As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 30, 2020
Registration No. 333-251521
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
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AMENDMENT NO. 1
TO
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
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Rotor Acquisition Corp.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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Delaware | | 6770 | | 85-2838301 |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | | (Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) | | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
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The Chrysler Building
405 Lexington Avenue
New York, New York 10174
Telephone: (212) 818-8800
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
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Brian D. Finn, Chief Executive Officer
Rotor Acquisition Corp.
The Chrysler Building
405 Lexington Avenue
New York, New York 10174
Telephone: (212) 818-8800
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
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Copies to:
David Alan Miller, Esq. Jeffrey M. Gallant, Esq. Graubard Miller The Chrysler Building 405 Lexington Avenue New York, New York 10174 Tel: (212) 818-8800 | | Derek J. Dostal, Esq. Deanna L. Kirkpatrick, Esq. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP 450 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10017 Tel: (212) 450-4000 |
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Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box. £
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. £
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. £
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. £
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| | Large accelerated filer | | £ | | Accelerated filer | | £ |
| | Non-accelerated filer | | S | | Smaller reporting company | | S |
| | | | | | Emerging growth company | | S |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. £
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CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
Title of each Class of Security being registered | | Amount being Registered | | Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Security(1) | | Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(1) | | Amount of Registration Fee |
Units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, and one-half of one redeemable Warrant(2) | | 23,000,000 Units | | $ | 10.00 | | $ | 230,000,000 | | $ | 25,093 | |
Shares of Class A common stock included as part of the Units(3) | | 23,000,000 Shares | | | — | | | — | | | — | (4) |
Redeemable Warrants included as part of the Units(3) | | 11,500,000 Warrants | | | — | | | — | | | — | (4) |
Total | | | | | | | $ | 230,000,000 | | $ | 25,093 | (5) |
The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
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The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject to Completion, dated DECEMBER 30, 2020
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
$200,000,000
Rotor Acquisition Corp.
20,000,000 Units
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Rotor Acquisition Corp. is a newly incorporated blank check company whose business purpose is to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities, which we refer to as our initial business combination. We have not selected any target business and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any target business regarding a business combination with us.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of our Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, terms and limitations as described herein. The underwriters have a 45-day option from the date of this prospectus to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional units to cover over-allotments, if any.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of our Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. If we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, we will redeem 100% of the public shares for cash, subject to applicable law and certain conditions as described herein.
Our sponsor, Rotor Sponsor LLC, an affiliate of our officers and directors, has agreed to purchase 5,086,538 warrants (or 5,617,308 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, in a private placement to occur concurrently with the closing of this offering. We refer to these warrants throughout this prospectus as the private placement warrants. Additionally, two qualified institutional investors who are unaffiliated with our management team, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our “anchor investors,” have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 663,462 private placement warrants (or up to 732,692 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) from us upon consummation of this offering. Each such investor has also expressed an interest to purchase up to 10% of the units sold in this offering at the public offering price of the units offered hereby. However, because expressions of interest are not binding agreements or commitments to purchase, they may determine not to purchase any such units. In connection with the foregoing, we have agreed to issue to them an aggregate of 571,154 shares of our Class B common stock (or 657,692 shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in connection with the closing of this offering and our sponsor will cancel a like number of shares. We will receive an aggregate of $5,750,000 (or $6,350,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) from these sales of private placement warrants and shares of Class B common stock.
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock on the first business day following the completion of our initial business combination as described herein. Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of shares of our Class B common stock will be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our securities. We have applied to have our units listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), under the symbol “ROT.U” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on the exchange. We expect the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the NYSE under the symbols “ROT” and “ROT WS,” respectively, on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (“Credit Suisse”) informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our filing a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), containing an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering and issuing a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin.
We are an “emerging growth company” and “smaller reporting 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 32 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 SEC 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.
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| | Per Unit | | Total |
Public offering price | | $10.00 | | $200,000,000 |
Underwriting discounts and commissions(1) | | $0.55 | | $11,000,000 |
Proceeds, before expenses, to us | | $9.45 | | $189,000,000 |
Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $200,000,000, or $230,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit in either case), will be deposited into a segregated trust account located in the United States at JP Morgan Chase Bank NA, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee, and $1,750,000 will be available to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following the closing of this offering. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account will not be released until the earliest to occur of: (a) the completion of our initial business combination; (b) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (c) the redemption of all of our public shares if we have not completed our business combination within 18 months 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 stockholders.
The underwriters are offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. The underwriters expect to deliver the units to the purchasers on or about ___________, 2021.
Credit Suisse
___________, 2021
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We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information, and we take no responsibility for any other information others may give to you. 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.
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SUMMARY
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 “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:
• “anchor investors” are to the two qualified institutional buyers that will purchase private placement warrants in connection with this offering, will receive founder shares from our sponsor and have indicated an interest in purchasing units in this offering, all as described in this prospectus;
• “common stock” are to our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock;
• “equity-linked securities” are to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for shares of our Class A common stock issued in connection with our initial business combination including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt;
• “founder shares” are to shares of our Class B common stock issued to our sponsor and anchor investors in private placements and the shares of our Class A common stock that will be issued upon the automatic conversion of the shares of our Class B common stock at the time of our initial business combination (for the avoidance of doubt, such shares of our Class A common stock will not be “public shares”);
• “initial stockholders” are to our sponsor and the other holders of our founder shares prior to, or upon consummation of, this offering, if any, including the anchor investors;
• “management” or “management team” are to our executive officers and directors;
• “private placement warrants” are to the warrants to be issued to our sponsor and anchor investors in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering , as well as any warrants that may be issued to our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates upon conversion of working capital loans, if any;
• “public shares” are to shares of our Class A common stock sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market);
• “public stockholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our sponsor and management team to the extent our sponsor and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that our sponsor’s and each member of our management team’s status as a “public stockholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares;
• “amended and restated certificate of incorporation” are to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, to be in effect upon completion of this offering;
• “sponsor” are to Rotor Sponsor LLC , a Delaware limited liability company; and
• “we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to Rotor Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation.
Each unit consists of one share of our Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant for each unit purchased. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus, and only whole warrants are exercisable. 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.
Registered trademarks referred to in this prospectus are the property of their respective owners. Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option.
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Our Company
We are a blank check company newly incorporated as a Delaware corporation for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination, with one or more businesses or entities, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as a target business. We have not selected any potential target business and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential target business about a potential business combination with us.
We intend to capitalize on the approximately 100 years of combined experience of our management team, including Brian Finn, Stefan M. Selig, and John D. Howard, in investing and managing capital across markets and industries, structuring transactions, and building businesses, and on their respective and complementary extensive and unique global networks of relationships to source and diligence transaction opportunities and add post-transaction value. Our management team has enjoyed a longstanding professional and personal relationship, having both invested and worked together for many years. They share a common vision for investing and building world class businesses. Our management team brings highly complementary capabilities across private equity, public market investing, investment banking and financial services, and government. Through their respective careers they have worked with founders, boards and management teams of companies operating across a broad range of industries in various stages of their life cycles and with enterprise values ranging from micro-cap to the largest in the Fortune 500, including particular and sustained focus on consumer and industrial companies.
