or our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $200,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses associated with structuring, negotiating and documenting successful business combinations; $150,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $120,000 for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support; $150,000 for due diligence, identification and research of prospective target business and reimbursement of out of pocket due diligence expenses to management; $50,000 for Nasdaq and other regulatory fees; $675,000 for director and officer liability insurance premiums and approximately $80,000 for working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves (including taxes net of anticipated interest income).
These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses. In addition, we could use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust to pay commitment fees for financing, fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business or as a down payment or to fund a no-shop provision (a provision designed to keep target businesses from shopping around for transactions with other companies on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed initial business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into an agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a no-shop provision would be determined based on the terms of the specific business combination and the amount of our available funds at the time. Our forfeiture of such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise) could result in our not having sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, prospective target businesses.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. In addition, we intend to target businesses larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, and may as a result be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. We may also obtain financing prior to closing of our initial business combination to fund our working capital needs and transaction costs in connection with our search for and completion of our initial business combination. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following consummation of this offering. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In addition, following our initial business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.
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Controls and Procedures
We are not currently required to certify an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer an emerging growth company would we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.
Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.
As of the date of this prospectus, we have not completed an assessment, nor have our auditors tested our systems, of internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Target businesses we may consider for a business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:
| staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties; |
| reconciliation of accounts; |
| proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate; |
| evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions; |
| documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and |
| documentation of accounting policies and procedures. |
Because it will take time, management involvement and perhaps outside resources to determine what internal control improvements are necessary for us to meet regulatory requirements and market expectations for our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expense in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.
Once our managements report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent auditors to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404. The independent auditors may identify additional issues concerning a target businesss internal controls while performing their audit of internal control over financial reporting.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
The net proceeds of this offering, including amounts in the trust account, will be invested in United States government securities within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 180 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. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Results
As of the date of this prospectus, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in this prospectus as we have conducted no operations to date.
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JOBS Act
On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an emerging growth company and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an emerging growth company. we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an auditors attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditors report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis), and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEOs compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of our initial public offering or until we are no longer an emerging growth company, whichever is earlier.
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Overview
We are a newly-incorporated Cayman Islands exempted company structured as a blank check company for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more target businesses. To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities and activities related to this offering. We have not selected any potential business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential target regarding entering a business combination with us.
While we may pursue an initial business combination in any business, industry or geographic location, we intend to prioritize our search with high-growth technology companies based in Asia and North America that were founded by Asian or Asian-American entrepreneurs who are building a global enterprise supported by forward thinking vision and innovative technology in predictable growth businesses with substantial revenue potential in frontier technologies including but not limited to artificial intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing, and electric vehicles.
We believe that there are attractive opportunities to acquire and merge with rapidly growing technology companies that are at a strategic inflection point. We are focused on identifying companies with disruptive technologies that have enabled them to grow quickly and are positioned to sustain a robust growth trajectory through the addition of new capital, access to public markets, and operational or strategic expertise. We plan to seek combination targets that have new or evolving opportunities to respond to changes in the marketplace. We plan to pursue a target that presents a significant value proposition to its customer marketplace, including major cost reductions in the field ranging from 50% to 200% return on investment (ROI), typically in the first year, a substantial decrease in carbon footprint, and/or vast improvements in safety, compliance, and environmental protocol.
Our management team consists of experienced investors and entrepreneurs who have expertise working with companies around the world in technology and financial sectors. Our management teams deep relationships with founders and investors have afforded them the ability to source and invest in numerous successful private companies prior to public offering or M&A exits.
Our board of directors has significant expertise founding, operating, advising, and investing in global companies across technology, financial service, and healthcare sectors. Furthermore, their robust experience in both developed and emerging markets provides us with optimal guidance while we search, negotiate and decide upon the potential acquisition target For further information on our management teams experience, see the section titled Management.
Business Combination Criteria
Our business combination criteria will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic sector, however, given the experience of our management team and board, we intend to focus our search on targets founded by Asian or Asian American entrepreneurs who are building a global enterprise supported by forward thinking vision and innovative technology in predictable growth businesses with substantial revenue potential in frontier technologies including but not limited to artificial intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing, and electric vehicles. We have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are consistent with our acquisition philosophy and our managements experience, and that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We intend to use these criteria and guidelines to evaluate business combination opportunities, but we may decide to consummate our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet one or more of these criteria and guidelines.
| Potential to Expand into a Multinational Technology Enterprise. We intend to prioritize technology businesses in Asian and North American markets (excluding China) where there are opportunities to expand internationally to dominate global market share. We prefer to look for industries where a sizable and growing global market is ripe for disruption. |
| High Growth Business with Substantial Revenue Potential. We will focus on investments in frontier technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, AR/VR, blockchain, quantum computing, and electronic |
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vehicles) that we believe demonstrate attractive long-term growth prospects relative to their acquisition valuations and reasonable overall size or potential. We view growth as an important driver of value and will seek companies whose growth potential can generate meaningful upside potential. |
| Strong Management Teams. We intend to acquire a business that has an experienced management team with a proven track record for producing rapid growth and with an ability to clearly and confidently articulate the business and market opportunities to public market investors. As such, we will spend significant time assessing a companys leadership and personnel, and evaluating what we can do to augment and/or upgrade the team over time as needed. |
| Ability to Efficiently Leverage Capital to Boost Operations. We will seek businesses that we believe are at an inflection point where the utilization of our capital can further propel the expansion of their business to the next operating level. We will spend significant time assessing a companys growth plans and projections to understand how our capital translates to operating growth and investor returns over the long-term. |
| Differentiated Products or Services. We will evaluate metrics such as recurring revenues, product life cycle, market share, cohort consistency, customer lifetime value, and customer acquisition costs to focus on businesses whose products or services are differentiated or where we see an opportunity to create value by implementing best practices. |
| Attractive Valuations. We will seek target companies for our initial business combination based on disciplined valuation-centric metrics. |
| Benefit From Being a Public Company. We intend to pursue a business combination with a company that we believe will benefit from being publicly traded and can effectively utilize the broader access to capital markets and public profile that are associated with being a publicly traded company. |
| Preparedness for the Process and Public Markets. We will seek to acquire a business that has or can put in place prior to the closing of a business combination the governance, financial systems and controls required in the public markets. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management team may deem relevant. In the event that we find an opportunity that has characteristics more compelling to us than the characteristics described above, we would pursue such opportunity.
There is no restriction in the geographic location of targets we can pursue, although we intend to initially prioritize Asia (excluding China) and the United States as the geographical focus. We will not undertake our initial business combination with any entity with its principal business operations in China (including Hong Kong and Macau).
Competitive Strengths and Advantages
We believe that our management team is well positioned to consummate an initial business combination due to its combination of operating and investing expertise. We believe that the most likely business combination targets will be those companies at a strategic inflection point, such as rapidly growing companies stepping out from the control of private equity or venture capital owners, family owned businesses seeking some liquidity, or business units being carved out from larger conglomerates. In these scenarios in particular, we believe the experience our management team brings in successfully scaling companies, especially those in the public markets, will be looked upon favorably by both the target company as well as public shareholders.
Specifically, we believe our competitive strengths to be the following:
| Experienced Management Team. Our management team and strategic advisors have a substantial investment track record and advisory experience, significant knowledge of technology analytics, |
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access to proprietary deal flow, and strong relationships with business leaders and entrepreneurs, especially in the Asian and Asian American technology sectors. We believe their backgrounds will allow us access to proprietary investment opportunities and position us to successfully complete an initial business combination. |
| Flexible Structure. With a public market for our Class A ordinary shares and $200 million (or $230 million if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) in trust, we have flexibility to be able to offer a target business a variety of options in structuring a transaction and funding future growth. Flexibility in using our public shares, debt, cash or a mixture of the foregoing, allows us to work with a target company to accommodate their needs. |
| Established Deal Sourcing Network and Personal Contacts. We intend to maximize our pipeline of potential target investments by proactively approaching our managements extensive network of contacts, including private equity and venture capital sponsors, family offices, executives of public and private companies, merger and acquisition advisory firms, investment banks, capital markets desks, lenders and other financial intermediaries. We believe the prior investment experience and track record of our team will give us a competitive advantage when sourcing potential target business opportunities, relationships with private equity and venture capital firms, and through investment bankers who we believe are likely to provide us with potential combination targets. |
| Deal-making and Capital Markets Experience through all Market Cycles. Our management team and strategic advisors consist of seasoned dealmakers with experience in a wide variety of industries, structures and market conditions, as well as experienced equity and debt capital markets professionals. Most have worked in the technology sector, as principal investors and as advisors, through different market cycles. Our management team and strategic advisors intend to apply the same disciplined approach to acquire a business that they have used in connection with their current advisory services and principal investment activities. |
| Experience with Complex Transactions. Members of our management team and strategic advisors have a track record of completing complex transactions requiring creative solutions and that this experience is expected to assist us in negotiating and closing a significant business combination. Members of our management team and strategic advisors also have a history of leveraging their relationship networks for due diligence and to develop a unique perspective and comfort with the issues faced in such complex opportunities |
| Investment Expertise. Our management team has extensive experience in identifying, evaluating, structuring, acquiring, and investing in privately held companies. Collectively, the members of our management team alone have been involved with or led over 150 acquisitions and investments. |
| Broad Sector Focused Expertise. Our management team brings deep expertise in a wide range of sub-sectors within the technology industry. We believe that our diverse range of expertise increases our chances of identifying a business combination target where we have the expertise to appropriately diligence the investment and to provide value post business combination. Specifically, members of our management team have experience operating, investing or serving on boards of companies in the following sub-sectors: consumer, blockchain, enterprise, fintech, life sciences, and emerging markets. |
| Public Company Status. We believe our status as a public company will make us an attractive transaction partner to prospective target businesses. As a public company, we believe the target business would benefit from greater access to capital to fund future growth initiatives, further means of creating incentive and compensation plans for management that are closely aligned with shareholders interests, and increased recognition and awareness potentially benefiting sales and recruiting. |
Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting
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commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a targets assets or prospects.
We will have until 12 months from the closing of this offering to consummate an initial business combination. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 12 months, we may extend the period of time to consummate a business combination up to two times, each by an additional three months (for a total of up to 18 months to complete a business combination) without submitting such proposed extensions to our shareholders for approval or offering our public shareholders redemption rights in connection therewith. 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 prospectus, in order to extend the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination, our sponsor or its affiliates or designees, upon ten days advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, must purchase an additional number of private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant for an aggregate of $2,000,000, or up to $2,300,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full ($0.10 per public share in either case), in a private placement to occur on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline, for each three-month extension (or up to an aggregate of $4,000,000 (or $4,600,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $0.20 per public share if we extend for the full six months). The proceeds from any such private placement shall be deposited into the trust account for the purpose of extending the period of time to consummate 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 either (i) in such a way so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses, or (ii) in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders, or for other reasons. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding share capital, 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 Class A ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding Class A ordinary subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaqs 80% of net assets test. If the initial 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 transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable.
Our Business Combination Process
In evaluating prospective business combinations, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review process that will encompass, among other things, a review of historical and projected financial and operating data, meetings with management and their advisors (if applicable), on-site inspection of facilities and assets, discussion with customers and suppliers, legal reviews and other reviews as we deem appropriate.
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We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor 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, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Our officers and directors will indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement warrants following this offering. Because of this ownership, our sponsor and our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors were to be included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target.
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. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. We believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will not materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
Our officers and directors have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) after the closing of this offering.
Our Management Team
Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any member of our management team will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process.
We believe our management teams operating and transaction experience and relationships with companies will provide us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships in various industries. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring and financing businesses, our management teams relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of our management team in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions. See the section of this prospectus entitled Management for a more complete description of our management teams experience.
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Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As a public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would have greater access to capital and additional means of creating management incentives that are better aligned with shareholders interests than it would as a private company. A target business can further benefit by augmenting its profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their share capital, shares or other equity interests in the target business for our Class A ordinary shares (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our ordinary and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers.
Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, marketing and road show efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with an initial business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed initial business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with shareholders interests and the ability to use its public shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a companys profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
While we believe that our structure and our management teams backgrounds will make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek shareholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.
We are an emerging growth company, as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and 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.
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 this offering, (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 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a smaller reporting company as defined in Rule 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other
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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 Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of the prior June 30th, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th.
Financial Position
With funds available for an initial business combination initially in the amount of $195,000,000, after payment of $7,000,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or $224,250,000 after payment of up to $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full), in each case before fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination (including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following the consummation of this offering or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. In addition, we intend to target businesses larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, and may as a result be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our proxy materials or tender offer documents disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek shareholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately, or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.
Sources of Target Businesses
We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and investment professionals. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us by calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of
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these sources will have read this prospectus and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as our sponsor and their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors and our sponsor and their affiliates. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finders fee, consulting fee, advisory fee or other compensation to be determined in an arms length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finders fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which our sponsor or officers are affiliated, be paid any finders fee, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation by the company prior to, or in connection with any services rendered for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). None of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finders fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated initial business combination. We have agreed to pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support and to reimburse our sponsor for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an initial business combination candidate.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or making the initial business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
As more fully discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled Management Conflicts of Interest, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an initial business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of a Business Combination
Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. The fair market value of our initial business combination will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation, a valuation based on trading multiples of comparable public businesses or a valuation based on the financial metrics of M&A transactions of comparable businesses. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market
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value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a targets assets or prospects. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. In evaluating a prospective target business, our management may consider a variety of factors, including one or more of the following:
In any case, we will only complete an initial business combination in which we own or acquire 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquire a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If we own or acquire less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses, the portion of such business or businesses that are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaqs 80% of net assets test. There is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
In evaluating a prospective business target, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review, which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
There is no restriction in the geographic location of targets we can pursue, although we intend to initially prioritize Asia (excluding China) and the United States as the geographical focus. We will not undertake our initial business combination with any entity with its principal business operations in China (including Hong Kong and Macau).
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. In addition, we intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in a single industry. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
| subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to a business combination, and |
| result in our dependency upon the performance of a single operating business or the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses and such businesses 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 acquisitions, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete the
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business combination. With multiple acquisitions, 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.
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target Business Management
Although we intend to scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting a business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of the target business management will prove to be correct. In addition, we cannot assure you that the future management will have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of our officers and directors, if any, in the target business following a business combination cannot presently be stated with any certainty. While it is possible that some of our key personnel will remain associated in senior management or advisory positions with us following a business combination, it is unlikely that they will devote their full time efforts to our affairs subsequent to a business combination. Moreover, they would only be able to remain with the company after the consummation of a business combination 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 them to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to the company after the consummation of the business combination. While the personal and financial interests of our key personnel may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, their ability to remain with the company after the consummation of a business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. Additionally, we cannot assure you that our officers and directors will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
Following a business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that any such additional managers we do recruit will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve an Initial Business Combination
In connection with any proposed business combination, we will either (1) seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination at a general meeting called for such purpose at which shareholders may seek to convert their public shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against the proposed business combination or dont vote at all, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (net of taxes payable), or (2) provide our shareholders with the opportunity to sell their public shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a shareholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (net of taxes payable), in each case subject to the limitations described herein. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their public 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. If we determine to engage in a tender offer, such tender offer will be structured so that each shareholder may tender all of his, her or its public shares rather than some pro rata portion of his, her or its share. In that case, we will file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination as is required under the SECs proxy rules. Regardless of whether we seek shareholder approval or engage in a tender offer, we will consummate our initial business combination only if we have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 immediately after the consummation and, if we seek shareholder approval, only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company.
We chose our net tangible asset threshold of $5,000,001 to ensure that we would avoid being subject to Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. However, if we seek to consummate an initial business combination with a target business that imposes any type of working capital closing condition or requires us to have a minimum amount of funds available from the trust account upon consummation of such
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initial business combination, we may need to have more than $5,000,001 in net tangible assets immediately after the consummation and this may force us to seek third party financing which may not be available on terms acceptable to us or at all. As a result, we may not be able to consummate such initial business combination and we may not be able to locate another suitable target within the applicable time period, if at all. Public shareholders may therefore have to wait 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering in order to be able to receive a pro rata share of the trust account.
Our sponsor, initial shareholders, officers and directors have agreed (1) to vote any ordinary shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination, (2) not to convert any ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination and (3) not sell any ordinary shares in any tender in connection with a proposed initial business combination.
None of our officers, directors, sponsor, initial shareholders or their affiliates has indicated any intention to purchase units or Class A ordinary shares in this offering or from persons in the open market or in private transactions. However, if we hold a general meeting to approve a proposed business combination and a significant number of shareholders vote, or indicate an intention to vote, against such proposed business combination or that they wish to redeem their public shares, our officers, directors, sponsor, initial shareholders or their affiliates could make such purchases in the open market or in private transactions in order to influence the vote and reduce the number of redemptions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, our officers, directors, Sponsor, initial shareholders and their affiliates will not make purchases of Class A ordinary shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act, which are rules designed to stop potential manipulation of a companys shares.
Permitted Purchases of our Securities
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, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of public shares our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
In the event that our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their 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 public shares. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or public warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination.
The purpose of any such purchases of public shares could be to vote such public shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been
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possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public float of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling shareholders who have expressed their election to redeem their public shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such shareholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates will only purchase Public shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of Class A ordinary shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchases are subject to such reporting requirements.
Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.10 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their public shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the initial business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement.
Under Nasdaq rules, asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding ordinary share or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum of association and articles would require shareholder approval. If we structure an initial business combination with a target company in a manner that requires shareholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a shareholder vote to approve the proposed initial business combination. We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless shareholder approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to seek shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with such rules.
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If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
| conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and |
| file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our Class A ordinary shares in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares which are not purchased by our sponsor, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or immediately after the consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public shareholders tender more public shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.
If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
| conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and |
| file proxy materials with the SEC. |
In the event that we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
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, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. A quorum for a general meeting is the holders of a majority of the ordinary shares being individuals present in person or by proxy or if a corporation or other non-natural person by its duly authorized representative or proxy. Our initial shareholders will count toward this quorum and pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding ordinary shares voted, abstentions and broker non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our founder shares, we would need 7,650,001, or 38.25% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted, the over-allotment option is not exercised and the sponsors do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have such initial business combination approved, assuming no resolution or other approval is required pursuant to Cayman Islands or other applicable law. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial
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shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or immediately after the consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed initial business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed initial business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any Class A ordinary shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. We may, however, raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combinations, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangement we may enter into following consummation of this offering, in order to, among other reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets or minimum cash requirements.
Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination if we Seek Shareholder Approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing, 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 will provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a group (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the Excess Shares. Such restriction shall also be applicable to our affiliates. We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of Class A ordinary shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed initial business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their public shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holders Class A ordinary shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders ability to redeem no more than 15% of the Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with an initial business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders ability to vote all of their public Class A ordinary shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights
We may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their public shares in street name, to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy 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 materials, or to deliver their public shares to the transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Companys DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holders option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials
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until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the vote on the initial business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its public shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the Class A ordinary shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their public shares. The need to deliver public shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the shareholders vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed initial business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the initial business combination was approved, the company would contact such shareholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the shareholder then had an option window after the completion of the initial business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the companys Class A ordinary shares in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her Class A ordinary shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her Class A ordinary shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which shareholders were aware they needed to commit before the general meeting, would become option rights surviving past the completion of the initial business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming holders election to redeem is irrevocable once the initial business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such Class A ordinary shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or the date of the general meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their public shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public shareholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their public shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their public shares.