Brian D. Finn (CEO). Mr. Finn brings more than 38 years of investment experience spanning the private and public sectors. Mr. Finn is currently the Chairman of Covr Financial Technologies Inc., a firm which offers financial institutions a digital platform to sell leading insurance products, and Chairman of Star Mountain Capital, a lower middle market credit investment firm. Mr. Finn also currently serves as Director of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company and Owl Rock Capital Corp, and an Investment Partner of Nyca Partners, a financial technology venture capital firm. He began his career in 1982 as a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at The First Boston Corporation, ultimately becoming Co-Head of M&A in 1993, advising on dozens of transactions worth well over $100 billion. Mr. Finn served as principal and partner of private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice from 1997 to 2002. From 2002 to 2005, Mr. Finn held a number of senior management positions within Credit Suisse and its predecessor firms, serving as President of Credit Suisse First Boston, President of Investment Banking, Co-President of Institutional Securities, Chief Executive Officer of Credit Suisse USA and a member of the Office of the Chairman of CSFB. He was also a member of the Executive Board of Credit Suisse. From 2004 to 2008, Mr. Finn was Chairman and Head of Alternative Investments at Credit Suisse, one of the world’s leading alternative investment managers with over $100 billion Assets under Management. During his tenure, Credit Suisse launched a series of new alternative investment management firms, including GSO (now Blackstone-GSO), Global Infrastructure Partners (partnership with General Electric), China Renaissance Capital (China Private Equity), Gulf Capital (Middle East-North Africa PE), Mubadala Infrastructure Partners (Middle East Infrastructure in partnership with Mubadala and GE), Ospraie Special Opportunities (Commodities PE), Hudson Clean Energy (Alternative Energy PE) and Matlin Patterson (distressed). He served as the Chief Executive Officer of Asset Management Finance Corporation from 2009 to March 2013 and as its Chairman from 2008 to March 2013.
Stefan M. Selig (Chairman). Mr. Selig is founder of BridgePark Advisors LLC, a strategic advisory firm. Prior to that Mr. Selig served as the Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade for the U.S. Department of Commerce from 2014 to 2016. Mr. Selig previously was with Bank of America Merrill Lynch from 1999 to 2014, ultimately serving as Executive Vice Chairman of Global Corporate and Investment Banking. At BAML, Mr. Selig built and maintained critical relationships at the CEO and board level with important clients of the bank. He previously served as Vice Chairman of Global Investment Banking and Global Head of Mergers & Acquisitions with responsibility for Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications and Global Financial Sponsors Groups; Chairman, Fairness Opinion Review Committee, and Member of Risk and Reputation and New York Market Committees. Prior to joining Bank of America, Mr. Selig held various senior investment banking positions, including Co-Head of Mergers & Acquisitions for UBS Securities. He began his investment banking career in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at The First Boston Corporation in 1984, and subsequently was an original member of Wasserstein Perella & Co. Mr. Selig currently serves on the board of directors of Simon Property Group, Entercom Communications Corp., Tuscan Holdings Corp., and Safehold Inc. where he is the lead independent director.
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John D. Howard (Director). Mr. Howard is founder and Co-Managing Partner of Irving Place Capital, an investment firm, and has 35 years of private equity investing experience in the consumer products, retail, and industrial industries. Prior to founding Irving Place Capital in 1997 (as Bear Stearns Merchant Banking), he was the Co-CEO of Vestar Capital Partners, a private investment firm specializing in management buyouts. Previously, Mr. Howard was a Senior Vice President and Partner of Wesray Capital Corporation, one of the foremost private equity sponsors and a pioneer in the leveraged buyout business. His board experience includes Bendon, New York & Company, rag & bone, AERO SAFETY, Aéropostale, Dots, Integrated Circuit Systems, Multi Packaging Solutions, Nice-Pak Holdings, NRT Incorporated, Safety 1st, Seven For All Mankind, Standard Holdings, Stuart Weitzman, Universal Hospital Services and Vitamin Shoppe.
David J. Berkman (Director). Since January 2000, Mr. Berkman has served as the Managing Partner of Associated Partners, LP, a private equity firm primarily engaged in telecommunications infrastructure operations and investments. He serves on the boards (or equivalent bodies) of Hamilton Lane Inc. (NASDAQ: HLNE), Entercom Communications Corp. (NYSE: ETM), as Lead Director, and on its audit, compensation (Chair), nominating/corporate governance and executive committees, Franklin Square Holdings, LP and Chemimage, Inc. and on the advisory committee of First Round Capital, a venture firm. Mr. Berkman also serves on the board of overseers of the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science. He previously served on the boards of Actua Corporation until 2018 and Diamond Resorts International, Inc. until 2016.
Kim S. Fennebresque (Director). Mr. Fennebresque has served as a senior advisor to Cowen Group Inc., a diversified financial services firm, since 2008, where he also served as its chairman, president and chief executive officer from 1999 to 2008. Mr. Fennebresque serves on the board of directors of Albertsons Companies, a grocery retailer, since March 2015, Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY), a financial services company, since May 2009, BlueLinx Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BXC), a distributor of building products, since May 2013, and as its Chairperson since May 2016. Mr. Fennebresque has served as a member of the Supervisory Board of BAWAG P.S.K., one of Austria’s largest banks, since 2017, and as Deputy Chairman since 2019. Mr. Fennebresque previously served as a director of Ribbon Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: RBBN), a provider of network communications solutions, from October 2017 to February 2020, and as a director of Delta Tucker Holdings, Inc. (the parent of DynCorp International, a provider of defense and technical services and government outsourced solutions) from May 2015 to July 2017. From 2010 to 2012, Mr. Fennebresque served as chairman of Dahlman Rose & Co., LLC, an investment bank. He has also served as head of the corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions departments at UBS and was a general partner and co-head of investment banking at Lazard Frères & Co. He has also held various positions at First Boston Corporation, an investment bank acquired by Credit Suisse.
While our management team has expertise and experience investing across a multitude of industries and sectors and we may pursue an acquisition in any business industry or sector, we believe there are attractive trends in several particular industries where we have expertise, including industrial and consumer sectors. We intend to target businesses where our management team’s insights, expertise and networks can provide advantaged solutions to create value, including through add-on acquisitions, governance enhancements, capital structure optimization, improvements to operations and risk management and attracting and expanding institutional following and ownership.
We intend to leverage our management teams’ experiences and ability to partner with a company that can benefit from our capital, their public market expertise, their experience in developing value-enhancing strategies and their network of relationships with CEOs, board members and members of executive management teams, who can provide specialized insights into their areas of expertise.
We believe our management team is well positioned to identify attractive business combination opportunities that have the opportunity for significant growth. Our objectives are to generate attractive returns for our shareholders and enhance value by bringing strategic, financial and operational improvements to the acquired company. We expect to focus on potential target companies with certain industry and business characteristics. Key industry characteristics include compelling long term growth prospects, attractive competitive dynamics, consolidation opportunities and products or services with large total addressable markets. Key business characteristics include attractive disruptive technology or business model, high returns on invested capital, significant streams of recurring revenue, opportunity for operational improvement, attractive steady-state margins, high incremental margins and attractive free cash flow characteristics.