If our initial proposed initial business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete an initial business combination with a different target until 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering.
Time to Complete Business Combination
We will have until 12 months from the closing of this offering to consummate an initial business combination. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 12 months, we may extend the period of time to consummate a business combination up to two times, each by an additional three months (for a total of up to 18 months to complete a business combination) without submitting such proposed extensions to our shareholders for approval or offering our public shareholders redemption rights in connection therewith. 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 prospectus, in order to extend the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination, our sponsor or its affiliates or designees, upon ten days advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, must deposit into the trust account $2,000,000, or up to $2,300,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full ($0.10 per public Class A ordinary share in either case) on or prior to the date
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of the applicable deadline, for each three-month extension (or up to an aggregate of $4,000,000 (or $4,600,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $0.20 per public Class A ordinary share if we extend for the full six months). Any such payments would be made in the form of a loan. Any such loans will be non-interest bearing and payable upon the consummation of our initial business combination. The proceeds from any such private placement shall be deposited into the trust account for the purpose of extending the period of time to consummate 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.
Liquidation if No Business Combination
If we have not completed an initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the outstanding public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including any interest not previously released to us but net of taxes payable, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further 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.
There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our rights or warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering. However, if our sponsor, officers or directors acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or immediately after the consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SECs penny stock rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above), we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $1,425,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. We will depend on sufficient interest being earned on the proceeds held in the trust account to pay any franchise and income tax obligations we may owe. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses
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associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay franchise and income taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $50,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.10. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be substantially less than $10.10.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third partys engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. EisnerAmper LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of the offering, will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.
In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.10 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 $10.10 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsors 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 $10.10 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.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (i) $10.10 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to
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take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations and we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.10 per public share.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to approximately $1,425,000 from the proceeds of this offering with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $50,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $500,000 (excluding underwriting commissions), we may fund such excess with funds from the funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $500,000 (excluding underwriting commissions), the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
If 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, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.10 per share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if 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. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend any provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a shareholders voting in connection with the initial business combination alone will not result in a shareholders redeeming its public shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote.
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Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the consummation of our initial business combination. If we seek to amend any provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association relating to shareholders rights or pre-business combination activity, we will provide dissenting public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with any such vote. Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to waive any redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide, among other things, that:
| we shall either (1) seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination at a general meeting called for such purpose at which shareholders may seek to redeem their public shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against the proposed business combination or dont vote at all, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (net of taxes payable), or (2) provide our shareholders with the opportunity to sell their public shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a shareholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (net of taxes payable), in each case subject to the limitations described herein; |
| we will consummate our initial business combination only if we have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 immediately after such consummation and, if we seek shareholder approval, only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company; |
| if our initial business combination is not consummated within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering, then we will redeem all of the outstanding public shares and thereafter liquidate and dissolve our company; |
| upon the consummation of this offering, $202,000,000, or $232,300,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, shall be placed into the trust account; |
| we may not consummate any other business combination, merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar transaction prior to our initial business combination; and |
| prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional ordinary shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. |
| These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we may consummate our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. |
Competition
The following also may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses:
| our obligation to seek shareholder approval of a business combination or engage in a tender offer may delay the completion of a transaction; |
| our obligation to convert or repurchase Class A ordinary shares held by our public shareholders may reduce the resources available to us for a business combination; and |
| our outstanding warrants, and the potential future dilution they represent. |
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Any of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. Our management believes, however, that our status as a public entity and potential access to the United States public equity markets may give us a competitive advantage over privately-held entities having a similar business objective as ours in acquiring a target business with significant growth potential on favorable terms.
If we succeed in effecting a business combination, there will be, in all likelihood, intense competition from competitors of the target business. We cannot assure you that, subsequent to a business combination, we will have the resources or ability to compete effectively.
Facilities
Our executive offices are located at 4 Embarcadero Center Suite 1449, San Francisco, California 94105. The cost for this space is included in the up to $10,000 per-month aggregate fee to be paid to an affiliate of our sponsor for general and administrative services commencing on the date of this prospectus pursuant to a letter agreement between us and our sponsor. We believe, based on rents and fees for similar services in the Cayman Islands that the fee charged by our sponsor is at least as favorable as we could have obtained from an unaffiliated person. We consider our current office space, combined with the other office space otherwise available to our executive officers, adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have three officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the initial business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Audited Financial Statements
We will register our units, Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to shareholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential targets we may conduct an initial business combination with because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential business combination candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target company may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination. Prior to the date of this prospectus, we have filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result,
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we will be subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.
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 this offering, (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 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
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 of this prospectus.
Comparison to Offerings of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419
The following table compares and contrasts the terms of our offering and the terms of an offering of blank check companies under Rule 419 promulgated by the SEC assuming that the gross proceeds, underwriting discounts and underwriting expenses for the Rule 419 offering are the same as this offering and that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option. None of the terms of a Rule 419 offering will apply to this offering because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,001 immediately after the successful consummation of this offering and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact.
Terms of the Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||
Offering proceeds to be put in trust | $202,000,000 of the proceeds from this offering and sale of the private securities will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee |
$170,100,000 of the offering proceeds would be required to be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account. | ||
Investment of net proceeds | The $202,000,000 of the proceeds from this offering and sale of the private securities held in trust will only be invested in United States government securities within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act with a maturity of 180 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. |
Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States. | ||
Receipt of interest on escrowed funds | Interest on proceeds from the trust account to be paid to shareholders is reduced by (i) any income or franchise taxes paid or payable, and (ii) in the event of our liquidation for failure to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time, up to $50,000 of net interest that may be |
Interest on funds in escrow account would be held for the sole benefit of investors, unless and only after the funds held in escrow were released to us in connection with our completion of a business combination. |
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Terms of the Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||
released to us should we have no or insufficient working capital to fund the costs and expenses of our dissolution and liquidation. |
||||
Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business | Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. |
The fair value or net assets of a target business must represent at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds. | ||
Trading of securities issued | We expect the units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Maxim informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering, which is anticipated to take place three business days from the date of this prospectus. If the over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, an additional Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the over-allotment option. |
No trading of the units or the underlying Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account. | ||
Exercise of the warrants | The warrants cannot be exercised until the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination or 12 months from the closing of this offering. |
The warrants could be exercised prior to the completion of a business combination, but securities received and cash paid in connection with the exercise would be deposited in the escrow or trust account. | ||
Election to remain an investor | We will either (1) give our shareholders the opportunity to vote on the business combination or (2) provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to sell our Class A ordinary shares to us in a tender offer for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, less |
A prospectus containing information required by the SEC would be sent to each investor. Each investor would be given the opportunity to notify the company, in writing, within a period of no less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of the post-effective |
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Terms of the Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||
taxes. If we hold a general meeting to approve a proposed business combination, we will send each shareholder a proxy statement containing information required by the SEC. Alternatively, if we do not hold a general meeting and instead conduct a tender offer, we will conduct such tender offer in accordance with the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination as we would have included in a proxy statement. |
amendment, to decide whether he or she elects to remain a shareholder of the company or require the return of his or her investment. If the company has not received the notification by the end of the 45th business day, funds and interest or dividends, if any, held in the trust or escrow account would automatically be returned to the shareholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all of the deposited funds in the escrow account must be returned to all investors and none of the securities will be issued. | |||
Business combination deadline | Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the outstanding public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including any interest not released to us but net of franchise and income taxes payable, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further 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. |
If a business combination has not been completed within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) after the effective date of the companys registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account are returned to investors. | ||
Release of funds | Except for any interest earned on the funds in the trust account that we may need to pay our tax obligations, the proceeds held in the trust account will |
The proceeds held in the escrow account would not be released to the company until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to |
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Terms of the Offering |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering | |||
not be released to us until the earlier of the completion of a business combination and our liquidation upon failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. |
effect a business combination within the allotted time. | |||
Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold a shareholder vote | 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 will provide that a public shareholder (including our affiliates), together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a group (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to Excess Shares (more than an aggregate of 15% of the Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering). Our public shareholders inability to redeem Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and they could suffer a material loss on their investment in us if they sell any Excess Shares in open market transactions. |
Many blank check companies provide no restrictions on the ability of shareholders to redeem shares based on the number of shares held by such shareholders in connection with an initial business combination. |
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Directors and Executive Officers
Our current directors and executive officers are as follows:
Name |
Age | Position | ||||
Zachary Wang |
34 | Chief Executive Officer and Chairman | ||||
Cathryn Chen |
32 | Chief Operating Officer and Co-Vice Chairwoman | ||||
Yida Gao |
31 | Chief Financial Officer and Co-Vice Chairman | ||||
James C. Woolery |
52 | Director | ||||
Sam Yam |
37 | Independent Director | ||||
Max Baucus |
80 | Independent Director | ||||
Paul Asquith |
73 | Independent Director | ||||
Alec Hartman |
35 | Independent Director |
Zachary Wang served as our Chief Executive Office and Chairman of our Board of Directors since August 2021. Mr. Wang founded Ascan Investments (Ascan), a New York-based single-family office and investment firm, in January 2020, where he acts as Founder and CEO. With Ascan, Mr. Wang focuses on high growth investments in the technology, real estate, and healthcare industries globally. Prior to Ascan, Mr. Wang was the Director of Investments, US Fund at Alpha Square Group, a New York based family office where he led investments in mid and late-stage private technology companies in the US and Asia from 2017 - 2019. During his tenure at Alpha Square, Mr. Wangs investments include but are not limited to Digital Ocean (NYSE: DOCN), SoFi (NASDAQ: SOFI), Boxed (NYSE: BOXD) (SPAC acquisition completed in 2021 at $900m valuation), Netskope (last raised Series H financing at $7.5bn valuation) and TradeShift (recently raised pre-IPO financing at $2.7bn valuation). In 2016, Mr. Wang worked at ZZ Ventures, a prominent Chinese asset manager based in Silicon Valley, where he helped launch of the firms venture investment platform and make the funds first investments in companies such as Ripple Labs and Addepar. Mr. Wang has also held positions with several prominent financial institutions and financial services firms, including tech-focused growth and buyout private equity fund Rho Ventures, the FinTech investment banking division of Macquarie Group, M&A management consulting at Ernst & Young, and corporate development at PNC Bank. He received his MBA from Columbia Business School and a Bachelors in Finance from Ohio State University. We believe Mr. Wang is well qualified to serve as our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of our Board of Directors due to his extensive experience in evaluating and investing in technology companies in the US, Europe and Asia.
Cathryn Chen has served as our Chief Operating Officer and Co-Vice Chairwoman of the Board of Directors since August 2021. Ms. Chen is the Managing Director of MarketX Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on growth to stage technologies investments, and the Founder & CEO of MarketX Inc., a fintech company with the mission to revolutionize the private markets. Founded in March 2015, MarketX Inc. is backed by 12 technology founder & CEOs and has completed over $250M in primary and secondary pre-IPO transactions. In 2020, she launched MarketX Ventures, a growth to late-stage focused venture fund, backed by technology executives such as the founders of Thrasio and Patreon. Prior to founding MarketX, Ms. Chen worked as an investment banker with prominent investment banks including Deutsche Bank, NM Rothschild, and JP Morgan in London, New York, and Hong Kong. During her investment banking career, Ms. Chen was involved with dozens of IPOs, M&As, and private placements including Alibaba, Omada Health, and Twitter. Since founding MarketX Ventures, Ms. Chen has worked with and is currently advising over 200 family offices globally. MarketX has invested in and transacted with a few dozen pre-IPO companies in the US, China, and Europe, with an aggregate market capitalization of over $500 billion. Previously, Ms. Chen was also an early employee with EverString Technology (EverString), an ad-tech company backed by Sequoia Capital & Lightspeed Partners that was later sold to ZoomInfo. Ms. Chen is a nextgen member of the Committee of 100, a non-profit organization (Ma founded the Committee of 100 with I.M. Pei and several other distinguished Chinese Americans in 1989 to give Chinese Americans a strong voice in U.S.-China relations and Asian American affairs). In 2008, Ms. Chen co-founded MoneyThink LA, a 501(c)3 non-profit that provides financial education to urban high school students around the nation. Its parent company, MoneyThink, received the Champions of change award from then-President Barrack Obama in 2012. Ms. Chen received her Bachelors degree from UCLA and General Course, London School of Economics and Political Science. We believe Ms. Chen is well qualified to serve as our Chief Operating Officer and Co-Vice Chairwoman due to her outstanding investment experience for a broad range of technology companies and background in investing in technology companies worldwide.
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Yida Gao has served as our Chief Financial Officer and Co-Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors since August 2021. In June 2021, he founded and currently leads investments at Shima Capital, an early-stage venture capital fund backed by Digital Currency Group, Dragonfly Capital, Huobi Global, and other strategic investors. Shima Capital focuses on investments in the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries. From March 2016 to February 2021, Mr. Gao co-ran Struck Capital, an early-stage industry agnostic venture fund, and Divergence Digital Currency, a multi-strategy cryptocurrency hedge fund. From July 2015 to July 2017, Mr. Gao was a technology investor at New Enterprise Associates, one of the worlds largest venture capital funds with over $25 billion in assets under management, where he worked on deals that included DoorDash, OpenDoor, Wealthfront, and Mojo Vision. From June 2013 to July 2015, Mr. Gao was an investment banker with Morgan Stanleys M&A group in New York City, where he helped execute over $15 billion in aggregate deal volume. Mr. Gao graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with degrees in math and computer science. We believe Mr. Gao is well qualified to serve as our Chief Financial Officer and our Co-Vice Chairman due to his extensive experience in investing in technology companies and his investment banking experience.
Sam Yam became a director prior to the consummation of this offering. Since May 2013, Mr. Yam has served as the Co-Founder and President of Patreon, a platform that funds content creators and artists through membership subscriptions from fans around the world. Patreon was recently valued at more than $4 billion through its latest Series F financing round, and its lead investors include Tiger Global Management, Wellington Management and New Enterprise Associates. Prior to Patreon, from 2019 to 2010, Mr. Yam co-founded and led AdWhirl, a mobile monetization platform which was acquired by AdMob, and later by Google. Mr. Yam is a YC Expert at Y Combinator and previously held engineering and product management positions at Google, Yahoo, and Stanfords StartX. Mr. Yam graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science from Stanford. We believe Mr. Yam is well qualified to serve as one of our directors due to his background and a track record of investing in and working for technology companies.
Max Baucus became a director prior to the consummation of this offering. In 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama nominated him to be Ambassador of the United States of America to the Peoples Republic of China, a position he held until 2017. Ambassador Baucus formerly served as the senior United States Senator from Montana from 1978 to 2014 and was Montanas longest serving U.S. Senator. While in the Senate, Ambassador Baucus was Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Finance (the Finance Committee). As chairman of the Finance Committee, he was the chief architect of the Affordable Health Care Act (ACA) which was signed by President Barack Obama into law March 23, 2009. In addition, as chairman of the Finance Committee, Ambassador Baucus led the passage and enactment of the Free Trade Agreements with 11 countries. While serving on the Senate Agriculture Committee, he led in securing reauthorization of numerous farm bills. As a member of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, he guided many highway bills and other infrastructure legislation to passage as well as leading the passage of The Clean Air Act of 1990. Before his election to the U.S. Senate, Ambassador Baucus represented Montana in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1975 to 1978. Ambassador Baucus earned a Bachelors and Juris Doctor degree from Stanford University. Ambassador Baucus currently has a consulting business, Baucus Group LLC, and advises several tech and bio tech companies as well as engaging in numerous public speaking engagements. He and his wife have also founded a public policy institute at the University of Montana School of Law, The. Baucus Institute, which they are very active in the day-to-day operations of. We believe Mr. Baucus is well qualified to serve as one of our directors due to his extensive experience in domestic and international trade and legislative processes.
James C. Woolery became a director prior to the consummation of this offering. Mr. Woolery is currently a Founding Partner at Woolery & Co, a law and strategic advisory firm he founded in the fall of 2020. Prior to founding Woolery & Co, Mr. Woolery was head of the M&A, Corporate Governance and Shareholder Activism practice group of global law firm King & Spalding LLP, from May 2017 to September 2020, and was an attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP from January 1994 to January 2011, including as a Senior Partner from January 2002 to January 2011, during which time he established and led Cravaths Business Development and Strategy department, advising public company boards of directors on scores of completed mergers, spin-offs, joint ventures and LBOs, including the first ever public company M&A transaction between the U.S. and China with IBMs historic sale of its Thinkpad Personal Computer business to Lenovo. Mr. Woolery then served as co-head of JPMorgan Chases North American mergers and acquisitions practice from January 2011 to February 2013. From February 2013 to January 2015, Mr. Woolery was Deputy Chairman, and later named chairman-elect and co-chair, of the Corporate Department of global law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, where he advised numerous companies on a variety of corporate issues, and was responsible for business development, strategy and external
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relations. From January 2015 to November 2016, Mr. Woolery was co-founder and principal of hedge fund Hudson Executive Capital, where he developed a friendly activist M&A strategy termed Constructive Engagement, that sought to create value in U.S. middle-market companies through constructive shareholder engagement and transactional expertise. Mr. Woolery holds a BA from Wake Forest University and a JD from the University of Kentucky. We believe Mr. Woolery is well qualified to serve as one of our directors due to his extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions and evaluating, structuring and negotiating complex international transactions.
Paul Asquith became a director prior to the consummation of this offering. Paul Asquith is the Gordon Y Billard Professor of Finance at M.I.T. s Sloan School where he has been on the faculty for thirty-three years. He served for two of those years as Senior Associate Dean and another seven years as Chairman of Sloans Finance Group. He currently teaches Introduction to Corporate Finance but has also developed and taught three other courses at M.I.T.: Advanced Corporate Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Security Design. He previously taught at Harvard University for ten years and at the University of Chicago. In addition, Professor Asquith spent sabbaticals at Duke University and Imperial College, London. He is the recipient of fifteen teaching awards from M.I.T., Harvard, and Duke. Professor Asquith received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. In 1985 he spent one semester at Salomon Brothers while on sabbatical from Harvard University. Professor Asquith was formerly a Director of Aurora National Life Assurance Company. He has advised many corporations including Citicorp, IBM, Merck, Morgan Guaranty, Price Waterhouse, Royal Bank of Canada, Salomon Brothers, Toronto Dominion Bank, and Xerox, and also served as an expert witness in both Federal Court and the Delaware Chancery Court. In 1992 Professor Asquith was elected a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He holds a BA in economics from Michigan State University as well as an AM and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago. We believe Professor Asquith is well qualified to serve as one of our directors due to his rich experience in academia and his broad business experience.