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In recent years, Messrs. Finn and Howard have invested together in dozens of companies. Many of their best performing investments have been in high growth “disruptive” technology companies in both consumer and industrial markets. These companies have transformed industries, including rocket manufacturing, software, construction equipment, plant-based proteins, wine and spirits distribution, power storage, and industrial automation. Our management team applies its decades of experience to regularly filter through hundreds of investment opportunities, identify unique companies with best-in-class management teams and partners with them to create new industries.
With respect to the above, past experience or performance of our management team and their respective affiliates is not a guarantee of either (1) our ability to successfully identify and execute a transaction or (2) success with respect to any business combination that we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team or their respective affiliates as indicative of future performance. Our management team and their respective affiliates have been involved with a large number of public and private companies in addition to those identified above, not all of which have achieved similar performance levels. See “Risk Factors — Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.” For a complete list of our executive officers and entities for which a conflict of interest may or does exist between such officers and the company, please refer to “Management — Conflicts of Interest.”
Business Strategy
Our business strategy is to identify and complete our initial business combination with a company that complements the experience of our management team and can benefit from their sourcing, investing, governance and public market and value-enhancement expertise. Our selection process will capitalize on our management team’s extensive and unique networks of relationships to both source a transaction as well as implement an operational and growth strategy. These networks have been developed through our management team’s well-established experience across private and public market investing, global financial services and government where they have demonstrated a distinct combination of capabilities including:
• Broad experience and a proven track record of identifying and capitalizing on target industries that rely on legacy assets without modern technological enablement;
• Extensive experience consummating transactions across market cycles and in partnering with operators to drive exceptional results;
• Proven execution ability in complex acquisitions, private equity and business operations, collectively advising on well over $100 billion of mergers and acquisitions and managing well over $100 billion in investment funds;
• Deep investment experience in the consumer and industrial sectors with a focus on leveraging technology to drive transformational change in legacy businesses;
• Long track record of co-investing and collaboration by Messrs. Finn, Howard and Selig;
• Targeted experience screening opportunities and identifying unique companies with best-in-class management teams and partnering with them to create new industries and categories;
• Broad and diverse network of operational, investment and transactional relationships to provide access to unique deal flow as well as experienced operators and management teams;
• Broad and diverse network at the highest levels of the financial services and asset management industry;
• Extensive experience operating businesses, allocating capital and managing risk across a broad array of markets;
• Unique experience managing the complexities of a global public company with a deep understanding of the interplay between macroeconomic events, global capital flows and evolving regulatory landscapes;
• Deep understanding and connectivity across the capital markets to position companies and help management teams transition from private to public ownership;
• Wide-ranging and meaningful relationships with a range of sellers such as private equity firms, entrepreneurs and corporates, active and retired executives and financing providers to source ideas and targets;
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• Deep experience as operators, risk-takers, business builders and managers at complex and world class global financial institutions; and
• Extensive history of serving on public boards and working with public companies to effect change.
Acquisition Criteria
Consistent with our business strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We intend to use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We intend to acquire one or more businesses that we believe:
• Have a leading position within their industry with identified competitive advantages, defensible business strategy;
• Can benefit from our management team’s expertise and collective capabilities in transaction sourcing, deal execution, investing, and public company management;
• Can capitalize on disruptive technology or business model with high prospective growth;
• Are focused on the industrial or consumer end markets;
• Have products or services focused on a large total addressable market;
• Are highly capital efficient, with substantial returns on invested capital;
• Have the potential to deploy capital for strategic growth initiatives or add-on acquisitions;
• Have preparedness for the public markets and can benefit from being a public company with access to broader capital markets to help achieve the company’s business strategy and capital structure needs;
• Present unique opportunity for asymmetric risk-reward profile, enabling our management team to utilize their structuring expertise and investment experience to negotiate an attractive transaction;
• Illustrate substantial growth potential and operate in an industry with positive end market trends, secular drivers and growth dynamics; and
• Have a strong and innovative management team aligned with shareholder interest.
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents that we would file with the SEC.
In addition to any potential business candidates we may identify on our own, we anticipate that other target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct an extensive due diligence review which may encompass, as applicable and among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities and a review of financial and other information about the target and its industry. We will also call upon our management team’s networks of relationships with CEOs, board members and members of executive management teams, to provide specialized insights into their areas of expertise, and utilize our operational and capital planning experience.
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Each of our directors and officers will, directly or indirectly, own founder shares and/or private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, such 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.
Certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity subject to his or her fiduciary duties. As a result, 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, then, subject to such officer’s and director’s fiduciary duties under Delaware law, he or she will need to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, before we can pursue such opportunity. If these other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. However, we do not expect these duties to materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our memorandum and articles of association provide that we renounce our interest in any business combination opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis.
Initial Business Combination
The rules of the NYSE require that our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust). We refer to this as the 80% fair market value test. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such 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, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act 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 our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target business or issue a substantial number of new shares to third-parties in connection with financing our initial business combination. 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 issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% fair market value test. If our 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 target businesses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we are not then listed on the NYSE for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% fair market value test.
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Corporate Information
Our executive offices are located at c/o Graubard Miller, The Chrysler Building, 405 Lexington Avenue, 11th Floor, New York, New York 10174 and our telephone number is (212) 818-8800. Our corporate website address is www.rotoracquisition.com.
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 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following 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 (as defined below) of our Class A common stock that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700.0 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. References herein to “emerging growth company” will have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
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The Offering
In deciding whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds 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 the other risks set forth in the section below entitled “Risk Factors” of this prospectus.
Securities offered | | 20,000,000 units, at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of: |
| | • one Class A common stock; and |
| | • one-half of one redeemable warrant. |
Proposed NYSE symbols | | Class A common stock: “ROT” |
| | Warrants: “ROT WS” |
| | Units: “ROT.U” |
Trading commencement and separation of shares of our Class A common stock and warrants | |
The units are expected to begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The shares of our Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Credit Suisse 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 shares of our Class A common stock and warrants 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 shares of our Class A common stock and warrants. 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.
Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination. |
Separate trading of the Class A common stock and warrants is prohibited until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K | |
In no event will the Class A common stock and warrants 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 the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly 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.
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Units: | | |
Number outstanding before this offering | | 0 |
Number outstanding after this offering | | 20,000,000(1) |
Common stock: | | |
Number outstanding before this offering | | 5,750,000 Class B common stock(2)(3) |
Number outstanding after this offering | | 25,000,000 Class A and Class B common stock(1)(2)(4) |
Warrants: | | |
Number of private placement warrants to be sold in a private placement simultaneously with this offering | |
5,750,000(1)
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Number of warrants to be outstanding after this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants | |
10,500,000(1)
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Exercisability | | Each whole warrant sold in this offering is exercisable to purchase one share of our Class A common stock. Only whole warrants are exercisable. We structured each unit to contain one-half of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable for one share of our Class A common stock, as compared to units issued by some other similar blank check companies which contain whole warrants exercisable for one whole share, in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination as compared to units that each contain a warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses. |
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Exercise price | | $11.50 per whole share, subject to adjustments as described herein. In addition, if (x) we issue additional shares of our Class A common stock 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 of our Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, (i) in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our initial stockholders or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance, and (ii) to the extent that such issuance is made to our initial stockholders or their respective affiliates, without taking into account the transfer of founder shares or private placement warrants (including if such transfer is effectuated as a surrender to us and subsequent reissuance by us) by our sponsor in connection with 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 completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we complete 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 $10.00 and $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices described adjacent to “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00” and “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 100% and 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, respectively. |
Exercise period | | The warrants will become exercisable on the later of: |
| | • 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; and |
| | • twelve months from the closing of this offering; provided in each case that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder (or holders are permitted to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement as a result of (i) our failure to have an effective registration statement by the 60th business day after the closing of the initial business combination as described in the immediately following paragraph or (ii) a notice of redemption described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00”). If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. |
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| | We are not registering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants at this time. However, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than twenty business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC and have an effective registration statement covering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of our Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of the initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when 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 another exemption. 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 when the price per share of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 | |
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants):
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| | • in whole and not in part; |
| | • at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| | • upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, which we refer to as the “30-day redemption period”; and |
| | • if, and only if, the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period commencing after the warrants become exercisable and ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (the “Reference Value”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). |
| | However, in this case, we will not redeem the warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of our Class A common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. Any such exercise would not be on a “cashless” basis and would require the exercising warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised. |
| | Except as set forth below, none of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. |
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Redemption of warrants when the price per share of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 | |
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants if we do not utilize this redemption provision):
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| | • in whole and not in part; |
| | • at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined by reference to the table set forth under “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants” based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock (as defined below); |
| | • if, and only if, the Reference Value (as defined above under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00”) equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like); and |
| | • if the Reference Value is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like), the private placement warrants must also concurrently be called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants, as described above. |
| | The “fair market value” of our Class A common stock shall mean the volume-weighted average price of our Class A common stock for the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in other blank check offerings. We will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10-day trading period described above ends. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 shares of our Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment). |
| | No fractional shares of our Class A common stock will be issued upon redemption. If, upon redemption, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of shares of our Class A common stock to be issued to the holder. Please see the section entitled “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants” for additional information. |
| | See the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Registration Rights.” |
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Founder shares | | Our sponsor paid in the aggregate $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, in exchange for the issuance of 5,750,000 shares of our Class B common stock. As described below, we have agreed to issue to the anchor investors an aggregate of 571,154 shares of our Class B common stock (or 657,692 shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in connection with the closing of this offering and our sponsor will cancel a like number of shares. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per-share price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The number of founder shares was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering (assuming the sponsor does not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase the size of this offering, we will effect a stock dividend or other appropriate mechanism with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of 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 sponsor will maintain ownership of 20% of our Class A common stock after this offering. |
| | The founder shares are identical to the shares of our Class A common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, except that: |
| | • only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors prior to our initial business combination and holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason; |
| | • the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; |
| | • our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive (i) their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and |
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| | (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months 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 do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering, in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.5%, 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 our initial business combination approved (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). This number and percentage would go down if our anchor investors purchased units in this offering and vote the shares underlying such units in favor of our initial business combination; |
| | • the founder shares will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock on the first business day following the completion of our initial business combination as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights” and in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation; and • the founder shares are entitled to registration rights. |
Transfer restrictions on founder shares | | Our initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of: (i) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (ii) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property; except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances as described herein under “Principal Stockholders — 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 stockholders with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, the converted shares of our Class A common stock will be released from the lock-up. |
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Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights | | The founder shares are designated as shares of our Class B common stock and will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock on the first business day following the completion of our initial business combination at a ratio such that the number of shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of shares of our common stock issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering, plus (ii) the sum of (a) the total number of shares of our common stock issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities (as defined herein) or deemed issued by the Company in connection with or in relation to the completion of the initial business combination, excluding (1) any shares of our Class A common stock or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into shares of our Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination, and (2) any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor or any of its affiliates upon conversion of working capital loans, minus (b) the number of public shares redeemed by public stockholders in connection with our initial business combination. In no event will the shares of our Class B common stock convert into shares of our Class A common stock at a rate of less than one to one.
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Appointment of directors; Voting rights | | Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended by approval of a majority of at least 90% of the shares of our Class B common stock voting in an annual meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote. |
Private placement purchases | | Our sponsor and anchor investors have committed, pursuant to written agreements, to purchase an aggregate of 5,750,000 private placement warrants (or 6,350,000 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Additionally, we have agreed to issue to the anchor investors an aggregate of 571,154 shares of our Class B common stock (or 657,692 shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in connection with the closing of this offering and our sponsor will cancel a like number of shares. We will receive an aggregate of $5,750,000 (or $6,350,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) from these sales of private placement warrants and shares of Class B common stock. |
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| | A portion of the purchase price of the private placement warrants and shares of Class B common stock to be sold to our sponsor and anchor investors will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account such that at the time of closing $200,000,000 (or $230,000,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) will be held in the trust account. If we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, the proceeds from these sales held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. |
| | The private placement warrants will be non-redeemable (except as set forth under “Description of Securities — Warrants — Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00”) and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees (see “Description of Securities — Warrants — Private Placement Warrants”). If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. The holders of the private placement warrants, as well as its permitted transferees, have the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. |
Transfer restrictions on private placement warrants | | The private placement warrants (including the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).
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Expression of Interest | | Each of the anchor investors has expressed an interest to purchase up to 10% of the units offered in this offering at the public offering price of the units offered hereby, in addition to the private placement warrants they are purchasing described above. In connection with the foregoing, we have agreed to issue to them an aggregate of 571,154 founder shares (or 657,692 founder shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in connection with the closing of this offering. The anchor investors have not been granted any other material additional stockholder or other rights. The purchases by the anchor investors of units in this offering or our securities in the open market (or both) could potentially allow such investors to assert influence over our company, including with respect to our initial business combination. No assurances can be given as to the amount of our securities the anchor investors may purchase in this offering or retain or purchase following this offering at any time prior to or upon the consummation of our initial business combination. As described above, in the event that the anchor investors acquire our units in this offering or after and vote them in favor of our initial business combination, a smaller portion of affirmative votes from other public stockholders would be required to approve our initial business combination. |
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Proceeds to be held in trust account | | Of the proceeds we will receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $200,000,000, or $230,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit in either case), will be deposited into a segregated trust account located in the United States at JP Morgan Chase Bank NA, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee, and $1,750,000 will be used to pay expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following this offering. The proceeds to be placed into 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 taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account will not be released until the earliest to occur of: (a) the completion of our initial business combination; (b) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (c) the redemption of all of our public shares if we have not completed our business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Public stockholders who redeem their shares of our Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote described in clause (b) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, with respect to such shares of our Class A common stock so redeemed. 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 stockholders. |
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 either be held in cash accounts or invested, in which case they will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Assuming an interest rate of 0.08% per year, we estimate the interest earned on the trust account to generate approximately $160,000 per year; however we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. Except as described above, 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 $1,000,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $750,000 in expenses relating to this offering; and |
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| | • any loans or additional investments from our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates, 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 our initial business combination. |
Conditions to completing our initial business combination | | NYSE rules require that 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 amount of deferred underwriting discounts held in trust and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination.