Alec Hartman became a director prior to the consummation of this offering. Alec is a seasoned technologist and entrepreneur with a track record of creating and exiting multiple companies. In June 2011 Mr. Hartman co-founded DigitalOcean, a Software as a Service cloud infrastructure and data center provider. DigitalOcean became a public company in 2021 with an initial public market capitalization of ~$5 billion USD. In 2012, Mr. Hartman founded the TechDay, an event series that operates in multiple markets around the world, where he served as CEO until 2017 when the business was sold to Continental Exhibitions. Mr. Hartman has served on the advisory team to the Estonian government in developing their e-residency program, as we all as on the Bermuda Tourism Board. Mr. Hartman has been a special guest of NASDAQ three times for bell ringing ceremonies and market commentary, and is regularly quoted in publications ranging from the Wall Street Journal to Money Magazine. As an avid car enthusiast, Mr. Hartman also collaborated with the NY International Auto Show to develop their wildly popular content series. In March 2020, Mr. Hartman founded Welcome Homes, a venture capital-backed company productizing new home construction direct-to-consumer. Mr. Hartman graduated from Emory University with a Bachelors in Political Science. We believe Mr. Hartman is well qualified to serve as one of our directors due to his extensive experience in evaluating and investing in technology companies.
Family Relationships
There are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers that are required to be disclosed by Regulation S-K.
Officers and Directors
We have eight directors. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of the board of directors. Subject to the terms of any preference shares, any or all of the directors may be removed from office at any time, but only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the voting power of all then outstanding shares entitled to vote generally in the appointment of directors, voting together as a single class. Any vacancy on our board of directors, including a vacancy resulting from an enlargement of our board of directors, may be filled only by vote of a majority of our directors then in office.
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
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bylaws as it deems appropriate. Our memorandum and articles of association provide that our officers may consist of a Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, President, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Secretaries and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. An independent director is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the companys board of directors, would interfere with the directors exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that Sam Yam, Max Baucus, Paul Asquith and Alec Hartman are independent directors as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Officer and Director Compensation
None of our officers has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we have agreed to pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. No compensation of any kind, including any finders fee, reimbursement, consulting fee or monies in respect of any payment of a loan, will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers, prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such payments, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed initial business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed initial business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our managements motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has three standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, Nasdaq rules and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors, and Nasdaq rules require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors.
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Audit Committee
We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. Messrs. Asquith, Hartman and Yam serve as members of our audit committee, and Mr. Asquith is the chair of the audit committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Messrs. Asquith, Hartman and Yam meet the independent director standard under Nasdaq listing standards and under Rule 10-A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange Act.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Asquith qualifies as an audit committee financial expert as defined in applicable SEC rules.
We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
| the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
| pre-approving all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; |
| setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm, including but not limited to, as required by applicable laws and regulations; |
| setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
| obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent registered public accounting firm describing (i) the independent registered public accounting firms internal quality-control procedures, (ii) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues and (iii) all relationships between the independent registered public accounting firm and us to assess the independent registered public accounting firms independence; |
| reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and |
| reviewing with management, the independent registered public accounting firm, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. |
Compensation Committee
We have established a compensation committee of the board of directors. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members of the compensation committee, all of whom must be independent. Messrs. Hartman, Asquith and Yam serve as members of our compensation committee, all of whom are independent. Mr. Hartman is the chair of the compensation committee.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
| reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officers compensation, if any is paid by us, evaluating our Chief Executive Officers performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation; |
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| reviewing and approving on an annual basis the compensation, if any is paid by us, of all of our other officers; |
| reviewing on an annual basis our executive compensation policies and plans; |
| implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
| assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
| approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees; |
| if required, producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
| reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, other than the payment to an affiliate of our sponsor of $10,000 per month, for 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time), for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support and reimbursement of expenses, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing shareholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate the consummation of an initial business combination. Accordingly, it is likely that prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, the compensation committee will only be responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial business combination.
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, independent legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
We have established a nominating and corporate governance committee of the board of directors. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members of the nominating and corporate governance committee, all of whom must be independent. Messrs. Baucus, Asquith and Hartman serve as members of our nominating and corporate governance committee, all of whom are independent. Mr. Baucus is the chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee.
The nominating and corporate governance committee will consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our shareholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for appointment at the next annual general meeting (or, if applicable, an extraordinary general meeting). Our shareholders that wish to nominate a director for appointment to our board of directors should follow the procedures set forth in our bylaws.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our shareholders. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our officers currently serves, or in the past year has served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more officers serving on our board of directors.
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Code of Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our Code of Ethics and our audit and compensation committee charters as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You can review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SECs web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K. See the section of this prospectus entitled Where You Can Find Additional Information.
Conflicts of Interest
Members of our management team do not have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware, unless presented to such member solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
Our officers and directors have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act, until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) after the closing of this offering. Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
| None of our officers or directors is required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities. |
| In the course of their other business activities, our officers and directors may become aware of investment and business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. |
| Our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Additionally, our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) after the closing of this offering. If we do not complete our initial business combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement warrants (and the underlying Class A ordinary shares) will expire worthless. Our initial shareholders have agreed that the founder shares will be placed in an escrow account and will not be transferable or assignable until the earlier to occur of (i) six months after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination or (ii) the date on which we consummate a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled Principal Shareholders Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants). Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing 30 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares will no longer be subject to such transfer |
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restrictions. With certain limited exceptions, the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants, will not be transferable, assignable or saleable by our sponsor or its permitted transferees until after the completion of our initial business combination. Since our sponsor and officers and directors may directly or indirectly own ordinary shares, warrants and rights following this offering, our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. |
| Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. |
| Our sponsor, officers or directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a business combination and financing arrangements as we may obtain loans from our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or any of our officers or directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into private placement-equivalent warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant (which, for example, would result in the holders being issued 1,500,000 warrants if $1,500,000 of notes were so converted), at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. |
The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.
We have engaged Woolery & Co. PLLC in connection with certain legal matters relating to this offering and other corporate matters and intend to engage Woolery & Co PLLC (along with Dentons US LLP) for general matters after this offering. Mr. James C. Woolery, one of our directors, is a founding partner at Woolery & Co.
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 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. |
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 which that director has.
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.
Each of our directors and officers presently has, and in the future any of our directors and our officers may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present acquisition opportunities to such entity. Accordingly, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an acquisition opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will need to honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such acquisition opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. 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
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an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
Name of Individual | Name of Affiliated Company | Affiliation | ||
Zachary Wang |
ATAC Sponsor LLC | Co-Founder Chief Executive Officer Member | ||
ATAC Manager LLC | Manager Member | |||
Ascan Investments LLC | Sole Member | |||
FWS Family Office LLC | Sole Member | |||
FWS Family Office Management LLC | Sole Member | |||
213 Roosevelt Street LLC | Member | |||
FWS Pico Investment I LLC | Managing Member | |||
FWS Pico Investment II LLC | Sole Member of Managing Member | |||
FWS Pico Investment II GP LLC | Managing Founding Member | |||
Cathryn Chen |
ATAC Sponsor LLC | Co-Founder Chief Operating Officer | ||
ATAC Manager LLC | Manager Member | |||
MarketX Inc. | Founder and CEO | |||
MarketX Ventures LLC | Managing Director | |||
MarketX Securities LLC | Managing Director | |||
Yida Gao |
ATAC Sponsor LLC | Co-Founder Chief Financial officer Member | ||
ATAC Manager LLC | Manager Member | |||
Shima Capital Management LLC | Founder | |||
Sam Yam |
Patreon, Inc. | Co-Founder | ||
Max Baucus |
Baucus Group LLC | Managing Member | ||
James C. Woolery |
Woolery & Co PLLC | Founding Equity Partner | ||
7 Castles Ranch LLC | Partner | |||
King & Spalding LLP | Former Partner | |||
Adventure Farm Trust | Co-Trustee | |||
Alec Hartman |
Hartman Family Offices Inc, | President | ||
Welcome Building Corporation | Chief Executive Officer |
Accordingly, if any of the above executive officer 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, 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.
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 such a
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company, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after the offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Director
We have entered into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. We will purchase 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. Except with respect to any public shares they may acquire in this offering or thereafter (in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination), our officers and directors have agreed to waive (and any other persons who may become an combination), our officers and directors have agreed to waive (and any other persons who may become an officer or director prior to the initial business combination will also be required to waive) any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and not to seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever, including with respect to such indemnification.
These agreements may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty or have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholders investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these indemnity agreements and the directors and officers liability insurance are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
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The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our ordinary shares included in the units offered by this prospectus (assuming none of the individuals listed purchase units in this offering), by:
| each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding ordinary shares; |
| each of our officers and directors; and |
| all of our 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 of beneficial ownership of the warrants included in the units offered by this prospectus or the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this prospectus.
The post-offering numbers and percentages presented assume that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, that our sponsor forfeits 750,000 founder shares, and that there are 25,300,000 ordinary shares, consisting of (i) 20,300,000 Class A ordinary shares (including 20,000,000 public shares and 300,000 shares issued to Maxim and/or its designees) and (ii) 5,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, issued and outstanding after this offering.
Prior to Offering | After Offering(3) | |||||||||||||||
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) |
Number of Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned(2) |
Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Ordinary shares |
Number of Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned |
Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Ordinary shares |
||||||||||||
ATAC Sponsor LLC(4) |
5,750,000 | 100 | % | 5,000,000 | 19.76 | % | ||||||||||
Zachary Wang |
5,750,000 | 100 | % | 5,000,000 | 19.76 | % | ||||||||||
Cathryn Chen |
5,750,000 | 100 | % | 5,000,000 | 19.76 | % | ||||||||||
Yida Gao |
5,750,000 | 100 | % | 5,000,000 | 19.76 | % | ||||||||||
Sam Yam |
| | | | ||||||||||||
Max Baucus |
| | | | ||||||||||||
James C. Woolery |
| | | | ||||||||||||
Paul Asquith |
| | | | ||||||||||||
Alec Hartman |
| | | | ||||||||||||
All directors and executive officers as a group (eight individuals) |
5,750,000 | 100 | % | 5,000,000 | 19.76 | % |
* | Less than 1%. |
(1) | Unless otherwise indicated, the business address of each of the individuals is c/o Aurora Technology Acquisition Corp., 3rd Floor, One Capital Place, PO Box 10190. George Town, Grand Cayman, KY1-1002 Cayman Islands. |
(2) | Interests shown consist solely of founder shares. |
(3) | Based on 25,300,000 ordinary shares outstanding immediately after this offering (assumes the underwriters over-allotment option has not been exercised and an aggregate of 750,000 founder shares have been forfeited by sponsor). |
(4) | Represents securities held by our sponsor, of which ATAC Manager LLC is the managing member. Zachary Wang, Cathryn Chen and Yida Gao are the managers of ATAC Manager LLC. Zachary Wang, Cathryn Chen and Yida Gao may be deemed to share beneficial ownership of the securities held of record by our sponsor. Zachary Wang, Cathryn Chen and Yida Gao each disclaims any such beneficial ownership except to the extent of such persons pecuniary interest. The business address of ATAC Sponsor LLC and ATAC Manager LLC is 4 Embarcadero Center Suite 1449, San Francisco, California 94105. |
Immediately after this offering, our initial shareholders will beneficially own approximately 20% of the then issued and outstanding ordinary shares (not including the representative shares and assuming the underwriters do not purchase any units in this offering). Neither our sponsor nor any of our officers or directors have expressed an intention to purchase any units in this offering. If we increase or decrease the size of the offering, we will effect a share dividend or a share contribution back to capital, or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial shareholders at 20.0% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering (not including the representative shares). Because of this ownership block, our initial shareholders
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may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including the appointment of directors, amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions, including approval of our initial business combination.
If the underwriters do not exercise all or a portion of the over-allotment option, an aggregate of up to 750,000 founder shares will be forfeited. Only such number of ordinary shares necessary to maintain the 20% ownership interest in our ordinary shares after giving effect to the offering and the exercise, if any, of the underwriters over-allotment option will be necessary.
The holders of the founder shares have agreed (A) to vote any ordinary shares owned by them in favor of any proposed initial business combination, and (B) not to redeem any ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination or in connection with a tender offer.
Our sponsor will purchase from us, pursuant to a written purchase agreement with us, the private placement warrants for an aggregate purchase price of $6,425,000 (or $7,100,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full). This purchase will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of this offering. The private placement warrants are identical to the public warrants sold in this offering, with certain exceptions as disclosed elsewhere in this prospectus. Additionally, our sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private placement warrants or underlying Class A ordinary shares (except to the same permitted transferees as the founder shares and provided the transferees agree to the same terms and restrictions as the permitted transferees of the founder shares must agree to, each as described above) until the completion of our initial business combination.
In order to meet our working capital needs following the consummation of this offering, our insiders may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds, from time to time or at any time, in whatever amount they deem reasonable in their sole discretion. Each loan would be evidenced by a promissory note. The notes would either be paid upon consummation of our initial business combination, without interest, or, at the lenders discretion, up to $1,500,000 of the notes may be converted upon consummation of our business combination into additional private placement-equivalent warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant. Our shareholders have approved the issuance of the private placement-equivalent warrants upon conversion of such notes, to the extent the holder wishes to so convert such notes at the time of the consummation of our initial business combination. If we do not complete a business combination, any outstanding loans from our insiders or their affiliates, will be repaid only from amounts remaining outside our trust account, if any.
Our sponsor and our executive officers and directors are deemed to be our promoters as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants
The founder shares, private placement warrants, and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in a letter agreement with us to be entered into by our sponsor, officers and directors. Our initial shareholders have agreed to place their founder shares will be placed in an escrow account and not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of (i) six months after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination or (ii) the date on which we consummate a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing 30 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares will no longer be subject to such transfer restrictions.
In addition, the lock-up provisions of the insider letter provide that the founder shares and the private placement warrants, and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon exercise thereof are not transferable or salable until after the completion of our initial business combination. However, any such securities may be transferred or sold prior to the completion of our initial business combination (1) among the insiders, to our officers, directors, advisors and employees, any affiliates or family members of any of our officers or directors, any members of our sponsor, or any affiliates of our sponsor,(2) to an insiders affiliates or its members upon its liquidation, (3) in the case of an
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individual, by gift to a member of one of the members of the individuals immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of one of the individuals immediate family, an affiliate of such person or to a charitable organization, (4) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (5) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order, (6) by private sales or transfers made at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased, (7) by private sales at negotiated prices, which transfers are not effected until the consummation of an initial business combination, (8) in the event of our liquidation prior to the completion of our initial business combination; (9) by virtue of the Cayman Islands laws or our sponsors limited liability company agreement upon dissolution of our sponsor; (10) in the event of our liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination or (11) transfers to us for cancellation in connection with the consummation of an initial business combination, in each case (except for clauses (8) through (11)) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreements and the escrow agreement, and by the same agreements entered into by our sponsor with respect to such securities (including provisions relating to the escrow agreement, voting, the trust account and liquidation distributions described elsewhere in this prospectus).
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, private placement warrants, Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants, and securities that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans will have registration rights to require us to register a sale of any of our securities held by them pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. These holders will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have piggy-back registration rights to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the underwriters may not exercise their demand and piggyback registration rights after five and seven years, respectively, after the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and may not exercise their demand rights on more than one occasion.
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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
On August 7, 2021, we issued an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares to our sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000 in cash, or approximately $0.0043 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding ordinary shares upon completion of this offering (not including the 300,000 representative shares (or 345,000 representative shares if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full). The founder shares (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
If we increase or decrease the size of the offering we will effect a share dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial shareholders at 20.0% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering (not including the representative shares).
Our sponsor has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 6,425,000 private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per private warrant, for an aggregate purchase price of $6,425,000. Our sponsor has also agreed that if the over-allotment is exercised by the underwriters, it will purchase, at a price of $1.00 per private warrant, an additional number of private placement warrants (up to a maximum of 675,000 additional private placement warrants) prior to any exercise of the over-allotment option in full or in part, for an aggregate amount of up to $675,000. These additional private placement warrants will be purchased in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the purchase of units resulting from the exercise of the over-allotment option. The private placement warrants will be identical to the units sold in this offering except that the private placement warrants, so long as they are held by our sponsor, the underwriters or their permitted transferees, (i) will not be redeemable by us, (ii) may not (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until the completion of our initial business combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
As more fully discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled Management Conflicts of Interest, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an initial business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such other entity. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we have agreed to pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Other than the foregoing, no compensation of any kind, including any finders fee, reimbursement, consulting fee or monies in respect of any payment of a loan, will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers, prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of an initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of March 31, 2022, or the closing of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the estimated $500,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated to the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting
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commissions). The value of our sponsors interest in this transaction corresponds to the principal amount outstanding under any such loan.
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 would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into private placement-equivalent warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant (which, for example, would result in the holders being issued warrants to purchase 1,500,000 Class A ordinary shares if $1,500,000 of notes were so converted), at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such working capital loans by our sponsor or its affiliates, or 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 or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our 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 rights agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, the securities issuable upon conversion of working capital loans (if any) and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise or conversion or exercise of the foregoing and upon conversion of the founder shares, which is described under the section of this prospectus entitled Description of Securities Registration Rights.
Related Party Policy
We have not yet adopted a formal policy for the review, approval or ratification of related party transactions. Accordingly, the transactions discussed above were not reviewed, approved or ratified in accordance with any such policy.
We have adopted a code of ethics requiring us to avoid, wherever possible, all conflicts of interests, except under guidelines or resolutions approved by our board of directors (or the appropriate committee of our board) or as disclosed in our public filings with the SEC. Under our code of ethics, conflict of interest situations will include any financial transaction, arrangement or relationship (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) involving the company. A form of the code of ethics that we plan to adopt s filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
In addition, our audit committee, pursuant to a written charter that we have adopted, will be responsible for reviewing and approving related party transactions to the extent that we enter into such transactions. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the audit committee present at a general meeting at which a quorum is present will be required in order to approve a related party transaction. A majority of the members of the entire audit committee will constitute a quorum. Without a general meeting, the unanimous written consent of all of the members of the audit committee will be required to approve a related party transaction. A form of the audit committee charter is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. We also require each of our directors and executive officers to complete a directors and officers questionnaire that elicits information about related party transactions.
These procedures are intended to determine whether any such related party transaction impairs the independence of a director or presents a conflict of interest on the part of a director, employee or officer.
To further minimize conflicts of interest, we have agreed not to consummate an initial business combination with an entity that is affiliated with any of our sponsor, officers or directors unless we, or a committee of independent
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directors, have obtained an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Furthermore, no finders fees, reimbursements, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers or directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers, for services rendered to us prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, the following payments will be made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:
| Repayment of up to an aggregate of $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses; |
| Payment to an affiliate of our sponsor of $10,000 per month, for 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time), for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support; |
| Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination; and |
| Repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the terms of which have not been determined nor have any written agreements been executed with respect thereto. Up to $1,500,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into private placement-equivalent warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant (which, for example, would result in the holders being issued 1,500,000 warrants if $1,500,000 of notes were so converted), at the option of the lender. |
Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis any payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates.
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General
Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which will be adopted upon the consummation of this offering, we will be authorized to issue 250,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value each, 10,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value each, and 5,000,000 undesignated preferred shares, $0.0001 par value each. The following description summarizes the material terms of our shares as set out more particularly in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.
Units
Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share, one warrant and one right. Each two warrants entitle the holder thereof to purchase one full Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, as described in this prospectus. Because the warrants may only be exercised for whole numbers of Class A ordinary shares, only an even number of warrants may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. Each warrant will become exercisable on the on the later of one year after the closing of this offering or 30 days after the consummation of an initial business combination, and will expire five years after the completion of an initial business combination, or earlier upon redemption.