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| | If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses or we are considering an initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions. We intend to complete our initial business combination only if the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or is otherwise not 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 stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. 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 valued for purposes of the 80% fair market value test, provided that in the event that the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable. |
| | Additionally, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation 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 upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). |
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Permitted purchases of public shares and public warrants by our affiliates | | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination where otherwise permissible under applicable laws, rule and regulations. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (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. See “Proposed Business — Permitted Purchases of Our Securities” for a description of how our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
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| | The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the 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 common stock or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange. |
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Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination | |
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any 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 $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our sponsor and each member of our management team 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.
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Limitation on redemptions | | Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation 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 upon consummation of out initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). However, a greater net tangible asset or cash requirement may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed 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 business combination. Furthermore, although we will not redeem shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to fall below $5,000,001, we do not have a maximum redemption threshold based on the percentage of shares sold in this offering, as some blank check companies do. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. |
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Manner of conducting redemptions | | We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) without a stockholder vote by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements. Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval, while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares of our Class A common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require stockholder approval. We currently intend to conduct redemptions in connection with a stockholder vote unless stockholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement and we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other legal reasons. |
| | If we hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination, we will: |
| | • 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. |
| | If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. Pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, our initial stockholders and each member of our management team have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to vote their 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. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.5%, 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 our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). This number and percentage would go down if our anchor investors purchased units in this offering and vote the shares underlying such units in favor of our initial business combination Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a stockholder on the record date for the stockholder meeting held to approve the proposed transaction. |
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| | If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will: |
| | • 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, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our initial stockholders, officers and directors will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act. |
| | In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than the number of public shares we are permitted to redeem. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination. |
Limitation on redemption rights of stockholders holding 15% or more of the shares sold in this offering if we hold stockholder vote | |
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering, without our prior consent. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those stockholders that hold more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering) for or against our initial business combination. Our sponsor and each member of our management team have, pursuant to letter agreements entered into with us, waived their right to have any founder shares or public shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination.
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Release of funds in trust account on closing of our initial business combination | | On the completion of our initial business combination, the funds held in the trust account will be disbursed directly by the trustee to pay amounts due to any public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Proposed Business — Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination,” to pay the underwriters their deferred underwriting commissions, to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination and to pay our other expenses. 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 to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on outstanding indebtedness, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
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Redemption of public shares and distribution and liquidation if no initial business combination | |
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed that we will have only 18 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering and our stockholders to not otherwise approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to extend this time period, we will; (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering.
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| | Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our sponsor or members of our management team 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 do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering. |
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| | The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission held in the trust account in the event we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the trust account that will be available to fund the redemption of our public shares. |
| | Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to written agreements with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or amendments to our certificate of incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, or with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described above under “Proposed Business — Limitations on Redemptions.” For example, our board of directors may propose such an amendment if it determines that additional time is necessary to complete our initial business combination. In such event, we will conduct a proxy solicitation and distribute proxy materials pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act seeking stockholder approval of such proposal and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon stockholder approval of such amendment. This redemption right shall apply in the event of the approval of any such amendment, whether proposed by our sponsor, any executive officer or director or any other person. |
Limited payments to insiders | | There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made by the company to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, other than the following payments, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination: • Reimbursement of funds advanced to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses; • Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating, negotiating and completing an initial business combination; |
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| | • Repayment of non-interest bearing loans which may be made by our sponsor, officers, directors or any of their affiliates to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans; • Payment of salaries or consulting fees to our officers prior to our initial business combination of up to an aggregate of $300,000 for their services in assisting us in locating and consummating an initial business combination; and • At the closing of our initial business combination, we may pay customary financial consulting, finder or advisory fees. We may pay such financial consulting, finder or advisory fees in the event our initial stockholders, officers, directors or their affiliates provide us with specific target company, industry, financial or market expertise, as well as insights, relationships, services or resources in order to assess, negotiate and consummate an initial business combination. The amount of any such fees we pay will be based upon the prevailing market for similar services for comparable transactions at such time, and will be subject to the review of our audit committee pursuant to the audit committee’s policies and procedures relating to transactions that may present conflicts of interest. We would disclose any such fee in the proxy or tender offer materials used in connection with a proposed business combination. |
| | Any such payments will be made either (i) prior to our initial business combination using proceeds of this offering held outside the trust account or from loans made to us by our sponsor or (ii) in connection with or after the completion of our initial business combination. |
Audit Committee | | We have established and will maintain an audit committee, which is composed entirely of independent directors. Among its responsibilities, the audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates and monitor compliance with the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to promptly take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise to cause compliance with the terms of this offering. For more information, see the section entitled “Management — Committees of the Board of Directors — Audit Committee.” |
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Conflicts of interest | | 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 do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue. |
| | In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors may participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company prior to completion of our initial business combination. As a result, our sponsor, officers or directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. Although we have no formal policy in place for vetting potential conflicts of interest, our board of directors will review any potential conflicts of interest on a case-by-case basis. In particular, Mr. Selig, our Chairman, is currently a director of another blank check company, Tuscan Holdings Corp. Tuscan Holdings Corp. is currently focusing on business combinations in the cannabis industry, although it may acquire a target business in any industry or sector. This may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target. However, we do not believe that any potential conflicts with Tuscan Holdings Corp. would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination, because while we expect that Tuscan Holdings Corp. will have priority over us with respect to acquisition opportunities until it completes its initial business combination, our management team has significant experience in identifying and executing multiple acquisition opportunities simultaneously, and we are not limited by industry or geography in terms of the acquisition opportunities we can pursue. In addition, Tuscan Holdings Corp. has a different management team than our company. |
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Indemnity | | Our sponsor has agreed that they will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or by a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay our taxes. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. As a result, we believe it is unlikely that our sponsor will be able to satisfy its indemnity obligations if it is required to do so. None of our officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses. |
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Summary of Risk Factors
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. The occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances described in the section titled “Risk Factors,” alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. Such risks include, but are not limited to:
• Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
• Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.
• If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote. Our initial stockholders and management team control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote.
• We may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our stockholders do not support such a combination.
• The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares from us for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target, may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure, or may increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful.
• The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within 18 months after the closing of this offering may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination.
• We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within 18 months after the closing of this offering, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, we would redeem our public shares for a pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account, and we would liquidate. In such event, our warrants would expire worthless.
• We may require stockholders who wish to redeem their shares for cash in connection with a proposed business combination to comply with specific requirements for redemption that may make it more difficult for them to exercise their redemption rights.
• If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, and if you or a “group” of stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock.
• We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, or another valuation or appraisal firm that commonly renders fairness opinions, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view.
• Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of the shares of our Class A common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
• We may issue additional shares of Class A common stock or preferred stock to complete a business combination, or may issue shares of Class A common stock upon the conversion of the founder shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of the business combination as a result of anti-dilution provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, any which would dilute the interests of our public stockholders.
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• We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial indebtedness, to complete a business combination, which may affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
• We may be unable to obtain financing necessary to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business.
• Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business.
• 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 and other events, and by the status of debt and equity markets.
• We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
• There may be tax consequences to our business combinations that may adversely affect us.
• If we consummate a business combination with a target company with assets located outside of the United States, our results of operations and prospects could be subject to the economic, political, and legal policies, developments, and conditions in the country in which we operate. Further, exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause our ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.
• Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.
• Our officers and directors presently have fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including another blank check company, and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
• Our officers and directors may have interests in a potential business combination that are different than yours, which may create conflicts of interest.
• 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.
• The NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
• If third parties bring claims against us, and if our directors decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor or if our sponsor does not have the funds to indemnify us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
• Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
• 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.
• We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
• You will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our Class A common stock.
• 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.
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• Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of the holders of at least 65% of our common stock, which is a lower threshold than that of some other blank check companies.
• Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our common stock and could entrench management.
• Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, subject to limited exceptions, that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for certain stockholder litigation matters, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or stockholders.
• We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after the completion of our initial business combination in accordance with NYSE corporate governance requirements. Further, prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. Accordingly, you may not have any say in the management of our company prior to the completion of an initial business combination.
• We may be considered a “controlled company” under the NYSE rules and as a result we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. While we do not presently intend to utilize these exemptions, if we determine to take advantage of the exemptions in the future, you would not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements.
• We are a newly incorporated 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.
• 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.
• We are an emerging growth company and 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, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
• Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
• 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 “Proposed Business — Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.
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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, so only balance sheet data is presented.
| | September 15, 2020 |
Balance Sheet Data: | | |
Working capital (deficiency) | | $ | (6,000 | ) |
Total assets | | $ | 30,000 | |
Total liabilities | | $ | 6,000 | |
Stockholder’s equity. | | $ | 24,000 | |
If no business combination is completed within 18 months 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, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares. Our sponsor and each member of our management team 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 do not complete our initial business combination within such 18 month time period.
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RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our units. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Relating to Searching for and Consummating a Business Combination.
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
As of September 15, 2020, we had no cash and cash equivalents and a working capital deficiency of $6,000. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Our plans to raise capital and to consummate our initial business combination may not 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.
Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to hold a stockholder vote before we complete our initial business combination if the business combination would not require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. For instance, if we were seeking to acquire a target business where the consideration we were paying in the transaction was all cash, we would not be required to seek stockholder approval to complete such a transaction. Except as required by law or stock exchange, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow stockholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek stockholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if a majority of our public stockholders do not approve of the business combination we complete.
Please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business — Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.
Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of one or more target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote. Accordingly, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and members of our management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Our initial stockholders will own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our outstanding shares of our Class A common stock immediately following the completion of this offering. Our initial stockholders and members of our management team also may from time to time purchase Class A common stock prior to our initial business
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combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that, if we seek stockholder approval of an initial business combination, such initial business combination will be approved if we receive the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares voted at such meeting, including the founder shares. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, our sponsor and members of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and any shares purchased during or after the offering, in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001 or 37.5%, 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 our initial business combination approved (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). This number and percentage would go down if our anchor investors purchased units in this offering and vote the shares underlying such units in favor of our initial business combination. Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial stockholders and members of our management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite stockholder approval for such initial business combination.
Our initial stockholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon closing of this offering, our initial stockholders will own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our issued and outstanding Class A common stock (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. If our initial stockholders purchases any units in this offering or if our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of our Class A common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Neither our initial stockholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this prospectus. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by our sponsor, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a terms for three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our initial stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the 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 upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on
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our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for additional third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions.
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that we may be unable to consummate an initial business combination and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that we may be able to consummate our initial business combination is increased. If we are unable to consummate an initial business combination, 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 shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation 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 upon consummation of an initial business combination (such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates.
The requirement that we complete an initial business combination within 18 months after the closing of this offering may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the 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.
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We may not be able to complete an initial business combination within 18 months after the closing of the 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 stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed that we must complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete an initial business combination within 18 months after the closing of this offering. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. For example, the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic continues to grow both in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the pandemic on us will depend on future developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. If we have not completed an initial business combination within such applicable time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
If we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, our public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond such 18 months before redemption from our trust account.
If we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months 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, if any (less up to $100,000 of the interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of public stockholders from the trust account will be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind-up, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public stockholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the DGCL. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond 18 months from the closing of this offering before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless we complete our initial business combination prior thereto and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their Class A common stock. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public stockholders be entitled to distributions if we do not complete our initial business combination.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on business and debt and equity markets could have a material adverse effect on our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately complete a business combination.
The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the economies and financial markets worldwide, business operations and the conduct of commerce generally and could have a material adverse effect on the business of any potential target business with which we complete a business combination. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if concerns relating to the COVID-19 continue to restrict travel or limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors, or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and complete a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic 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 the pandemic and the actions to contain the pandemic or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by the pandemic or other
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matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, it could have a material adverse effect on our ability to complete a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately complete a business combination.
In addition, our ability to complete a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing and the coronavirus pandemic and other related events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise adequate financing.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, where otherwise permissible under applicable laws, rules and regulations, although they are under no obligation to do so. However, other than as expressly stated herein, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions.
Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgment that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the 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. 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. See “Proposed Business — Permitted Purchases of Our Securities” for a description of how our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A common stock or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
If a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly redeem or tender public shares. For example, we may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on
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the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business — Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights.”
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of our Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to the rights of our Class A common stock, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business within 18 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. Public stockholders who redeem their Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, with respect to such Class A common stock so redeemed. In addition, if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering is not completed for any reason, compliance with Delaware law may require that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing stockholders for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in our trust account. In that case, public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond 18 months from the closing of this offering before they receive funds from our trust account. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your 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 do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies
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and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of 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, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a stockholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination our public stockholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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 18 months, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account to fund our working capital requirements may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 18 months, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that, upon closing of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account, together with funds available from loans from our sponsor will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 18 months; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. 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 stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors below.
In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $750,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, unless funded by the proceeds of loans available from our sponsor or its affiliates, 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 $750,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. The amount held in the trust account will not be impacted as a result of such increase or decrease. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, members of our management team or their respective affiliates, as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public stockholders may only receive an estimated $10.00 per share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. 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 stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors below.
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We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that the price we are paying is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
Unlike some other similarly structured blank check companies, our initial stockholders will receive additional shares of our Class A common stock if we issue shares to complete an initial business combination.