Each right entitles the holder thereof to receive one-tenth of one Class A ordinary share upon completion of our initial business combination. We will not issue fractional Class A ordinary shares in connection with an exchange of rights. Fractional Class A ordinary shares will either be rounded down to the nearest whole Class A ordinary share or otherwise addressed in accordance with the applicable provisions of Cayman Islands law. As a result, you must hold rights in multiples of 10 in order to receive shares for all of your rights upon closing of a business combination.
We expect the Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the closing of this offering unless Maxim informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights.
In no event will the Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes this audited balance sheet upon the completion of this offering, which is anticipated to take place four business days after the closing of this offering. If the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option.
Ordinary Shares
Upon the closing of this offering, 25,300,000 ordinary shares will be outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of 750,000 Class B ordinary shares by our sponsor), consisting of:
| 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the units being offered in this offering; |
| 300,000 Class A ordinary shares, consisting of the representative shares; and |
| 5,000,000 Class B ordinary shares held by our sponsor. |
If we increase or decrease the size of the offering we will effect a share dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior
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to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial shareholders at 20.0% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering (not including the representative shares).
Ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. Holders of the Class A ordinary shares and holders of the Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders, except as required by law. Unless specified in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or bylaws, or as required by applicable provisions of Cayman Islands law or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our ordinary shares that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our shareholders. Our board of directors will serve for a term of one year, with elections being held annually. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the appointment of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the ordinary shares voted for the appointment of directors can elect all of the directors. Our shareholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.
Because our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes the issuance of up to 250,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, if we were to enter into an initial business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such an initial business combination) be required to increase the number of Class A ordinary shares which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our shareholders vote on the initial business combination to the extent we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.
In connection with any vote held to approve our initial business combination, our sponsor, as well as all of our officers and directors, have agreed to vote their respective ordinary shares owned by them immediately prior to this offering and any Class A ordinary shares purchased in this offering or following this offering in the open market in favor of the proposed business combination.
We will consummate our initial business combination only if we have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 immediately after such consummation and, solely if a vote is held to approve a business combination, only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company.
Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if we do not consummate an initial business combination by 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering, our corporate existence will cease except for the purposes of winding up our affairs and liquidating. If we are forced to liquidate prior to an initial business combination, our public shareholders are entitled to share ratably in the trust account, based on the amount then held in the trust account. Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to waive their rights to participate in any liquidation distribution from the trust account occurring upon our failure to consummate an initial business combination with respect to the founder shares. Our sponsor, officers and directors will therefore not participate in any liquidation distribution from the trust account with respect to such founder shares. They will, however, participate in any liquidation distribution from the trust account with respect to any Class A ordinary shares acquired in, or following, this offering.
Our shareholders have no conversion, preemptive or other subscription rights and there are no sinking fund or redemption provisions applicable to the ordinary shares, except that public shareholders have the right to sell their public shares to us in a tender offer or have their Class A ordinary shares converted to cash equal to their pro rata share of the trust account in connection with the consummation of our business combination and the business combination is completed. Public shareholders who sell or convert their public shares into their share of the trust account still have the right to exercise the warrants that they received as part of the units.
Founder Shares
The founder shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of founder shares have the same shareholder rights as public shareholders, except that (i) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below, (ii) our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (A) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (B) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public
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shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (x) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering or (y) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (C) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within such time period, (iii) the founder shares are Class B ordinary shares that will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or at any time prior thereto at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described herein, and (iv) are entitled to registration rights. If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed pursuant to the letter agreement to vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination.
The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis (subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like), and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. No additional consideration will be paid by the sponsor in connection with the conversion of the Class B ordinary shares. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in this prospectus and related to the closing of the initial business combination, the ratio at which Class B ordinary shares shall convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of this offering (not including the representative shares) plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial business combination (excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination, any private placement-equivalent securities issued to our sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of loans made to us). We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B ordinary shares at the time of any future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. They may waive such adjustment due to (but not limited to) the following: (i) closing conditions which are part of the agreement for our initial business combination; (ii) negotiation with Class A ordinary shareholders on structuring an initial business combination; or (iii) negotiation with parties providing financing which would trigger the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B ordinary shares. If such adjustment is not waived, the 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 issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our ordinary shares. Holders of founder shares may also elect to convert their Class B ordinary shares into an equal number of Class A ordinary shares, subject to adjustment as provided above, at any time. The term equity-linked securities refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for Class A ordinary shares issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt. Securities could be deemed issued for purposes of the conversion rate adjustment if such shares are issuable upon the conversion or exercise of convertible securities, warrants or similar securities.
Our initial shareholders have agreed to place their founder shares into an escrow account maintained in New York, New York by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as escrow agent. Our initial shareholders have further agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of (i) six months after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination or (ii) the date on which we consummate a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled Principal Shareholders Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants). Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the
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closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing 30 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares will no longer be subject to such transfer restrictions.
For so long as any Class B ordinary shares remain outstanding, we may not, without the prior vote or written consent of the holders of a majority of the Class B ordinary shares then outstanding, voting separately as a single class, amend, alter or repeal any provision of our memorandum and articles of association, whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise, if such amendment, alteration or repeal would alter or change the powers, preferences or relative, participating, optional or other or special rights of the Class B ordinary shares. Any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the holders of Class B ordinary shares may be taken without a general meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of the outstanding Class B ordinary shares having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a general meeting at which all Class B ordinary shares were present and voted.
Representative Shares
The 300,000 representative shares (or up to 345,000 representative shares if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until after the completion of our initial business combination. Maxim has agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their representative shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their representative shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their representative shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering. The shares have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a lock-up for a period of 180 days immediately following the date of the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part pursuant to Rule 5110(e)(1) of FINRAs Conduct Rule. Pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1), these securities will not be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities of any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, nor may they be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated for a period of 180 days immediately following the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part except to any underwriter and selected dealer participating in the offering and their bona fide officers or partners. Otherwise, the representative shares are identical to Class A ordinary shares underlying the units sold in this offering.
Preference shares
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that preference shares may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors will be authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors will be able to, without shareholder approval, issue preference shares with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the ordinary shares and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preference shares without shareholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preference shares outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any preference shares, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No preference shares are being issued or registered in this offering.
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Register of Members
Under Cayman Islands law, we must keep a register of members and there will be entered therein:
| the names and addresses of the members, a statement of the shares held by each member, and of the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, on the shares of each member and the voting rights of shares of each member; |
| whether voting rights are attached to the share in issue; |
| the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and |
| the date on which any person ceased to be a member. |
Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (i.e., the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a member registered in the register of members will be deemed as a matter of Cayman Islands law to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. Upon the closing of this public offering, the register of members will be immediately updated to reflect the issue of shares by us. Once our register of members has been updated, the shareholders recorded in the register of members will be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name. However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. If an application for an order for rectification of the register of members were made in respect of our ordinary shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court.
Redeemable Warrants
Public Shareholders Warrants
Each two warrants entitle the holder thereof to purchase one full Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, as described in this prospectus, at any time commencing on the later of (i) 12 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Because the warrants may only be exercised for whole numbers of Class A ordinary shares, only an even number of warrants may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
We 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 our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of a warrant unless Class A ordinary shares 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. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the Class A ordinary share underlying such unit.
It is our current intention to have an effective and current registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to such Class A ordinary shares in effect promptly following consummation of an initial business combination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective within 120 days after the closing of our initial business combination, public warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we 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
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another exemption. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a covered security under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may call the warrants for redemption:
| in whole and not in part; |
| at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| upon not less than 30 days prior written notice of redemption (the 30-day redemption period) to each warrant holder; and |
| if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three business days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption, each warrant holder can exercise his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of our Class A ordinary shares may fall below the $18.00 trigger price, as well as the $11.50 warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such ordinary shares under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were offered by us in this offering.
We have established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the Class A ordinary shares may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) as well as the $11.50 warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise its warrant to do so on a cashless basis. In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our shareholders of issuing the maximum number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, all holders of warrants would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the fair market value (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The fair market value shall mean the average reported last sale price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of Class A ordinary shares to be received upon exercise of the warrants, including the fair market value in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the warrants after our initial business combination. If we call our warrants for redemption and our management does not take advantage of this option, our sponsor and its permitted transferees would still be entitled to exercise their private placement warrants for cash or on a cashless basis using the same formula described above that other warrant holders would have been required to use had all warrant holders been required to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, as described in more detail below.
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A holder of a warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such persons affiliates), to the warrant agents actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 4.9% or 9.9% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) of the Class A ordinary shares outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
If the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares is increased by a share dividend payable in ordinary shares, or by a split-up of ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such share dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding Class A ordinary shares. A rights offering to holders of Class A ordinary shares entitling holders to purchase Class A ordinary shares at a price less than the fair market value will be deemed a share dividend of a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the product of (i) the number of Class A ordinary shares actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares) and (ii) one (1) minus the quotient of (x) the price per ordinary share paid in such rights offering divided by (y) the fair market value. For these purposes (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares, in determining the price payable for Class A ordinary shares, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) fair market value means the volume weighted average price of Class A ordinary shares as reported during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the Class A ordinary shares trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.
In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of Class A ordinary shares on account of such Class A ordinary shares (or other shares into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) certain Class A ordinary cash dividends, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our Class A ordinary shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders rights or pre-initial business combination activity, or (e) in connection with the redemption of our public shares upon our failure to complete our initial business combination, then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each ordinary share in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares is decreased by a consolidation, combination or reclassification of Class A ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reclassification or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding Class A ordinary shares.
Whenever the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of Class A ordinary shares so purchasable immediately thereafter.
The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants.
The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and
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executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price (or on a cashless basis, if applicable), by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of Class A ordinary shares and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive Class A ordinary shares. After the issuance of Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one (1) vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by shareholders.
In addition, if (x) 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 (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the Market Value is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described above will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
Private Placement Warrants
The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or saleable until the completion of our initial business combination (except, among other limited exceptions as described under the section of this prospectus entitled Principal Shareholders Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants, to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor or the underwriters). Except as described herein, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
We expect to have policies in place that prohibit insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public shareholders who could sell the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants freely in the open market, the insiders could be significantly restricted from doing so. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.
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. Up to $1,500,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into private placement-equivalent warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant (which, for example, would result in the holders being issued 1,500,000 warrants if $1,500,000 of notes were so converted), at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such working capital loans by our sponsor or its affiliates, or our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.
In addition, holders of our private placement warrants are entitled to certain registration rights.
Our sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of any of the private placement warrants) until the date that the date we complete our initial business combination, except that, among other limited exceptions as described under the section of this prospectus entitled Principal Shareholders Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants made to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor.
Rights
Each holder of a right will receive one-tenth (1/10) of one Class A ordinary share upon consummation of our initial business combination, even if the holder of such right redeemed all Class A ordinary shares held by it in
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connection with the initial business combination. No additional consideration will be required to be paid by a holder of rights in order to receive its additional shares upon consummation of an initial business combination, as the consideration related thereto has been included in the unit purchase price paid for by investors in this offering. If we enter into a definitive agreement for a business combination in which we will not be the surviving entity, the definitive agreement will provide for the holders of rights to receive the same per share consideration the holders of the Class A ordinary shares will receive in the transaction on an as-converted into Class A ordinary share basis, and each holder of a right will be required to affirmatively convert its rights in order to receive the 1/10th share underlying each right (without paying any additional consideration) upon consummation of the business combination. More specifically, the right holder will be required to indicate its election to convert the rights into underlying shares as well as to return the original rights certificates to us.
If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the required time period and we liquidate the funds held in the trust account, holders of rights will not receive any such funds with respect to their rights, nor will they receive any distribution from our assets held outside of the trust account with respect to such rights, and the rights will expire worthless.
As soon as practicable upon the consummation of our initial business combination, we will direct registered holders of the rights to return their rights to our rights agent. Upon receipt of the rights, the rights agent will issue to the registered holder of such rights the number of full Class A ordinary shares to which it is entitled. We will notify registered holders of the rights to deliver their rights to the rights agent promptly upon consummation of such business combination and have been informed by the rights agent that the process of exchanging their rights for Class A ordinary shares should take no more than a matter of days. The foregoing exchange of rights is solely ministerial in nature and is not intended to provide us with any means of avoiding our obligation to issue the shares underlying the rights upon consummation of our initial business combination. Other than confirming that the rights delivered by a registered holder are valid, we will have no ability to avoid delivery of the shares underlying the rights. Nevertheless, there are no contractual penalties for failure to deliver securities to the holders of the rights upon consummation of an initial business combination.
The shares issuable upon conversion of the rights will be freely tradable (except to the extent held by affiliates of ours). We will not issue fractional shares upon conversion of the rights. Fractional shares will either be rounded down to the nearest whole share or otherwise addressed in accordance with the applicable provisions of Cayman Islands law. As a result, you must hold rights in multiples of 10 in order to receive shares for all of your rights upon closing of a business combination. If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the required time period and we liquidate the funds held in the trust account, holders of rights will not receive any of such funds with respect to their rights, nor will they receive any distribution from our assets held outside of the trust account with respect to such rights, and the rights will expire worthless. Further, there are no contractual penalties for failure to deliver securities to the holders of the rights upon consummation of an initial business combination. Accordingly, the rights may expire worthless.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of a business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our Board of Directors at such time. If we increase or decrease the size of the offering we will effect a share dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial shareholders at 20.0% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering (not including the representative shares). Further, if we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent
The transfer agent for our securities and the warrant agent for our warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, 1 State Street, New York, New York 10004.
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Listing of our Securities
We intend to apply to have our units, Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights listed on Nasdaq under the symbols ATAKU, ATAK, ATAKW, and ATAKR respectively. If approved for listing, we anticipate that our units will be listed on Nasdaq on or promptly after the effective date of the registration statement. Following the date the ordinary shares, warrants and rights are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the Class A ordinary shares, warrants and rights will be listed separately and as a unit on Nasdaq.
Certain Differences in Corporate Law
Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Act. The Companies Act is modeled on English Law but does not follow recent English Law statutory enactments, and differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the material differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.
Mergers and Similar Arrangements. In certain circumstances, the Companies Act allows for mergers or consolidations between two Cayman Islands companies, or between a Cayman Islands exempted company and a company incorporated in another jurisdiction (provided that is facilitated by the laws of that other jurisdiction).
Where the merger or consolidation is between two Cayman Islands companies, the directors of each company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation containing certain prescribed information. That plan or merger or consolidation must then be authorized by either (a) a special resolution (usually a majority of two thirds in value who attend and vote at a general meeting) of the shareholders of each company; or (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent companys articles of association. No shareholder resolution is required for a merger between a parent company (i.e., a company that owns at least 90% of the issued shares of each class in a subsidiary company) and its subsidiary company. The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest of a constituent company must be obtained, unless the court waives such requirement. If the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is satisfied that the requirements of the Companies Act (which includes certain other formalities) have been complied with, the Registrar of Companies will register the plan of merger or consolidation.
Where the merger or consolidation involves a foreign company, the procedure is similar, save that with respect to the foreign company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the merger or consolidation is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the foreign company and by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is incorporated, and that those laws and any requirements of those constitutional documents have been or will be complied with; (ii) that no petition or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up or liquidate the foreign company in any jurisdictions; (iii) that no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the foreign company, its affairs or its property or any part thereof; (iv) that no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of the foreign company are and continue to be suspended or restricted.
Where the surviving company is the Cayman Islands exempted company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are further required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the foreign company is able to pay its debts as they fall due and that the merger or consolidated is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the foreign company; (ii) that in respect of the transfer of any security interest granted by the foreign company to the surviving or consolidated company (a) consent or approval to the transfer has been obtained, released or waived; (b) the transfer is permitted by and has been approved in accordance with the constitutional documents of the foreign company; and (c) the laws of the jurisdiction of the foreign company with respect to the transfer have been or will be complied with; (iii) that the foreign company will, upon the merger or consolidation becoming effective, cease to be incorporated, registered or exist under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction; and (iv) that there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation.
Where the above procedures are adopted, the Companies Act provides certain limited appraisal rights for dissenting shareholders to be paid a payment of the fair value of his shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation
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if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, that procedure is as follows (a) the shareholder must give his written objection to the merger or consolidation to the constituent company before the vote on the merger or consolidation, including a statement that the shareholder proposes to demand payment for his shares if the merger or consolidation is authorized by the vote; (b) within 20 days following the date on which the merger or consolidation is approved by the shareholders, the constituent company must give written notice to each shareholder who made a written objection; (c) a shareholder must within 20 days following receipt of such notice from the constituent company, give the constituent company a written notice of his intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of his shares; (d) within seven days following the date of the expiration of the period set out in paragraph (b) above or seven days following the date on which the plan of merger or consolidation is filed, whichever is later, the constituent company, the surviving company or the consolidated company must make a written offer to each dissenting shareholder to purchase his shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agree the price within 30 days following the date on which the offer was made, the company must pay the shareholder such amount; (e) if the company and the shareholder fail to agree a price within such 30 day period, within 20 days following the date on which such 30 day period expires, the company (and any dissenting shareholder) must file a petition with the Cayman Islands Grand Court to determine the fair value and such petition must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the dissenting shareholders with whom agreements as to the fair value of their public shares have not been reached by the company. At the hearing of that petition, the court has the power to determine the fair value of the shares together with a fair rate of interest, if any, to be paid by the company upon the amount determined to be the fair value. Any dissenting shareholder whose name appears on the list filed by the company may participate fully in all proceedings until the determination of fair value is reached. These rights of a dissenting shareholder are not be available in certain circumstances, for example, to dissenters holding shares of any class in respect of which an open market exists on a recognized stock exchange or recognized interdealer quotation system at the relevant date or where the consideration for such shares to be contributed are shares of any company listed on a national securities exchange or shares of the surviving or consolidated company.
Moreover, Cayman Islands law also has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances, schemes of arrangement will generally be more suited for complex mergers or other transactions involving widely held companies, commonly referred to in the Cayman Islands as a scheme of arrangement which may be tantamount to a merger. In the event that a merger was sought pursuant to a scheme of arrangement (the procedure of which are more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States), the arrangement in question must be approved by a majority in number of each class of shareholders and creditors with whom the arrangement is to be made and who must in addition represent three-fourths in value of each such class of shareholders or creditors, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at an annual general meeting, or extraordinary general meeting summoned for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder would have the right to express to the court the view that the transaction should not be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it satisfies itself that:
| we are not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of our corporate authority and the statutory provisions as to majority vote have been complied with; |
| the shareholders have been fairly represented at the general meeting in question; |
| the arrangement is such as a businessman would reasonably approve; and |
| the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act or that would amount to a fraud on the minority. |
If a scheme of arrangement or takeover offer (as described below) is approved, any dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights, which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of United States corporations, providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares.
Squeeze-out Provisions. When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares to whom the offer relates is made within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of
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the Cayman Islands but this is unlikely to succeed unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith, collusion or inequitable treatment of the shareholders.
Further, transactions similar to a merger, reconstruction and/or an amalgamation may in some circumstances be achieved through other means to these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, through contractual arrangements, of an operating business.
Shareholders Suits. Dentons, Dinner Martin Attorneys, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, is not aware of any reported class action having been brought in a Cayman Islands court. Derivative actions have been brought in the Cayman Islands courts, and the Cayman Islands courts have confirmed the availability for such actions. In most cases, we will be the proper plaintiff in any claim based on a breach of duty owed to us, and a claim against (for example) our officers or directors usually may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based both on Cayman Islands authorities and on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority and be applied by a court in the Cayman Islands, exceptions to the foregoing principle apply in circumstances in which:
| a company is acting, or proposing to act, illegally or beyond the scope of its authority; |
| the act complained of, although not beyond the scope of the authority, could be effected if duly authorized by more than the number of votes which have actually been obtained; or |
| those who control the company are perpetrating a fraud on the minority. |
A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed.
Enforcement of Civil Liabilities. The Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides less protection to investors. Additionally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the Federal courts of the United States.
We have been advised by Dentons, Dinner Martin Attorneys, 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, and 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.
Special Considerations for Exempted Companies. We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except for the exemptions and privileges listed below:
| an exempted company does not have to file an annual return of its shareholders with the Registrar of Companies; |
| an exempted companys register of members is not open to inspection; |
| an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting; |
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| an exempted company may issue shares with no par value; |
| an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 20 years in the first instance); |
| an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands; |
| an exempted company may register as a limited duration company; and |
| an exempted company may register as a segregated portfolio company. |
Limited liability means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).
Our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions cannot be amended without a special resolution. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a resolution is deemed to be a special resolution where it has been approved by either (i) at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a companys articles of association) of a companys shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given; or (ii) if so authorized by a companys articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the companys shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that special resolutions must be approved either by at least two-thirds of our shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders.
Our sponsor, who will beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will have the discretion to vote in any manner it chooses. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide, among other things, that:
| if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to lawfully available funds therefor, 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 on the funds held in the trust account, which interest shall be net of applicable taxes payable and less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our Board of Directors, liquidate and dissolve; |
| prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional ordinary shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination; |
| although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our Sponsor, our directors or our officers, we are not prohibited from doing so. In the event we enter into such a transaction, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent firm that commonly renders valuation opinions that such a business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view; |
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| if a shareholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act; |
| so long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on the NASDAQ, 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 our assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination; |
| If our shareholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that would (i) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to the other provisions relating to shareholders rights or pre-business combination activity, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us, which interest shall be net of applicable taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares; and |
| we will not effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. |
In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that under no circumstances will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or immediately after the consummation of our initial business combination.
The Companies Act permits a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands to amend its memorandum and articles of association with the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of such companys issued and outstanding ordinary shares. A companys articles of association may specify that the approval of a higher majority is required but, provided the approval of the required majority is obtained, any Cayman Islands exempted company may amend its memorandum and articles of association regardless of whether its memorandum and articles of association provides otherwise. Accordingly, although we could amend any of the provisions relating to our proposed offering, structure and business plan which are contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we view all of these provisions as binding obligations to our shareholders and neither we, nor our officers or directors, will take any action to amend or waive any of these provisions unless we provide dissenting public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares.
Anti-Money Laundering Cayman Islands
If any person in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or money laundering or is involved with terrorism or terrorist financing and property and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of business in the regulated sector, or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) the Financial Reporting Authority of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering, or (ii) a police officer of the rank of constable or higher, or the Financial Reporting Authority, pursuant to the Terrorism Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and property. Such a report shall not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.
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Data Protection Cayman Islands
We have certain duties under the Data Protection Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands (the DPA) based on internationally accepted principles of data privacy.
Privacy Notice
Introduction
This privacy notice puts our shareholders on notice that through your investment in the Company you will provide us with certain personal information which constitutes personal data within the meaning of the DPA (personal data). In the following discussion, the company refers to us and our affiliates and/or delegates, except where the context requires otherwise.
Investor Data
We will collect, use, disclose, retain and secure personal data to the extent reasonably required only and within the parameters that could be reasonably expected during the normal course of business. We will only process, disclose, transfer or retain personal data to the extent legitimately required to conduct our activities of on an ongoing basis or to comply with legal and regulatory obligations to which we are subject. We will only transfer personal data in accordance with the requirements of the DPA, and will apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of the personal data and against the accidental loss, destruction or damage to the personal data.
In our use of this personal data, we will be characterized as a data controller for the purposes of the DPA, while our affiliates and service providers who may receive this personal data from us in the conduct of our activities may either act as our data processors for the purposes of the DPA or may process personal information for their own lawful purposes in connection with services provided to us.
We may also obtain personal data from other public sources. Personal data includes, without limitation, the following information relating to a shareholder and/or any individuals connected with a shareholder as an investor: name, residential address, email address, contact details, corporate contact information, signature, nationality, place of birth, date of birth, tax identification, credit history, correspondence records, passport number, bank account details, source of funds details and details relating to the shareholders investment activity.
Who this Affects
If you are a natural person, this will affect you directly. If you are a corporate investor (including, for these purposes, legal arrangements such as trusts or exempted limited partnerships) that provides us with personal data on individuals connected to you for any reason in relation your investment in the company, this will be relevant for those individuals and you should transmit the content of this Privacy Notice to such individuals or otherwise advise them of its content.
How the Company May Use a Shareholders Personal Data
The company, as the data controller, may collect, store and use personal data for lawful purposes, including, in particular:
a) where this is necessary for the performance of our rights and obligations under any purchase agreements;
b) where this is necessary for compliance with a legal and regulatory obligation to which we are subject (such as compliance with anti-money laundering and FATCA/CRS requirements); and/or
c) where this is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests and such interests are not overridden by your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms.
Should we wish to use personal data for other specific purposes (including, if applicable, any purpose that requires your consent), we will contact you.
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Why We May Transfer Your Personal Data
In certain circumstances we may be legally obliged to share personal data and other information with respect to your shareholding with the relevant regulatory authorities such as the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority or the Tax Information Authority. They, in turn, may exchange this information with foreign authorities, including tax authorities.
We anticipates disclosing personal data to persons who provide services to us and their respective affiliates (which may include certain entities located outside the United States, the Cayman Islands or the European Economic Area), who will process your personal data on our behalf.
The Data Protection Measures We Take
Any transfer of personal data by us or our duly authorized affiliates and/or delegates outside of the Cayman Islands shall be in accordance with the requirements of the DPA.
We and our duly authorized affiliates and/or delegates shall apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of personal data, and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.
We shall notify you of any personal data breach that is reasonably likely to result in a risk to your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms or those data subjects to whom the relevant personal data relates.
Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our authorized but unissued ordinary shares are available for future issuances without shareholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved ordinary shares could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a companys memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will 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 or willful default. We may purchase 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.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.
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SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE
Immediately after this offering, we will have 25,300,000 ordinary shares outstanding, or 29,095,000 shares if the over-allotment option is exercised in full. Of these shares, the 20,000,000 shares sold in this offering, or 23,000,000 shares if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the remaining shares are restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering. All of those shares have been placed in escrow and will not be transferable until they are released except in limited circumstances described elsewhere in this prospectus.
Rule 144
A person who has beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities provided that (i) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and (ii) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale. Persons who have beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period a number of shares that does not exceed the greater of either of the following:
| 1% of the number of ordinary shares then outstanding, which will equal 253,000 shares immediately after this offering (or 290,950 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full); and |
| the average weekly trading volume of the ordinary shares during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale. |
Sales under Rule 144 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.
Restrictions on the Use of Rule 144 by Shell Companies or Former Shell Companies
Historically, the SEC staff had taken the position that Rule 144 is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by companies that are, or previously were, blank check companies, like us. The SEC has codified and expanded this position in the amendments discussed above by prohibiting the use of Rule 144 for resale of securities issued by any shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or any issuer that has been at any time previously a shell company. The SEC has provided an important exception to this prohibition, however, if the following conditions are met:
| the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company; |
| the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act; |
| the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and material required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Form 8-K reports; and |
| at least one year has elapsed from the time that the issuer filed current Form 10 type information with the SEC reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company. |
As a result, it is likely that pursuant to Rule 144, our sponsor will be able to sell its founder shares freely without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination assuming it is not an affiliate of ours at that time.
Registration Rights
The holders of the (i) founder shares, which were issued in a private placement prior to the closing of this offering, (ii) private placement warrants, which will be issued in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this
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offering and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such private placement warrants, (iii) the representative shares, which will be issued in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering, and (iv) the warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans will have registration rights to require us to register a sale of any of our securities held by them pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering, requiring us to register such securities for resale. The holders of the majority of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain piggy-back registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period as described here. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the underwriters may not exercise their demand and piggyback registration rights after five (5) and seven (7) years after the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and may not exercise their demand rights on more than one occasion. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
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MATERIAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The following summary of certain Cayman Islands and U.S. federal income tax considerations relevant to an investment in our units, ordinary shares, warrants and rights is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this prospectus, all of which are subject to change. This summary does not deal with all possible tax consequences relating to an investment in our ordinary shares, warrants and rights, such as the tax consequences under state, local and other tax laws. For U.S. taxpayers, the following assumes you purchase the securities in this offering and will hold them as capital assets within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code).
Prospective investors should consult their professional advisors on the possible tax consequences of buying, holding or selling any securities under the laws of their country of citizenship, residence or domicile.
Cayman Islands Taxation
The following is a discussion on certain Cayman Islands income tax consequences of an investment in our securities. The discussion is a general summary of present law, which is subject to prospective and retroactive change. It is not intended as tax advice, does not consider any investors particular circumstances, and does not consider tax consequences other than those arising under Cayman Islands law.
Under Existing Cayman Islands Laws
Payments of dividends and capital in respect of our securities will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of a dividend or capital to any holder of the securities nor will gains derived from the disposal of the securities be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporate tax. The Cayman Islands currently has no income, corporate or capital gains tax and no estate duty, inheritance tax or gift tax.
No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of our securities or on an instrument of transfer in respect of our securities. However, an instrument of transfer in respect of our securities, including our warrants, is stampable if executed in or brought into the Cayman Islands.
The Company has been incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company with limited liability and, as such, has applied for and received an undertaking from the Financial Secretary of the Cayman Islands in the following form:
The Tax Concessions Act
(As Revised)
Undertaking as to Tax Concessions
In accordance with the provision of section 6 of The Tax Concessions Act (As Revised), the Financial Secretary undertakes with Aurora Technology Acquisition Corp. (the Company).
1 | That no law which is hereafter enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to the Company or its operations; and |
2 | 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 shall be payable: |
2.1 | On or in respect of the shares, debentures or other obligations of the Company; |
OR |
2.2 | by way of the withholding in whole or part, of any relevant payment as defined in Section 6(3) of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised). |
3 | These concessions shall be for a period of twenty years from the date hereof. |
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Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations
General
This discussion does not address all of the U.S. federal income and estate tax considerations that may be relevant to you in light of your particular circumstances, and it does not describe all of the tax consequences that may be relevant to persons subject to special rules, such as:
| certain financial institutions; |
| insurance companies; |
| dealers and traders in securities or foreign currencies; |
| persons holding our securities as part of a hedge, straddle, conversion transaction or other integrated transaction; |
| former citizens or residents of the United States; |
| U.S. persons whose functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes is not the U.S. dollar; |
| partnerships or other entities classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes; |
| persons liable for the alternative minimum tax; and |
| tax-exempt organizations. |
The following does not discuss any aspect of state, local or non-U.S. taxation. This discussion is based on current provisions of the Code, Treasury regulations, judicial opinions, published positions of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and all other applicable authorities, all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect.
If an entity that is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes holds our securities, the tax treatment of a partner will generally depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the entity. If you are a partner in such an entity, you should consult your tax advisor.
WE URGE PROSPECTIVE INVESTORS TO CONSULT THEIR TAX ADVISORS REGARDING THE U.S. FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL AND NON-U.S. INCOME, ESTATE AND OTHER TAX CONSIDERATIONS WITH RESPECT TO ACQUIRING, HOLDING AND DISPOSING OF OUR SECURITIES.
No statutory, administrative or judicial authority directly addresses the treatment of a unit or instruments similar to a unit for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and therefore, that treatment is not entirely clear. Each unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as an investment unit consisting of one ordinary share and one warrant to acquire one ordinary share, subject to adjustment. We intend to treat the acquisition of a unit in this manner and, by purchasing a unit, you must adopt such treatment for applicable tax purposes. In determining your basis for the ordinary share and one warrant composing a unit, you should allocate your purchase price for the unit between the components on the basis of their relative fair market values at the time of issuance.
The foregoing treatment of the ordinary shares, warrants and rights and a holders purchase price allocation are not binding on the IRS or the courts. Because there are no authorities that directly address instruments that are similar to the units, no assurance can be given that the IRS or the courts will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. Accordingly, each prospective investor is urged to consult its tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit). The balance of this discussion assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
U.S. Holders
This section is addressed to U.S. holders of our securities. For purposes of this discussion, you are a U.S. holder if you are a beneficial owner of a security that is:
| an individual citizen or resident of the United States for U.S. federal income tax purposes; |
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| a corporation, or other entity taxable as a corporation, created or organized in, or under the laws of, the United States or any state thereof or the District of Columbia; |
| an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or |
| a trust, if (i) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more U.S. persons (as defined in the Code) have authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (ii) it has a valid election in effect under Treasury regulations to be treated as a U.S. person. |
Dividends and Distributions
Subject to the passive foreign investment company (PFIC) rules discussed below, a U.S. holder generally will be required to include in gross income any cash distribution paid on our ordinary shares that is treated as a dividend for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A cash distribution on such shares generally will be treated as a dividend for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent the distribution is paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles). Such dividends paid by us will be taxable to a corporate U.S. holder at regular rates and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to domestic corporations in respect of dividends received from other domestic corporations.
Distributions in excess of our current or accumulated earnings and profits generally will first reduce your basis in the ordinary shares (but not below zero) and then will be treated as gain realized on the sale or other disposition of the ordinary shares (as described in the first paragraph under Sale or Other Disposition or Redemption of Ordinary shares below).
With respect to non-corporate U.S. holders, under tax laws currently in effect, dividends generally will be taxed at the lower applicable long-term capital gains rate (see Sale or Other Disposition or Redemption of Ordinary shares below) only if our ordinary shares are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States and certain other requirements are met. U.S. holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability of the lower rate for any dividends paid with respect to our ordinary shares.
The redemption feature of the ordinary shares described under Proposed Business Effecting a Business Combination Redemption Rights may be viewed as a position with respect to substantially similar or related property which diminishes your risk of loss and thereby affects your ability to satisfy the holding period requirements for the dividends received deduction or the preferential tax rate on qualified dividend income with respect to the time period prior to the approval of an initial business combination.
Sale or Other Disposition or Redemption of Ordinary shares
Gain or loss you realize on the sale or other disposition of our ordinary shares (other than redemption into cash but including a liquidation in the event we do not consummate a business combination within the required time) will be capital gain or loss. The amount of your gain or loss will be equal to the difference between your tax basis in the ordinary shares disposed of and the amount realized on the disposition. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations. Any capital gain or loss you realize on a sale or other disposition of our ordinary shares will generally be long-term capital gain or loss if your holding period for the ordinary shares is more than one year. However, the redemption feature of the ordinary shares described under Proposed Business Effecting a Business Combination Redemption Rights could affect your ability to satisfy the holding period requirements for the long-term capital gain tax rate with respect to the time period prior to the approval of an initial business combination.
If you redeem your ordinary shares into a right to receive cash as described in Proposed Business Effecting a Business Combination Redemption Rights, the redemption generally will be treated as a sale of ordinary shares described in the preceding paragraph (rather than as a dividend or distribution). The redemption will, however, be treated as a dividend or distribution and taxed as described in Dividends and Distributions above if your percentage ownership in us (including shares that you are deemed to own under certain attribution rules, such as the shares into which the warrants are exercisable) after the redemption is not meaningfully reduced from what your percentage ownership was prior to the redemption. If you have a relatively minimal share interest and, taking into account the effect of redemption by other shareholders, your percentage ownership in us is reduced as a result of the redemption, you may be regarded as having suffered a meaningful reduction in interest. For example, the IRS has
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ruled that a reduction in a shareholders proportionate interest constituted a meaningful reduction in a transaction in which a holder held less than 1% of the shares of a corporation and did not have management control over the corporation. You should consult your own tax advisor as to whether redemption of your ordinary shares will be treated as a sale or as a dividend under the Code and, if you actually or constructively own 5% (or, if our public shares is not then publicly traded, 1%) or more of our ordinary shares before redemption, whether you are subject to special reporting requirements with respect to such redemption.
Sale or Other Disposition, Exercise or Expiration of Warrants
Upon the sale or other disposition of a warrant (other than by exercise), and subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, you will generally recognize capital gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized on the sale or other disposition and your tax basis in the warrant. This capital gain or loss will be long-term capital gain or loss if, at the time of the sale or other disposition, the warrant has been held by you for more than one year. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations.
In general, you will not be required to recognize income, gain or loss upon exercise of a warrant for its exercise price. Your basis in an ordinary share received upon exercise will be equal to the sum of (1) your basis in the warrant and (2) the exercise price of the warrant. Your holding period in the shares received upon exercise will commence on the day after you exercise the warrants (or possibly the date of exercise). Although there is no direct legal authority as to the U.S. federal income tax treatment of an exercise of a warrant on a cashless basis, we intend to take the position that such exercise will not be taxable, either because the exercise is not a gain realization event or because it qualifies as a tax-free recapitalization. In the former case, the holding period of the ordinary shares should commence on the day after the warrant is exercised (or possibly the date of exercise). In the latter case, the holding period of the ordinary shares would include the holding period of the exercised warrants. However, our position is not binding on the IRS and the IRS may treat a cashless exercise of a warrant as a taxable exchange. You are urged to consult your own tax advisor as to the consequences of an exercise of a warrant on a cashless basis.
If a warrant expires without being exercised, you will recognize a capital loss in an amount equal to your basis in the warrant. Such loss will be long-term capital loss if, at the time of the expiration, the warrant has been held by you for more than one year. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations.
Constructive Dividends on Warrants
As discussed under Dividend Policy above, we do not anticipate that any dividends will be paid in the foreseeable future. If at any time during the period you hold warrants, however, we were to pay a taxable dividend to our shareholders and, in accordance with the anti-dilution provisions of the warrants, the conversion rate of the warrants were increased, that increase would be deemed to be the payment of a taxable dividend to you to the extent of our earnings and profits, notwithstanding the fact that you will not receive a cash payment. If the conversion rate is adjusted in certain other circumstances (or in certain circumstances, there is a failure to make adjustments), such adjustments may also result in the deemed payment of a taxable dividend to you. You should consult your tax advisor regarding the proper treatment of any adjustments to the warrants.
Unearned Income Medicare Tax
A 3.8% Medicare contribution tax will generally apply to all or some portion of the net investment income of a U.S. holder that is an individual with adjusted gross income that exceeds a threshold amount ($250,000 if married filing jointly or if considered a surviving spouse for federal income tax purposes, $125,000 if married filing separately, and $300,000 in other cases). This 3.8% tax will also apply to all or some portion of the undistributed net investment income of certain U.S. holders that are estates and trusts. For these purposes, dividends and gains from the taxable dispositions of the ordinary shares, warrants and rights will generally be taken into account in computing such a U.S. holders net investment income.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Information returns may be filed with the IRS with respect to dividends or other distributions we may pay to you and proceeds from the sale of your ordinary shares or warrants. You will be subject to backup withholding on
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these payments if you fail to provide your taxpayer identification number to the paying agent and comply with certain certification procedures or otherwise establish an exemption from backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld with respect to your ordinary shares or warrants under the backup withholding rules will be refunded to you or credited against your United States federal income tax liability, if any, by the IRS provided that certain required information is furnished to the IRS in a timely manner.
Non-U.S. Holders
This section is addressed to non-U.S. holders of the securities. For purposes of this discussion, a non-U.S. holder is a beneficial owner of a security (other than an entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) that is not a U.S. holder.
Dividends and Distributions
As discussed under Dividend Policy above, we do not anticipate that any dividends will be paid in the foreseeable future. If, however, we were to pay taxable dividends to you with respect to your ordinary shares (including any deemed distributions treated as a dividend on the warrants, as described in Constructive Dividends on Warrants below), those dividends would generally be subject to United States withholding tax at a rate of 30% of the gross amount, unless you are eligible for a reduced rate of withholding tax under an applicable income tax treaty and you provide proper certification of your eligibility for such reduced rate (usually on an IRS Form W-8BEN or Form W-8BEN-E). A distribution generally will constitute a dividend for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits as determined under the Code. Any distribution not constituting a dividend generally will be treated first as reducing your basis in your ordinary shares and, to the extent it exceeds your basis, as gain from the disposition of your ordinary shares treated as described under Sale or Other Disposition of Ordinary shares or Warrants below. The full amount of any distributions to you may, however, be subject to United States withholding tax unless the applicable withholding agent elects to withhold a lesser amount based on a reasonable estimate of the amount of the distribution that would be treated as a dividend. In addition, if we determine that we are likely to be classified as a United States real property holding corporation (see Sale or Other Disposition of Ordinary shares or Warrants below), we will withhold at least 10% of any distribution that exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits as provided by the Code.
Dividends we pay to you that are effectively connected with your conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if certain income tax treaties apply, are attributable to a United States permanent establishment maintained by you) generally will not be subject to United States withholding tax if you comply with applicable certification and disclosure requirements (usually by providing an IRS Form W-8ECI). Instead, such dividends generally will be subject to United States federal income tax, net of certain deductions, at the same graduated individual or corporate rates applicable to United States persons. If you are a corporation, effectively connected income may also be subject to a branch profits tax at a rate of 30% (or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty).
Exercise of Warrants
You generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the exercise of the warrants into ordinary shares. However, if a cashless exercise of warrants results in a taxable exchange, as described in U.S. Holders Sale or Other Disposition, Exercise or Expiration of Warrants, the rules described below under Sale or Other Disposition of Ordinary shares or Warrants would apply.
Sale or Other Disposition of Ordinary shares or Warrants
You generally will not be subject to United States federal income tax on any gain realized upon the sale, exchange or other disposition of our ordinary shares (which would include a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination within the required timeframe) or warrants (including an expiration or redemption of our warrants) unless:
| the gain is effectively connected with your conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, under certain income tax treaties, is attributable to a United States permanent establishment you maintain); |
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| you are an individual, you hold your ordinary shares or warrants as capital assets, you are present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of disposition and you meet other conditions, and you are not eligible for relief under an applicable income tax treaty; or |
| we are or have been a United States real property holding corporation for United States federal income tax purposes and, in the case where the ordinary shares are regularly traded on an established securities market, you hold or have held, directly or indirectly, at any time within the shorter of the five-year period preceding disposition or your holding period for your ordinary shares or warrants, more than 5% of our ordinary shares. Special rules may apply to the determination of the 5% threshold in the case of a holder of a warrant. You are urged to consult your own tax advisors regarding the effect of holding the warrants on the calculation of such 5% threshold. We will be classified as a United States real property holding corporation if the fair market value of our United States real property interests equals or exceeds 50% of the sum of (1) the fair market value of our United States real property interests, (2) the fair market value of our non-United States real property interests and (3) the fair market value of any other of our assets which are used or held for use in our trade or business. Although we currently are not a United States real property holding corporation, we cannot determine whether we will be a United States real property holding corporation in the future until we consummate an initial business combination. |
Gain that is effectively connected with your conduct of a trade or business within the United States generally will be subject to United States federal income tax, net of certain deductions, at the same rates applicable to United States persons. If you are a corporation, the branch profits tax also may apply to such effectively connected gain. If the gain from the sale or disposition of your ordinary shares or warrants is effectively connected with your conduct of a trade or business in the United States but under an applicable income tax treaty is not attributable to a permanent establishment you maintain in the United States, your gain may be exempt from United States tax under the treaty. If you are described in the second bullet point above, you generally will be subject to United States federal income tax at a rate of 30% on the gain realized, although the gain may be offset by some United States source capital losses realized during the same taxable year. If you are described in the third bullet point above, gain recognized by you on the sale, exchange or other disposition of ordinary shares or warrants will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis at normal graduated U.S. federal income tax rates. In addition, a buyer of your ordinary shares or warrants may be required to withhold United States income tax at a rate of 15% of the amount realized upon such disposition.
If you convert your ordinary shares into a right to receive cash as described in Proposed Business Effecting a Business Combination Redemption Rights, the redemption generally will be treated as a sale of ordinary shares rather than as a dividend or distribution. The redemption will, however, be treated as a dividend or distribution and taxed as described in Dividends and Distributions if your percentage ownership in us (including shares that you are deemed to own under certain attribution rules, such as the shares into which the warrants are exercisable) after the redemption is not meaningfully reduced from what your percentage ownership was prior to the redemption. See the discussion in U.S. Holders Sale or Other Disposition or Redemption of Ordinary shares. You should consult your own tax advisor as to whether redemption of your ordinary shares will be treated as a sale or as a dividend under the Code.
Constructive Dividends on Warrants
As discussed under Dividend Policy above, we do not anticipate that any dividends will be paid in the foreseeable future. If at any time during the period you hold warrants, however, we were to pay a taxable dividend to our shareholders and, in accordance with the anti-dilution provisions of the warrants, the conversion rate of the warrants were increased, that increase would be deemed to be the payment of a taxable dividend to you to the extent of our earnings and profits, notwithstanding the fact that you will not receive a cash payment. If the conversion rate is adjusted in certain other circumstances (or in certain circumstances, there is a failure to make adjustments), such adjustments may also result in the deemed payment of a taxable dividend to you. Any resulting withholding tax attributable to deemed dividends would be collected from other amounts payable or distributable to you. You should consult your tax advisor regarding the proper treatment of any adjustments to the warrants.
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Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
We must report annually to the IRS the amount of dividends or other distributions we may pay to you on your ordinary shares and the amount of tax we withhold on any such distributions regardless of whether withholding is required. The IRS may make copies of the information returns reporting those dividends and amounts withheld available to the tax authorities in the country in which you reside pursuant to the provisions of an applicable income tax treaty or exchange of information treaty.
The United States imposes backup withholding on dividends and certain other types of payments to United States persons. You will not be subject to backup withholding on dividends you receive on your ordinary shares if you provide proper certification (usually on an IRS Form W-8BEN or Form W-8BEN-E) of your status as a non-United States person or you are a corporation or one of several types of entities and organizations that qualify for exemption (an exempt recipient).
Information reporting and backup withholding generally are not required with respect to the amount of any proceeds from the sale of your ordinary shares or warrants outside the United States through a foreign office of a foreign broker that does not have certain specified connections to the United States. However, if you sell your ordinary shares or warrants through a United States broker or the United States office of a foreign broker, the broker will be required to report to the IRS the amount of proceeds paid to you unless you provide appropriate certification (usually on an IRS Form W-8BEN or Form W-8BEN-E) to the broker of your status as a non-United States person or you are an exempt recipient. Information reporting also would apply if you sell your ordinary shares or warrants through a foreign broker deriving more than a specified percentage of its income from United States sources or having certain other connections to the United States.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld with respect to your ordinary shares or warrants under the backup withholding rules will be refunded to you or credited against your United States federal income tax liability, if any, by the IRS provided that certain required information is furnished to the IRS in a timely manner.
Estate Tax
Ordinary shares owned or treated as owned by an individual who is not a citizen or resident (as defined for United States federal estate tax purposes) of the United States at the time of his or her death, or by an entity the property of which is potentially includible in such an individuals gross estate, will be included in the individuals gross estate for United States federal estate tax purposes and therefore may be subject to United States federal estate tax unless an applicable estate tax treaty provides otherwise. The foregoing may also apply to warrants.
Unearned Income Medicare Tax
If you are a foreign estate or trust, you may be subject to the Medicare contribution tax described under U.S. Holders Unearned Income Medicare Tax above. Non-U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the possible implications of the Medicare contribution tax on their investments in the units.
FATCA
A 30% withholding tax will be imposed on payments to certain foreign entities of U.S.-source dividends, unless information reporting and due diligence requirements (generally relating to ownership by U.S. persons of interests in or accounts with those entities) have been satisfied or an exemption has otherwise been established. The IRS has issued proposed regulations (on which taxpayers may rely until final regulations are issued) that would generally not apply these withholding requirements to gross proceeds from sales or other disposition proceeds from our units, ordinary shares, warrants and rights. Potential investors should consult their tax advisors regarding the possible implications of this withholding tax on their investment in the units.
Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules
A foreign corporation will be a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes if at least 75% of its gross income in a taxable year, including its pro rata share of the gross income of any corporation in which it is considered to own
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at least 25% of the shares by value, is passive income. Alternatively, a foreign corporation will be a PFIC if at least 50% of its assets in a taxable year of the foreign corporation, ordinarily determined based on fair market value and averaged quarterly over the year, including its pro rata share of the assets of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, are held for the production of, or produce, passive income. Passive income generally includes dividends, interest, rents and royalties (other than rents or royalties derived from the active conduct of a trade or business) and gains from the disposition of passive assets.
Because we are a blank check company, with no current active business, we believe that it is likely that we will meet the PFIC asset or income test for periods prior to the acquisition of a company or assets in a business combination. Pursuant to a start-up exception, however, a corporation will not be a PFIC for the first taxable year the corporation has gross income (the start-up year), if (1) no predecessor of the corporation was a PFIC; (2) the corporation satisfies the IRS that it will not be a PFIC for either of the first two taxable years following the start-up year; and (3) the corporation is not in fact a PFIC for either of those years. The applicability of the start-up exception to us will not be known until after the close of our current taxable year and, possibly not until after the close of our next taxable year. After the acquisition of a company or assets in a business combination, we may still meet one of the PFIC tests depending on the timing of the acquisition and the amount of our passive income and assets as well as the passive income and assets of the acquired business. If the company that we acquire in a business combination is a PFIC, then we will likely not qualify for the start-up exception and will be a PFIC since our inception. Our actual PFIC status for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Accordingly, there can be no assurance with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any future taxable year.
If we are determined to be a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. holder of our ordinary shares or warrants and, in the case of our ordinary shares, the U.S. holder did not make either a timely qualified electing fund (QEF) election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. holder held (or was deemed to hold) ordinary shares or a valid mark-to-market election, in each case as described below, such holder generally will be subject to special rules with respect to: (i) any gain recognized by the U.S. holder on the sale or other disposition of its ordinary shares or warrants; and (ii) any excess distribution made to the U.S. holder (generally, any distributions to such U.S. holder during a taxable year of the U.S. holder that are greater than 125% of the average annual distributions received by such U.S. holder in respect of the ordinary shares during the three preceding taxable years of such U.S. holder or, if shorter, such U.S. holders holding period for the ordinary shares).
Under these rules:
| the amount allocated to the U.S. holders taxable year in which the U.S. holder recognized gain or received the excess distribution, or to the period in the U.S. holders holding period before the first day of our first taxable year in which we are a PFIC, will be taxed as ordinary income; |
| the amount allocated to other taxable years (or portions thereof) of the U.S. holder and included in its holding period will be taxed at the highest tax rate in effect for that year and applicable to the U.S. holder; and |
| the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed in respect of the tax attributable to each such other taxable year of the U.S. holder. |
In general, if we are determined to be a PFIC, a U.S. holder will avoid the PFIC tax consequences described above in respect to our ordinary shares by making either (i) a timely QEF election to include in income its pro rata share of our net capital gains (as long-term capital gain) and other earnings and profits (as ordinary income), on a current basis, in each case whether or not distributed, in the taxable year of the U.S. holder in which or with which our taxable year ends or (ii) a valid mark-to-market election. A U.S. holder may make a separate election to defer the payment of taxes on undistributed income inclusions under the QEF rules, but if deferred, any such taxes will be subject to an interest charge.
A U.S. holder may not make a QEF election with respect to its warrants to acquire our ordinary shares. As a result, if a U.S. holder sells or otherwise disposes of such warrants (other than upon exercise of such warrants), any gain recognized generally will be subject to the special tax and interest charge rules treating the gain as an excess distribution, as described above, if we were a PFIC at any time during the period the U.S. holder held the
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warrants. If a U.S. holder that exercises such warrants properly makes a QEF election with respect to the newly acquired ordinary shares (or has previously made a QEF election with respect to our ordinary shares), the QEF election will apply to the newly acquired ordinary shares, but the adverse tax consequences relating to PFIC shares, adjusted to take into account the current income inclusions resulting from the QEF election, will continue to apply with respect to such newly acquired ordinary shares (which generally will be deemed to have a holding period for purposes of the PFIC rules that includes the period the U.S. holder held the warrants), unless the U.S. holder makes a purging election under the PFIC rules. The purging election creates a deemed sale of such shares at their fair market value. The gain recognized by the purging election will be subject to the special tax and interest charge rules treating the gain as an excess distribution, as described above. As a result of the purging election, the U.S. holder will have a new basis and holding period in the ordinary shares acquired upon the exercise of the warrants for purposes of the PFIC rules.
The QEF election is made on a shareholder-by-shareholder basis and, once made, can be revoked only with the consent of the IRS. A U.S. holder generally makes a QEF election by attaching a completed IRS Form 8621 (Information Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund), including the information provided in a PFIC annual information statement, to a timely filed U.S. federal income tax return for the tax year to which the election relates. Retroactive QEF elections generally may be made only by filing a protective statement with such return and if certain other conditions are met or with the consent of the IRS. U.S. holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a retroactive QEF election under their particular circumstances.
In order to comply with the requirements of a QEF election, a U.S. holder must receive a PFIC annual information statement from us. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. holder such information as the IRS may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable the U.S. holder to make and maintain a QEF election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information. In addition, there is no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of our status as a PFIC in the future or of the required information to be provided.
If a U.S. holder has made a QEF election with respect to our ordinary shares, and the special tax and interest charge rules do not apply to such shares (because of a timely QEF election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. holder holds (or is deemed to hold) such shares or a purge of the PFIC taint pursuant to a purging election, as described above), any gain recognized on the sale of our ordinary shares generally will be taxable as capital gain and no interest charge will be imposed. As discussed above, U.S. holders of a QEF are currently taxed on their pro rata shares of its earnings and profits, whether or not distributed. In such case, a subsequent distribution of such earnings and profits that were previously included in income generally should not be taxable as a dividend to such U.S. holders. The tax basis of a U.S. holders shares in a QEF will be increased by amounts that are included in income, and decreased by amounts distributed but not taxed as dividends, under the above rules. Similar basis adjustments apply to property if by reason of holding such property the U.S. holder is treated under the applicable attribution rules as owning shares in a QEF.
Although a determination as to our PFIC status will be made annually, an initial determination that our company is a PFIC will generally apply for subsequent years to a U.S. holder who held ordinary shares or warrants while we were a PFIC, whether or not we meet the test for PFIC status in those subsequent years. A U.S. holder who makes the QEF election discussed above for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. holder holds (or is deemed to hold) our ordinary shares, however, will not be subject to the PFIC tax and interest charge rules discussed above in respect to such shares. In addition, such U.S. holder will not be subject to the QEF inclusion regime with respect to such shares for any taxable year of us that ends within or with a taxable year of the U.S. holder and in which we are not a PFIC. On the other hand, if the QEF election is not effective for each of our taxable years in which we are a PFIC and the U.S. holder holds (or is deemed to hold) our ordinary shares, the PFIC rules discussed above will continue to apply to such shares unless the holder makes a purging election, as described above, and pays the tax and interest charge with respect to the gain inherent in such shares attributable to the pre-QEF election period.
Alternatively, if a U.S. holder, at the close of its taxable year, owns shares in a PFIC that are treated as marketable stock, the U.S. holder may make a mark-to-market election with respect to such shares for such taxable year. If the U.S. holder makes a valid mark-to-market election for the first taxable year of the U.S. holder in which the U.S. holder holds (or is deemed to hold) ordinary shares in us and for which we are determined to be a PFIC, such holder generally will not be subject to the PFIC rules described above in respect to its ordinary shares. Instead, in general,
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the U.S. holder will include as ordinary income each year the excess, if any, of the fair market value of its ordinary shares at the end of its taxable year over the adjusted basis in its ordinary shares. The U.S. holder also will be allowed to take an ordinary loss in respect of the excess, if any, of the adjusted basis of its ordinary shares over the fair market value of its ordinary shares at the end of its taxable year (but only to the extent of the net amount of previously included income as a result of the mark-to-market election). The U.S. holders basis in its ordinary shares will be adjusted to reflect any such income or loss amounts, and any further gain recognized on a sale or other taxable disposition of the ordinary shares will be treated as ordinary income. Currently, a mark-to-market election may not be made with respect to warrants.
The mark-to-market election is available only for stock that is regularly traded on a national securities exchange that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the NASDAQ (on which we intend to list the ordinary shares), or on a foreign exchange or market that the IRS determines has rules sufficient to ensure that the market price represents a legitimate and sound fair market value. U.S. holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a mark-to-market election in respect to our ordinary shares under their particular circumstances.
If we are a PFIC and, at any time, have a foreign subsidiary that is classified as a PFIC, U.S. holders generally would be deemed to own a portion of the shares of such lower-tier PFIC, and generally could incur liability for the deferred tax and interest charge described above if we receive a distribution from, or dispose of all or part of our interest in, the lower-tier PFIC or the U.S. holders otherwise were deemed to have disposed of an interest in the lower-tier PFIC. We will endeavor to cause any lower-tier PFIC to provide to a U.S. holder the information that may be required to make or maintain a QEF election with respect to the lower-tier PFIC. However, there is no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of the status of any such lower-tier PFIC. In addition, we may not hold a controlling interest in any such lower-tier PFIC and thus there can be no assurance we will be able to cause the lower-tier PFIC to provide the required information. U.S. holders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the tax issues raised by lower-tier PFICs.
A U.S. holder that owns (or is deemed to own) shares in a PFIC during any taxable year of the U.S. holder, may have to file an IRS Form 8621 (whether or not a QEF or mark-to-market election is made) and such other information as may be required by the U.S. Treasury Department. Failure to do so, if required, will extend the statute of limitations until such required information is furnished to the IRS.
The rules dealing with PFICs and with the QEF and mark-to-market elections are very complex and are affected by various factors in addition to those described above. Accordingly, U.S. holders of our ordinary shares, warrants and rights should consult their own tax advisors concerning the application of the PFIC rules to our ordinary shares, warrants and rights under their particular circumstances.
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Maxim is acting as sole book-running manager of the offering and as representative of the underwriters named below. Subject to the terms and conditions of the underwriting agreement dated the date of this prospectus, the underwriters named below, through their representative Maxim, have severally agreed to purchase on a firm commitment basis, and we have agreed to sell to the underwriters, the following respective number of units set forth opposite the underwriters name at a public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.
Underwriters |
Number of Units |
|||
Maxim Group LLC |
16,000,000 | |||
Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. |
4,000,000 | |||
|
|
|||
Total |
20,000,000 | |||
|
|
The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the units included in this offering are subject to all applicable laws and regulations and certain conditions precedent such as the receipt by the underwriters of officers certificates and legal opinions and the approval of certain legal matters by their counsel. The underwriters are obligated to purchase all of the units (other than those covered by the over-allotment option described below) if they purchase any of the units. If an underwriter defaults, the underwriting agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the non-defaulting underwriters may be increased or the underwriting agreement may be terminated. We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters and certain of their controlling persons against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and to contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
Units sold by the underwriters to the public will initially be offered at the initial public offering price set forth on the cover of this prospectus. Any units sold by the underwriters to securities dealers may be sold at a discount of up to $0.10 per unit from the initial public offering price. Upon the execution of the underwriting agreement, the underwriters will be obligated to purchase the units at the prices and upon the terms stated therein, and, as a result, will thereafter bear any risk associated with changing the offering price to the public or other selling terms after completion of the initial public offering. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part. Maxim has advised us that the underwriters do not intend to make sales to discretionary accounts.
If the underwriters sell more units than the total number set forth in the table above, we have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 45 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional units at the public offering price less the underwriting discount. The underwriters may exercise this option solely for the purpose of covering over-allotments, if any, in connection with this offering. To the extent the option is exercised, each underwriter must purchase a number of additional units approximately proportionate to that underwriters initial purchase commitment. Any units issued or sold under the option will be issued and sold on the same terms and conditions as the other units that are the subject of this offering.
We, our sponsor and our officers and directors have agreed that, for a period of 180 days from the date of this prospectus, we and they will not, without the prior written consent of Maxim, offer, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell (including any short sale), pledge, transfer, establish an open put equivalent position within the meaning of Rule 16a-l(h) under the Exchange Act, as amended, or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any of our units, warrants, ordinary shares or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, ordinary shares currently or hereafter owned either of record or beneficially, or publicly announce an intention to do any of the foregoing. Maxim in its sole discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice. Our sponsor, officers and directors are also subject to separate transfer restrictions on their founder shares and private placement warrants pursuant to the letter agreement as described herein.
Our initial shareholders have agreed to place their founder shares into an escrow account maintained in New York, New York by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as escrow agent, which shares will not be transferred, assigned, sold or released from escrow until the earlier to occur of (i) six months after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination or (ii) the date on which we consummate a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except as described herein under the
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section of this prospectus entitled Principal Shareholders Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants). Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing 30 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares will no longer be subject to such transfer restrictions. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. The private placement warrants (including the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or saleable until the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled Principal Shareholders Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants).
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our securities. Consequently, the initial public offering price for the units was determined by negotiations between us and the underwriters. Among the factors considered in determining the initial public offering price were the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies, prior offerings of those companies, our management, our capital structure, and currently prevailing general conditions in the equity securities markets, including current market valuations of publicly traded companies considered comparable to our company. We cannot assure you, however, that the price at which the units, ordinary shares or warrants will sell in the public market after this offering will not be lower than the initial public offering price or that an active trading market in our units, ordinary shares or warrants will develop and continue after this offering.
The following table shows the underwriting discounts and commissions that we are to pay to the underwriters in connection with this offering. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option. The upfront portion of the underwriting discounts and commissions will be $0.20 per unit.
Payable By Aurora Technology Acquisition Corp. |
||||||||
No Exercise |
Full Exercise |
|||||||
Per Unit(1) |
$ | 0.475 | $ | 0.475 | ||||
Total(1)(2) |
$ | 9,500,000 | $ | 10,925,000 |
(1) | Includes $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 (or $8,050,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) in the aggregate payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein. The deferred commissions will be released to the underwriters only on completion of an initial business combination, in an amount equal to $0.35 multiplied by the number of ordinary shares sold as part of the units in this offering, as described in this prospectus. |
(2) | In addition to the cash compensation set forth herein, we have agreed to issue to Maxim and/or its designees, 300,000 Class A ordinary shares (or 345,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) concurrently with the consummation of this offering. Except with respect to certain registration rights and transfer restrictions, the representative shares will be identical to the public shares underlying the units sold in this offering. |
If we do not complete our initial business combination and subsequently liquidate, the trustee and the underwriters have agreed that (i) they will forfeit any rights or claims to its deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, including any accrued interest thereon, then in the trust account upon liquidation, and (ii) that the deferred underwriters discounts and commissions will be distributed on a pro rata basis, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes to the public shareholders.
In addition to the underwriting discount, we reimburse the underwriters for out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with this offering up to a maximum allowance of $125,000 (including any advances for such expenses), including, but not limited to underwriters legal counsel, diligence costs, and reimbursement for background checks on our directors and executive officers.
No discounts or commissions will be paid on the sale of the private placement warrants.
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Representatives Ordinary Shares
We have agreed to issue to Maxim and/or its designees, 300,000 Class A ordinary shares (or 345,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) upon the consummation of this offering. Maxim has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any such shares until the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, Maxim has agreed (i) to waive its redemption rights with respect to such shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) to waive its rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of this offering.
The Class A ordinary shares issued to Maxim have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a lock-up for a period of 180 days immediately following the commencement of sales for this offering pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1), during which time the shares may not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated, or be subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative or put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities except as permitted under FINRA Rule 5110(e)(2). The shares, have resale registration rights including one demand and unlimited piggy back rights for periods of five and seven years, respectively, from the commencement of sales for this offering.
Right of First Refusal
Subject to certain conditions, we have granted Maxim, for a period beginning on the closing of this offering and ending on the earlier of 18 months after the date of the consummation of our business combination and the three year anniversary of the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, a right of first refusal to act as book-running managing underwriter or placement agent for any and all future public and private equity, convertible and debt offerings for us or any of our successors or subsidiaries. In accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(6), such right of first refusal shall not have a duration of more than three years from the commencement of sales of this offering.
Regulatory Restrictions on Purchase of Securities
In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell units in the open market. The underwriters have advised us that, in accordance with Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, they may engage in short sale transactions, purchases to cover short positions, which may include purchases pursuant to the over-allotment option, stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions or the imposition of penalty bids in connection with this offering. These activities may have the effect of stabilizing or maintaining the market price of our units at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market.
| Short sales involve secondary market sales by the underwriters of a greater number of units than it is required to purchase in the offering. |
| Covered short sales are sales of units in an amount up to the number of units represented by the underwriters over-allotment option. |
| Naked short sales are sales of units in an amount in excess of the number of units represented by the underwriters over-allotment option. |
| Covering transactions involve purchases of units either pursuant to the over-allotment option or in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover short positions. |
| To close a naked short position, the underwriters must purchase units in the open market after the distribution has been completed. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. |
| To close a covered short position, the underwriters must purchase units in the open market after the distribution has been completed or must exercise the over-allotment option. In determining the source of units to close the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase units through the over-allotment option. |
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| Stabilizing transactions involve bids to purchase units so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum. |
Purchases to cover short positions and stabilizing purchases, as well as other purchases by the underwriters for their own account, may have the effect of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the units. They may also cause the price of the units to be higher than the price that would otherwise exist in the open market in the absence of these transactions. The underwriters may conduct these transactions in the over-the-counter market or otherwise. Neither we, nor any of the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our ordinary shares. The underwriters are not obligated to engage in these activities and, if commenced, any of the activities may be discontinued at any time.
We estimate that our portion of the total expenses of this offering payable by us will be $500,000, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions.
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make because of any of those liabilities.
We are not under any contractual obligation to engage any of the underwriters to provide any services for us after this offering, and have no present intent to do so. However, any of the underwriters may introduce us to potential target businesses or assist us in raising additional capital in the future. If any of the underwriters provide services to us after this offering, we may pay such underwriter fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arms length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with any of the underwriters and no fees for such services will be paid to any of the underwriters prior to the date that is 90 days from the date of this prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriters compensation in connection with this offering and we may pay the underwriters of this offering or any entity with which they are affiliated a finders fee or other compensation for services rendered to us in connection with the completion of an initial business combination.
Electronic Distribution
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available by e-mail or on the web sites or through online services maintained by one or more of the underwriters or their affiliates. In those cases, prospective investors may view offering terms online and may be allowed to place orders online. The underwriters may agree with us to allocate a specific number of ordinary shares for sale to online brokerage account holders. Any such allocation for online distributions will be made by the underwriters on the same basis as other allocations. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on the underwriters web sites and any information contained in any other web site maintained by any of the underwriters is not part of this prospectus, has not been approved and/or endorsed by us or the underwriters and should not be relied upon by investors.
Other Activities and Relationships
The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging. financing and brokerage activities. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory and investment banking services for us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In addition, in the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers and may at any time hold long and short positions in such securities and instruments. Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of ours or our affiliates. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
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Selling Restrictions
Other than in the United States, no action has been taken by us or the underwriters that would permit a public offering of the securities offered by this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. The securities offered by this prospectus may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, nor may this prospectus or any other offering material or advertisements in connection with the offer and sale of any such securities be distributed or published in any jurisdiction, except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations of that jurisdiction. Persons into whose possession this prospectus comes are advised to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions relating to the offering and the distribution of this prospectus. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities offered by this prospectus in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or a solicitation is unlawful.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Canada
(A) Resale Restrictions
The distribution of units in Canada is being made only in the province of Ontario on a private placement basis exempt from the requirement that we prepare and file a prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each province where trades of these securities are made. Any resale of the units in Canada must be made under applicable securities laws which may vary depending on the relevant jurisdiction, and which may require resales to be made under available statutory exemptions or under a discretionary exemption granted by the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authority. Purchasers are advised to seek legal advice prior to any resale of the securities.
(B) Representations of Canadian Purchasers
By purchasing units in Canada and accepting delivery of a purchase confirmation, a purchaser is representing to us and the dealer from whom the purchase confirmation is received that:
| the purchaser is entitled under applicable provincial securities laws to purchase the units without the benefit of a prospectus qualified under those securities laws as it is an accredited investor as defined under National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions, |
| the purchaser is a permitted client as defined in National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations, |
| where required by law, the purchaser is purchasing as principal and not as agent, and |
| the purchaser has reviewed the text above under Resale Restrictions. |
(C) Conflicts of Interest
Canadian purchasers are hereby notified that the underwriters are relying on the exemption set out in section 3A.3 or 3A.4, if applicable, of National Instrument 33-105 Underwriting Conflicts from having to provide certain conflict of interest disclosure in this document.
(D) Statutory Rights of Action
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if the offering memorandum (including any amendment thereto) such as this document contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchasers province or territory. The purchaser of these securities in Canada should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchasers province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
(E) Enforcement of Legal Rights
All of our directors and officers as well as the experts named herein may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible for Canadian purchasers to effect service of process within Canada upon us or those persons. All or a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of those persons may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible to satisfy a judgment against us or those persons in Canada or to enforce a judgment obtained in Canadian courts against us or those persons outside of Canada.
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(F) Taxation and Eligibility for Investment
Canadian purchasers of units should consult their own legal and tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences of an investment in the units in their particular circumstances and about the eligibility of the units for investment by the purchaser under relevant Canadian legislation.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the European Economic Area
In relation to each member state of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a Relevant Member State), an offer to the public of any units which are the subject of the offering contemplated by this prospectus may not be made in that Relevant Member State except that an offer to the public in that Relevant Member State of any units may be made at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Directive, if they have been implemented in that Relevant Member State:
(a) to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive;
(b) to fewer than 100 or, if the Relevant Member State has implemented the relevant provision of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150, natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive), as permitted under the Prospectus Directive, subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriters or the underwriters nominated by us for any such offer; or
(c) in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, provided that no such offer of units shall require us or any of the underwriters to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 16 of the Prospectus Directive.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an offer units to the public in relation to the units in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe to the units, as the same may be varied in that Relevant Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Relevant Member State and the expression Prospectus Directive means Directive 2003/71/EC (and amendments thereto, including the 2010 PD Amending Directive, to the extent implemented in the Relevant Member State), and includes any relevant implementing measure in the Relevant Member State and the expression 2010 PD Amending Directive means Directive 2010/73/EU.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Hong Kong
No securities have been offered or sold, and no securities may be offered or sold, in Hong Kong, by means of any document, other than to persons whose ordinary business is to buy or sell shares or debentures, whether as principal or agent; or to professional investors as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) of Hong Kong (SFO) and any rules made under that Ordinance; or in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a prospectus as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32) of Hong Kong (CO) or which do not constitute an offer or invitation to the public for the purpose of the CO or the SFO. No document, invitation or advertisement relating to the securities has been issued or may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public of Hong Kong (except if permitted under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to securities which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to professional investors as defined in the SFO and any rules made under that Ordinance.
This prospectus has not been registered with the Registrar of Companies in Hong Kong. Accordingly, this prospectus may not be issued, circulated or distributed in Hong Kong, and the securities may not be offered for subscription to members of the public in Hong Kong. Each person acquiring the securities will be required, and is deemed by the acquisition of the securities, to confirm that he is aware of the restriction on offers of the securities described in this prospectus and the relevant offering documents and that he is not acquiring, and has not been offered any securities in circumstances that contravene any such restrictions.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Singapore
This prospectus has not been and will not be lodged or registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or
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invitation for subscription or purchase, of the notes may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the notes be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the SFA), (ii) to a relevant person pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275, of the SFA, or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.
Where the units are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is:
(a) a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or
(b) a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an individual who is an accredited investor, securities (as defined in Section 239(1) of the SFA) of that corporation or the beneficiaries rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the notes pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except:
(i) to an institutional investor or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person arising from an offer referred to in Section 275(1A) or Section 276(4)(i)(B) of the SFA;
(ii) where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer;
(iii) where the transfer is by operation of law;
(iv) as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA; or
(v) as specified in Regulation 32 of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Shares and Debentures) Regulations 2005 of Singapore.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Switzerland
The units may not be publicly offered in Switzerland and will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX) or on any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. This prospectus has been prepared without regard to the disclosure standards for issuance prospectuses under art. 652a or art. 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or the disclosure standards for listing prospectuses under art. 27 ff. of the SIX Listing Rules or the listing rules of any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. Neither this prospectus nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the units or the offering may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.
Neither this prospectus nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the offering, the Company or the units have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this prospectus will not be filed with, and the offer of securities will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA, and the offer of securities has not been and will not be authorized under the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes (CISA). The investor protection afforded to acquirers of interests in collective investment schemes under the CISA does not extend to acquirers of units.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Italy
This prospectus has not been submitted to the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa, the Italian Securities Exchange Commission (CONSOB), for clearance and will not be subject to formal review or clearance by CONSOB.
Accordingly, the Units may not be offered, and copies of this prospectus or any other document relating to the shares may not be distributed in Italy except:
(a) to qualified investors (investitori qualificati), as defined pursuant to Article 34-ter, first paragraph, letter b), of CONSOB regulation No. 11971 of May 14, 1999, as amended, concerning issuers (Regulation No. 11971), but
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excluding (i) small and medium enterprises and natural persons indicated in Regulation No. 11971 that have not been included in the register of qualified investors, (ii) management companies and financial intermediaries authorized to manage individual portfolios on behalf of third parties and (iii) fiduciary companies managing portfolio investments regulated by Article 60, paragraph 4 of Legislative Decree No. 415 of July 23, 1996; or
(b) in other circumstances that are exempt from the rules on public offers pursuant to Article 100 of the Legislative Decree No. 58 of February 24, 1998, as amended (the Italian Financial Act), and its implementing CONSOB regulations, including Regulation No. 11971.
Any such offer, sale or delivery of the Units offered hereby or distribution of copies of this Prospectus, or any other document relating to the offering in the Republic of Italy must be in compliance with the selling restrictions under
(i) made by soggetti abilitati (including investment firms (imprese di investimento), banks or financial intermediaries, as defined by Article 1, first paragraph, letter r), of the Italian Financial Act), to the extent duly authorized to engage in the offering and/or underwriting and/or purchase of financial instruments in the Republic of Italy in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Italian Financial Act, CONSOB Regulation 16190 of October 29, 2007, as amended, Legislative Decree No. 385 of August 1, 1993, as amended (the Italian Banking Act) and any other applicable laws and regulations; and
(ii) in compliance with any other applicable requirements or limitations which may be imposed by CONSOB, the Bank of Italy or any other Italian regulatory authority.
Any investor purchasing the Units offered hereby is solely responsible for ensuring that any offer or resale of the shares it purchased occurs in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
In accordance with Article 100-bis of the Italian Financial Act, the subsequent resale on the secondary market in the Republic of Italy of the Units offered hereby (which were part of an offer made pursuant to an exemption from the obligation to publish a prospectus) constitutes a distinct and autonomous offer that must be made in compliance with the public offer and prospectus requirement rules provided under the Italian Financial Act and the Regulation No. 11971 unless an exemption applies. Failure to comply with such rules may result in the subsequent resale of such shares being declared null and void and the intermediary transferring the shares may be liable for any damage suffered by the investors.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the United Kingdom
This prospectus is only being distributed to, and is only directed at, persons in the United Kingdom that are qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive that are also (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the Order) and/or (ii) high net worth entities falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated (each such person being referred to as a relevant person).
This prospectus and its contents are confidential and should not be distributed, published or reproduced (in whole or in part) or disclosed by recipients to any other persons in the United Kingdom. Any person in the United Kingdom that is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the Cayman Islands
No offer or invitation, whether directly or indirectly may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for our securities.
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Dentons LLP, is acting as United States counsel in connection with the registration of our securities under the Securities Act and will pass on the validity of the securities offered in the prospectus. Legal matters as to Cayman Islands law, as well as the validity of the issuance of the ordinary shares offered in this prospectus, will be passed upon for us by Dentons, Dinner Martin Attorneys, our Cayman Islands legal counsel. Ellenoff Grossman and Schole, LLP, New York, New York, is acting as counsel to the underwriters in this offering.
EXPERTS
The balance sheet of Aurora Technology Acquisition Corp. as of December 31, 2021, and the related statements of operations, changes in shareholders equity, and cash flows for the period from August 6, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, have been audited by EisnerAmper LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which is incorporated herein, which report includes an explanatory paragraph about the existence of substantial doubt concerning the Companys ability to continue as a going concern. Such financial statements have been incorporated herein in reliance on the report of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the securities we are offering by this prospectus. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For further information about us and our securities, you should refer to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed with the registration statement. Whenever we make reference in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements or other documents, the references are materially complete but may not include a description of all aspects of such contracts, agreements or other documents, and you should refer to the exhibits attached to the registration statement for copies of the actual contract, agreement or other document.
Upon completion of this offering, we will be subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and will file annual, quarterly and current event reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings, including the registration statement, over the Internet at the SECs website at www.sec.gov.
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AURORA TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Page | ||||
F-2 | ||||
Financial Statements: |
||||
F-3 | ||||
Statement of Operations for the period from August 6, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 |
F-4 | |||
F-5 | ||||
Statement of Cash Flows for the period from August 6, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 |
F-6 | |||
F-7 |
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Shareholder of
Aurora Technology Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Aurora Technology Acquisition Corp. (the Company) as of December 31, 2021, and the related statements of operations, changes in shareholders equity, and cash flows for the period from August 6, 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 August 6, 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, the Companys ability to execute its business plan is dependent upon its completion of the proposed initial public offering described in Note 3 to the financial statements. The Company has a working capital deficit as of December 31, 2021 and lacks the financial resources it needs to sustain operations for a reasonable period of time, which is considered to be one year from the issuance date of the financial statements. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Companys ability to continue as a going concern. Managements plans in regard to these matters are also described in Notes 1, 3, 4 and 5. 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 Companys management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Companys financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Companys internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ EisnerAmper LLP
We have served as the Companys auditor since 2021.
EISNERAMPER LLP
New York, New York
January 24, 2022 except for Notes 1, 4, 6, 7, 9 and the 1st paragraph of Note 8, as to which the date is February 1, 2022
F-2
AURORA TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
BALANCE SHEET
December 31, 2021
Assets: |
||||
Current assets: |
||||
Cash |
$ | 65,373 | ||
|
|
|||
Total current assets |
65,373 | |||
Deferred offering costs |
307,402 | |||
|
|
|||
Total Assets |
$ | 372,775 | ||
|
|
|||
Liabilities and Shareholders Equity |
|
|
| |
Accrued expenses |
$ | 9,947 | ||
Accrued offering costs |
104,990 | |||
Promissory note related party |
242,801 | |||
|
|
|||
Total current liabilities |
357,738 | |||
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 6) |
|
|
| |
Shareholders Equity |
|
|
| |
Preference shares, $0.0001 par value; 5,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding |
| |||
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding |
| |||
Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 50,000,000 shares authorized; 5,750,000 issued and outstanding (1) |
575 | |||
Additional paid-in capital |
24,425 | |||
Accumulated deficit |
(9,963 | ) | ||
|
|
|||
Total shareholders equity |
15,037 | |||
|
|
|||
Total Liabilities and Shareholders Equity |
$ | 372,775 | ||
|
|
(1) | Includes up to 750,000 shares subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
AURORA TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 6, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
Formation and operating costs |
$ | 9,963 | ||
|
|
|||
Net loss |
$ | (9,963) | ||
|
|
|||
Basic and diluted weighted average ordinary shares outstanding (1) |
5,000,000 | |||
|
|
|||
Basic and diluted net loss per share |
$ | (0.00 | ) | |
|
|
(1) | Excludes up to 750,000 shares subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
AURORA TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS EQUITY
FOR THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 6, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
Class B Ordinary Shares |
Additional Paid-In Capital |
Accumulated Deficit |
Total Shareholders Equity |
|||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | |||||||||||||||||||
Balance as of August 6, 2021 (inception) |
| $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | | |||||||||||
Class B ordinary shares issued to Sponsor (1) |
5,750,000 | 575 | 24,425 | | 25,000 | |||||||||||||||
Net loss |
| | | (9,963 | ) | (9,963 | ) | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Balance as of December 31, 2021 |
5,750,000 | $ | 575 | $ | 24,425 | (9,963 | ) | 15,037 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) | Includes up to 750,000 shares subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-5
AURORA TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 6, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021
Cash flows from operating activities: |
|
|
| |
Net loss |
$ | (9,963 | ) | |
Adjustments to reconcile net cash used in operating activities: |
||||
Payment of advertising and marketing costs |
17 | |||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
||||
Accrued expenses |
9,947 | |||
|
|
|||
Net cash used in operating activities |
1 | |||
|
|
|||
Cash flows from financing activities: |
||||
Proceeds from promissory note related party |
150,000 | |||
Payments of deferred offering costs |
(84,628 | ) | ||
|
|
|||
Net cash provided by financing activities |
65,372 | |||
|
|
|||
Net change in cash |
65,373 | |||
Cash, beginning of the period |
| |||
|
|
|||
Cash, end of the period |
$ | 65,373 | ||
|
|
|||
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities: |
|
|
| |
Deferred offering costs in accrued offering costs |
$ | 104,990 | ||
|
|
|||
Deferred offering costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of Class B ordinary shares |
$ | 25,000 | ||
|
|
|||
Non-cash borrowings against the promissory note |
$ | 92,801 | ||
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-6
AURORA TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION, BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND GOING CONCERN
Aurora Technology Acquisition Corp (the Company) was incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on August 6, 2021. The Company was incorporated for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the Business Combination). The Company has not selected any specific Business Combination target and it has not, nor has anyone on its behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any Business Combination target.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had not yet commenced operations. All activity for the period from August 6, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021 relates to the Companys formation and the proposed initial public offering (Proposed Public Offering), which is described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of a Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Proposed Public Offering. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
The Companys Sponsor is ATAC Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the Sponsor). The Companys ability to commence operations is contingent upon obtaining adequate financial resources through a proposed public offering (the Proposed Public Offering) of 20,000,000 units (each, a Unit and collectively, the Units) at $10.00 per Unit (or 23,000,000 Units if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full), which is discussed in Note 3, and the sale of 6,425,000 warrants (or 7,100,000 warrants if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) (each, a Private Placement Warrant and collectively, the Private Placement Warrants), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to the Sponsor that will close simultaneously with the Proposed Public Offering.
The Companys management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Proposed Public Offering and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (as defined below) (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 the initial Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act 1940, as amended (the Investment Company Act). There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully.
Upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, management has agreed that an amount equal to at least $10.10 per Unit sold in the Proposed Public Offering, including the proceeds of the Private Placement Warrants, will be held in a trust account (Trust Account), located in the United States ,with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account that may be released to the Company to pay its income taxes, (less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), the proceeds from the Proposed Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of (a) the completion of the Business Combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Companys amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Companys obligation to redeem 100% of the public shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering (the Combination Period) or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders rights or pre-business combination activity, and (c) the redemption of the public shares if the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, subject to applicable law.
F-7
AURORA TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION, BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND GOING CONCERN (cont.)
The Company will provide shareholders (the Public Shareholders) of its Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001, sold in the Proposed Public Offering (the Public Shares), with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) 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 all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of the initial Business Combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay the Companys income taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding Public Shares. The amount in the Trust Account is initially anticipated to be $10.10 per Public Share. The per share amount the Company will distribute to investors who properly redeem their public shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters.
The Public Shares subject to redemption will be recorded at a redemption value and will be classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering, in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Boards (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 480 Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity. In such case, the Company will only proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 and obtains the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company.
If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering (the Combination Period) or during any Extension Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay the Companys franchise and income taxes (less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Companys remaining shareholders and board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to the Companys obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
The Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with the completion of the initial Business Combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Companys amended and restated certificate memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of the Companys obligation to redeem 100% of the its Public Shares if the Company does not complete its initial Business Combination within the Combination Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to their Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete an initial Business Combination within the Combination Period, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Public Shares they hold if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the prescribed timeframe, and (iv) vote their Founder Shares and Public Shares in favor of the Companys initial Business Combination.
The Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement,
F-8
AURORA TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION, BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND GOING CONCERN (cont.)
reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.10 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 $10.10 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under the Companys indemnity of the underwriters of the Proposed Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, the Company has not asked its Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor has the Company independently verified whether its Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believes that the Companys Sponsors only assets are securities of the Company. Therefore, the Company cannot assure that its Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations.
Going Concern Consideration
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had $65,373 of cash and a working capital deficit of $292,365. The Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its financing and acquisition plans. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Companys ability to continue as a going concern one year from the issuance date of the financial statements. Management plans to address this uncertainty through a Proposed Public Offering as discussed in Note 3, issuance of private placement warrants as discussed in Note 4, and issuance of an unsecured promissory note with principal up to $300,000 to the Sponsor as discussed in Note 5. There is no assurance that the Companys plans to raise capital or to consummate a Business Combination will be successful within the Combination Period. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Risks and Uncertainties
Management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Companys financial position, results of its operations, close of the Proposed Public Offering, 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.
Note 2 SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC. In the opinion of management, the accompanying financial statements include all adjustments, consisting of a normal recurring nature, which are necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, operating results and cash flows for the period presented. The results for the period from August 6, 2021 (inception) through December 31, 2021, are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2021, or for any future interim periods.
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an emerging growth company, as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the JOBS Act), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
F-9
AURORA TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 2 SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make the comparison of the Companys financial statements with those of another public company that is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company that has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period.
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. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of December 31, 2021.
Deferred Offering Costs
The Company complies with the requirements of ASC 340-10-S99-1. Deferred offering costs consist of legal, accounting, and other costs incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Proposed Public Offering and that will be charged to Shareholders equity upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering. Should the Proposed Public Offering prove to be unsuccessful, these deferred costs, as well as additional expenses to be incurred, will be charged to operations.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement, defines fair value as the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants.
Fair value measurements are classified on a three-tier hierarchy as follows:
| Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical instruments in active markets; |
| Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable such as quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and |
| Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions, such as calculations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are observable. |
F-10
AURORA TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 2 SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
In many cases, a valuation technique used to measure fair value includes inputs from multiple levels of the fair value hierarchy described above. The lowest level of significant input determines the placement of the entire fair value measurement in the hierarchy.
The fair value of the Companys assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet, primarily due to its short-term nature.
Net Loss Per Ordinary Share
Net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period, excluding ordinary shares subject to forfeiture. At December 31, 2021, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into ordinary shares and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted loss per share is the same as basic loss per share for the period presented.
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under FASB ASC 740, Income Taxes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statements carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
ASC 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 Companys management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Companys 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. The Companys management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
The Company is considered to be an exempted Cayman Islands company with no connection to any other taxable jurisdiction and is presently not subject to income taxes or income tax filing requirements in the Cayman Islands or the United States. As such, the Companys tax provision was zero for the periods presented.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
The Companys management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Companys financial statements.
Note 3 PROPOSED PUBLIC OFFERING
In the Proposed Public Offering, the Company will offer for sale up to 20,000,000 Units, (or 23,000,000 Units if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit that the Company is offering has a price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share, with no par value, one redeemable warrant and one right to receive one-tenth of one Class A ordinary share upon the consummation of the Companys initial Business Combination. Each two warrants entitle the holder thereof to purchase one full
F-11
AURORA TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 3 PROPOSED PUBLIC OFFERING (cont.)
Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, as described in this prospectus (see Note 7). Each warrant will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination or 12 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering and will expire five years after the completion of the initial Business Combination, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
Note 4 PRIVATE PLACEMENT WARRANTS
The Sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 6,425,000 private placement warrants (or 7,100,000 Private Placement Warrants if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, for an aggregate purchase price of $6,425,000 (or $7,100,000 if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement Warrants will be added to the proceeds from the Proposed Public Offering to be 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.
The Private Placement Warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until the completion of the initial Business Combination and they will not be redeemable by the Company so long as they are held by the Sponsor or Maxim or their permitted transferees. The Sponsor or its permitted transferees, have the option to exercise the Private Placement Warrants on a cashless basis. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by holders other than the Sponsor its permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in the Proposed Public Offering.
Note 5 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
On August 6, 2021, the Sponsor was issued 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (the Founder Shares) for $25,000, or approximately $0.0043 per share, which proceeds were used to reduce the amount due to a related party. Up to 750,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part. If the Company increases or decreases the size of the Proposed Public Offering, it will effect a share dividend or share contribution prior to the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering in such amount as to maintain the number of Founder Shares at 20% of the Companys issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering.
Our initial shareholders have agreed to place their founder shares into an escrow account maintained in New York, New York by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as escrow agent, which shares will not be transferred, assigned, sold or released from escrow until the earlier to occur of (A) six months after the completion of the initial Business Combination and (B) subsequent to the initial 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, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 30 days after the initial 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 (the Lock-up). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our Sponsor, officers and directors with respect to any Founder Shares.
F-12
AURORA TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 5 RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS (cont.)
Promissory Note Related Party
On August 7, 2021, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the Proposed Public Offering pursuant to a promissory note. This loan is non-interest bearing, unsecured and due at the earlier of March 31, 2022 or the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering. As of December 31, 2021, the Company borrowed $242,801 under the promissory note.
Working Capital Loans
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Companys 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 it. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that the initial Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay Working Capital Loans but no proceeds from the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Up to $1,500,000 of the Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. Except as set forth above, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of the initial Business Combination, the Company does not expect to seek loans from parties other than the Sponsor, its affiliates or any members of the management team as the Company does not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in the Companys Trust Account.
Administrative Support Agreement
Commencing on the date of the Proposed Public Offering, the Company will reimburse an affiliate of the Sponsor for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of the management team, in the amount of $10,000 per month. Upon completion of the initial Business Combination or the Companys liquidation, it will cease paying these monthly fees.
Note 6 COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Registration Rights
The holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants, Class A ordinary shares underlying the Private Placement Warrants and securities that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans will have registration rights to pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of the Proposed Public Offering. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities under the Securities Act. In addition, the holders have certain piggy-back registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of the Companys initial Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the underwriters may not exercise their demand and piggyback registration rights after five (5) and seven (7) years after the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and may not exercise their demand rights on more than one occasion. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
F-13
AURORA TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 6 COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (cont.)
Underwriting Agreement
The Company will grant the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of the Proposed Public Offering to purchase up to an additional 3,000,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Proposed Public Offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions.
The underwriters will be entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.125 per unit, or $2,500,000 in the aggregate (or $2,875,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. In addition, $0.35 per unit will be payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions, which amounts to $9,500,000 in the aggregate (or $10,925,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full). 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.
Right of First Refusal
Subject to certain conditions, the Company will grant Maxim, for a period beginning on the closing of the Proposed Public Offering and ending on the earlier of 18 months after the date of the consummation of the Business Combination and the three year anniversary of the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, a right of first refusal to act as book-running managing underwriter or placement agent for any and all future public and private equity, convertible and debt offerings for us or any of our successors or subsidiaries. In accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(6), such right of first refusal shall not have a duration of more than three years from the commencement of sales of the Proposed Public Offering.
Representatives Ordinary Shares
The Company has agreed to issue to Maxim and/or its designees, 300,000 Class A ordinary shares (or 345,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters over-allotment option is exercised in full) upon the consummation of this offering. Maxim has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any such shares until the completion of the Companys initial Business Combination. In addition, Maxim has agreed (i) to waive its redemption rights with respect to such shares in connection with the completion of the Companys initial business combination and (ii) to waive its rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such shares if the Company fails to complete its initial business combination within 12 months (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering.
The shares have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a lock-up for a period of 180 days immediately following the date of the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1), these securities will not be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction nor may they be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated for a period of 180 days immediately following the commencement of sales of the Proposed Public except to any underwriter and selected dealer participating in the offering and their officers or partners, associated persons or affiliates.
Note 7 SHAREHOLDERS EQUITY
Preference Shares The Company is authorized to issue 5,000,000 preference shares and provide that preference shares may be issued from time to time in one or more series. The Companys board of directors will be authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. 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 value of $0.0001 per share. At December 31, 2021, there were no Class A ordinary shares issued or outstanding.
F-14
AURORA TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 7 SHAREHOLDERS EQUITY (cont.)
Class B Ordinary Shares The Company is authorized to issue 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. At December 31, 2021, there were 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding, of which an aggregate of up to 750,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part. If the Company increases or decreases the size of the offering, it will effect a share dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of the initial shareholders at 20.0% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering (not including the Class A ordinary shares issuable to Maxim).
Holders are entitled to one vote for each Class B ordinary share. Holders of the Class A ordinary shares and holders of the Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the Companys shareholders, except as required by law. Unless specified in the Companys amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or as required by applicable provisions of Cayman Islands law or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of the ordinary shares that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by the Companys shareholders.
The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of the initial Business Combination on a one-for-one basis (subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in this prospectus and related to the closing of the initial Business Combination, the ratio at which Class B ordinary shares shall convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of the Proposed Public Offering (not including Class A ordinary shares issuable to Maxim) plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial Business Combination (excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination, any private placement-equivalent securities issued to our sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of Working Capital loans).
Rights - Except in cases where the Company is not the surviving company in a Business Combination, each holder of a right will automatically receive one-tenth (1/10) of one Class A ordinary share upon consummation of a Business Combination, even if the holder of a right redeemed all shares held by him, her or it in connection with a Business Combination or an amendment to the Companys Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation with respect to its pre-business combination activities. In the event that the Company will not be the surviving company upon completion of a Business Combination, each holder of a right will be required to affirmatively exchange his, her or its rights in order to receive the one-tenth (1/10) of a share underlying each right upon consummation of the Business Combination.
The Company will not issue fractional shares in connection with an exchange of rights. Fractional shares will either be rounded down to the nearest whole share or otherwise addressed in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Cayman Islands law. As a result, the holders of the rights must hold rights in multiples of 10 in order to receive shares for all of the holders rights upon closing of a Business Combination. If the Company is unable to complete an initial Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company redeems the Public Shares for the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of rights will not receive any of such funds for their rights and the rights will expire worthless.
Note 8 WARRANT LIABILITY
The Company will account for the 26,425,000 warrants to be issued in connection with the Proposed Public Offering (representing 20,000,000 Public Warrants and 6,425,000 Private Placement Warrants assuming the underwriters over-allotment option is not exercised) in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40.
F-15
AURORA TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 8 WARRANT LIABILITY (cont.)
Such guidance provides that because the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded as a liability. Accordingly, the Company will 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 re-measurement, the warrant liability will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in the Companys statement of operations.
Warrants No warrants are currently outstanding. Each two warrants entitle the holder thereof to purchase one full Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, as described in this prospectus. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of twelve months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering and 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination. Because the warrants may only be exercised for whole numbers of Class A ordinary shares, only an even number of warrants may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 30 calendar days after the closing of the initial Business Combination, it will use commercially reasonable best efforts to file, and within 90 calendars days following the initial Business Combination to have declared effective, a registration statement with the SEC covering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, to maintain a current prospectus relating to those ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed. If a registration statement covering the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective within the period specified above following the consummation of the initial Business Combination, public holders of warrants may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when The Company shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available. If the Companys ordinary shares is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a covered security under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, it will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but will be required to use its best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis.
In no event will the Company be required to net cash settle any warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the Class A ordinary share underlying such unit.
Redemption of Warrants
Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants:
| in whole and not in part; |
| at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| upon a minimum of 30 days prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and |
| if, and only if, the last sale price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, 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 the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
F-16
AURORA TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 8 WARRANT LIABILITY (cont.)
In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of the initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Companys board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the Newly Issued Price), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of the initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Companys ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates its initial Business Combination (such price, the Market Value) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under Redemption will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
The Private Placement Warrants will be identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units being sold in the Proposed 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 saleable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, at the holders option, and be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees (except for a number of Class A ordinary shares as described above under Redemption of warrants for Class A ordinary shares). 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 in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.
Note 9 SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
Management evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date through February 1, 2022, the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, management did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements, except for the updated terms of the Proposed Offering made in February 2022. Refer to Note 1, Note 4, Note 6, Note 7, Note 8 and Note 9 for further information.
F-17
20,000,000 Units
AURORA TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORP.
PROSPECTUS
February 7, 2022
Sole Manager
Maxim Group LLC
Until March 4, 2022 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade our Class A ordinary shares, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.
No dealer, salesperson or any other person is authorized to give any information or make any representations in connection with this offering other than those contained in this prospectus and, if given or made, the information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by us. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security other than the securities offered by this prospectus, or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities by anyone in any jurisdiction in which the offer or solicitation is not authorized or is unlawful.