The founder shares will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock on the first business day following the completion of our initial business combination at a ratio such that the number of shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of shares of our common stock issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering, plus (ii) the sum of (a) the total number of shares of our common stock issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or deemed issued by the Company in connection with or in relation to the completion of the initial business combination, excluding (1) any shares of our Class A common stock or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into shares of our Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and (2) any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor or any of its affiliates upon conversion of working capital loans, minus (b) the number of public shares redeemed by public stockholders in connection with our initial business combination. In no event will the shares of our Class B common stock convert into shares of our Class A common stock at a rate of less than one to one. This is different than some other similarly structured blank check companies in which the initial stockholders will only be issued an aggregate of 20% of the total number of shares to be outstanding prior to the initial business combination.
Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of the shares of our Class A common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We will be issuing warrants to purchase 10,000,000 of our Class A common stock (or up to 11,500,000 shares of our Class A common stock 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 an aggregate of 5,750,000 private placement warrants (or up to 6,350,000 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. Our initial stockholders currently own an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares. The founder shares are convertible into Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates make any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
To the extent we issue Class A common stock for any reason, including to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of our Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants and conversion rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants when exercised will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our Class A common stock and reduce the value of the shares of our Class A common stock issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction 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 shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may
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not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) are subject to registration rights.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to complete an initial business combination.
Unlike some blank check companies, if (i) we issue additional common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per common stock, (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 completion 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 $10.00 and $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 100% and 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, respectively. This may make it more difficult for us to complete an initial business combination with a target business.
We may issue additional shares of our Class A common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of our Class A common stock upon the conversion of the founder shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will authorize the issuance of up to 70,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 12,500,000 shares of our Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 50,000,000 and 7,500,000 (assuming in each case that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option) authorized but unissued shares of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock, respectively, available for issuance which amount does not take into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants or shares issuable upon conversion of the shares of the Class B common stock. The Class B common stock is automatically convertible into Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination as described herein and in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Immediately after this offering, there will be no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of our Class A common stock or shares of preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A common stock to redeem the warrants as described in “Description of Securities — Warrants — Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00” or upon conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that prior to or in connection with our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination or on any other proposal presented to stockholders prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote. The issuance of additional shares of common stock or shares of preferred stock:
• may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering;
• may subordinate the rights of holders of our Class A common stock if share of preferred stock are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A common stock;
• could cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of our Class A common stock is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors;
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• may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants; and
• will not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ 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 and our officers have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
• default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
• acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;
• our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt 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 common stock;
• using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions and fund other general corporate purposes;
• limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
• increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and
• limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements and execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
We 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. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. The current economic environment may make it difficult for companies to obtain acquisition financing. To the extent
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that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders and not previously released to us to pay our taxes on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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 products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
Of the net proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $201,000,000 (or $231,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be available to complete our business combination and pay related fees and expenses (which excludes up to approximately $7,000,000 (or $8,050,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), after taking into account the deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account and the estimated expense of this offering).
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
• solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or
• dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence 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.
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Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
We may pursue business combination opportunities in any sector. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
Because we must furnish our stockholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“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) (“PCAOB”). These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
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Risks Relating to the Post-Business Combination Company
We may seek acquisition opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s area of expertise if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination 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 a business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this prospectus regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any stockholder who choose to remain stockholders following our business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses and our strategy will be to identify, acquire and build a company in our target investment area, 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 and our strategy will be to identify, acquire and build a company in our target investment area, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have attributes consistent with our general criteria and guidelines. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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 share price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will surface all material issues with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of
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assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities.
We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
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, director 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 engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The loss of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
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Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. Upon the loss of control of a target business, new management may not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we intend to complete such business combination only 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 do not intend to consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of our Class A common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of our Class A common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding Class A common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business.
We may seek business combination opportunities with a high degree of complexity that require significant operational improvements, which could delay or prevent us from achieving our desired results.
We may seek business combination opportunities with large, highly complex companies that we believe would benefit from operational improvements. While we intend to implement such improvements, to the extent that our efforts are delayed or we are unable to achieve the desired improvements, the business combination may not be as successful as we anticipate.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a large complex business or entity with a complex operating structure, we may also be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine, which could delay or prevent us from implementing our strategy. Although our management team will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business and its operations, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors until we complete our business combination. If we are not able to achieve our desired operational improvements, or the improvements take longer to implement than anticipated, we may not achieve the gains that we anticipate. Furthermore, some of these risks and complexities may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks and complexities will adversely impact a target business. Such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a smaller, less complex organization.
We would be subject to a second level of U.S. federal income tax on a portion of our income if we are determined to be a personal holding company (a “PHC”), for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
A U.S. corporation generally will be classified as a PHC for U.S. federal income tax purposes in a given taxable year if (i) at any time during the last half of such taxable year, five or fewer individuals (without regard to their citizenship or residency and including as individuals for this purpose certain entities such as certain tax exempt organizations, pension funds and charitable trusts) own or are deemed to own (pursuant to certain constructive ownership rules) more than 50% of the stock of the corporation by value and (ii) at least 60% of the corporation’s adjusted ordinary gross income, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes, for such taxable year consists of PHC income (which includes, among other things, dividends, interest, certain royalties, annuities and, under certain circumstances, rents).
Depending on the date and size of our initial business combination, it is possible that at least 60% of our adjusted ordinary gross income may consist of PHC income as discussed above. In addition, depending on the concentration of our stock in the hands of individuals, including the members of our sponsor and certain tax exempt organizations, pension funds and charitable trusts, it is possible that more than 50% of our stock may be owned or
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deemed owned (pursuant to the constructive ownership rules) by such persons during the last half of a taxable year. Thus, no assurance can be given that we will not become a PHC following this offering or in the future. If we are or were to become a PHC in a given taxable year, we would be subject to an additional PHC tax, currently 20%, on our undistributed PHC income, which generally includes our taxable income, subject to certain adjustments.
If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we pursue a target a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
• costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets;
• rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;
• complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;
• laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;
• exchange listing and/or delisting requirements;
• tariffs and trade barriers;
• regulations related to customs and import/export matters;
• local or regional economic policies and market conditions;
• unexpected changes in regulatory requirements;
• longer payment cycles;
• tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;
• currency fluctuations and exchange controls;
• rates of inflation;
• challenges in collecting accounts receivable;
• cultural and language differences;
• employment regulations;
• underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems;
• corruption;
• protection of intellectual property;
• social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances;
• regime changes and political upheaval;
• terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars;
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• deterioration of political relations with the United States; and
• government appropriation of assets.
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination, or, if we complete such combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Relating to our Management and Directors
Past performance by members of our management team or their respective affiliates (including the founder and our management team), including the businesses referred to herein, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us or in the future performance of any business that we may acquire.
Information regarding past performance of members of our management team or their respective affiliates is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience and performance referred to herein is not a guarantee either: (1) that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (2) of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may complete. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team’s performance or the performance of the other companies referred to herein as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward. An investment in us is not an investment in the other companies referred to in this prospectus.
Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers and directors is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers and directors are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. If our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Management — Officers, Directors and Director Nominees.”
Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including another blank check company, and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of this offering and until we complete our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Delaware law. In particular, Stefan Selig, our Chairman, has fiduciary and contractual duties to another blank check company, Tuscan Holdings Corp. Tuscan Holdings Corp. is currently focusing on the cannabis industry for a business combination although it may acquire a business in any industry or sector. Accordingly, he may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Delaware law. However, we do not believe that any potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
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In addition, members of our management team or their respective affiliates may in the future become affiliated with other blank check companies that may have acquisition objectives that are similar to ours. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to such other blank check companies prior to its presentation to us, subject to our officers’ and directors’ fiduciary duties under Delaware law. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any business combination opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the Company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis.
For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see the sections of this prospectus entitled “Management — Officers, Directors and Director Nominees,” “Management — Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, executive officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or executive officers, although we do not currently intend to do so. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us, including the formation or participation in one or more other blank check companies. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our stockholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Delaware law and we or our stockholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our stockholders’ rights. See the section titled “Description of Securities — Certain Differences in Corporate Law — Stockholders’ Suits” for further information on the ability to bring such claims. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, executive officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders. 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.” 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 a business combination as set forth in the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business — Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
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Since our sponsor, executive 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.
In September 2020, our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, in exchange for the issuance of 5,750,000 shares of our Class B common stock (up to 750,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised). Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. 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. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor and the anchor investors have committed, pursuant to written agreements, to purchase an aggregate of 5,750,000 private placement warrants (or 6,350,000 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, and we have agreed to issue to the anchor investors an aggregate of 571,154 shares of our Class B common stock (or 657,692 shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in connection with the closing of this offering and our sponsor will cancel a like number of shares. We will receive an aggregate of $5,750,000 (or $6,350,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) from these sales of private placement warrants and shares of Class B common stock. Holders of founder shares have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination and (B) not to redeem any founder shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination. In addition, we may obtain loans from our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates, and we may pay our sponsor, officers, directors and any of their respective affiliates’ customary financial consulting, finder or advisory fees and expenses in connection with identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination.
The personal and financial interests of our executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 18-month anniversary of the closing of this offering nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with our company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Delaware law. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our 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 business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
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Risks Relating to Our Securities
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. Stockholders 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, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 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.
The NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
We intend to apply to have our units listed on the NYSE on or promptly after the date of this prospectus and our Class A common stock and warrants listed on or promptly after their date of separation. 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 NYSE listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on the NYSE in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on the NYSE prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum market capitalization (generally $50,000,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 400 public holders).
Additionally, our units will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination and, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with the NYSE’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than the NYSE’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on the NYSE. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our stockholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $4.0 million. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If the NYSE delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
• a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
• reduced liquidity for our securities;
• a determination that our Class A common stock are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;
• a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and
• a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because we expect that our units and eventually our Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on the NYSE, our units, Class A common stock and warrants will qualify as covered securities under the statute. 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. Further, if we were no longer listed on the NYSE, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under the statute, and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
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If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements, they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Making such a request of potential target businesses may make our acquisition proposal less attractive to them and, to the extent prospective target businesses refuse to execute such a waiver, it may limit the field of potential target businesses that we might pursue.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the ten years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.00 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our sponsor has agreed that they will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our taxes, if any, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we believe it is unlikely 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 $10.00 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.
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The securities in which we invest the proceeds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the interest income available for payment of taxes or reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
The net proceeds of this offering and certain proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants, in the amount of $200,000,000, will be held in an interest-bearing trust account. The proceeds held in the trust account may be held in cash accounts or invested. If they are invested, they will only be invested in direct U.S. Treasury obligations having a maturity of 180 days or less, or in certain money market funds which invest only in direct U.S. Treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. Treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event of very low or negative yields, the amount of interest income (which we are permitted to use to pay our taxes and up to $100,000 of dissolution expenses) would be reduced. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income. If the balance of the trust account is reduced below $200,000,000 as a result of negative interest rates, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per share and (ii) the actual amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our taxes, if any, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we complete an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy or insolvency court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, 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 stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy
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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 stockholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy 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 stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy 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 estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following the 18th month from the closing of this offering in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the foregoing procedures.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution.
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We are not registering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.
We are not registering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed to use our commercially reasonable efforts to file a registration statement under the Securities Act covering such shares and maintain a current prospectus relating to the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order.
If the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no such warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, unless an exemption from state registration is available.
Notwithstanding the above, if the shares of our Class A common stock 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, but we will be required to use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws and there is no exemption available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the shares of our Class A common stock included in the units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the warrants included as part of units sold in this offering. In such an instance, our sponsor and its transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to sell the common stock underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying common stock. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the warrants included as part of units sold in this offering. In such an instance, our sponsor and its transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to sell the shares of common stock underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying shares of common stock. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
Our ability to require holders of our warrants to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis after we call the warrants for redemption or if there is no effective registration statement covering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants will cause holders to receive fewer shares of our Class A common stock upon their exercise of the warrants than they would have received had they been able to pay the exercise price of their warrants in cash.
If we call the warrants for redemption, we will have the option, in our sole discretion, to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis in the circumstances described in “Description of Securities — Warrants — Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common stock Equals or Exceeds
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$10.00.” If we choose to require holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis or if holders elect to do so when there is no effective registration statement, the number of shares of our Class A common stock received by a holder upon exercise will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised his or her warrant for cash. This will have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company because the warrant holder will hold a smaller number of shares of our Class A common stock upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold.
The warrants may become exercisable and redeemable for a security other than the shares of our Class A common stock, and you will not have any information regarding such other security at this time.
In certain situations, including if we are not the surviving entity in our initial business combination, the warrants may become exercisable for a security other than the shares of our Class A common stock. As a result, if the surviving company redeems your warrants for securities pursuant to the warrant agreement, you may receive a security in a company of which you do not have information at this time. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, the surviving company will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to register the issuance of the security underlying the warrants within twenty business days of the closing of an initial business combination.
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of the shares of our Class A common stock.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the shares of our Class A common stock into which founder shares are convertible, the private placement warrants and the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of such warrants. The registration rights will be exercisable with respect to the founder shares and the private placement warrants and the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such private placement warrants. In addition, the agreement provides for certain “piggy-back” registration rights to the holders of such securities to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the stockholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A common stock that is expected when the securities owned by our initial stockholders or their permitted transferees are registered.
The provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of at least 65% of our common stock, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders 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 company’s pre-business combination activity, without approval by a certain percentage of the company’s stockholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by 90% of the company’s stockholders attending and voting at an annual meeting. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. Our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees, if any, who will collectively
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beneficially own, on an as converted basis, 20% of our Class A common stock upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation which govern our pre-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 stockholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to written agreements with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in letter agreements that we have entered into with our sponsor, directors and each member of our management team. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, executive officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
Our sponsor initially paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per founder share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of the shares of our Class A common stock.
The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the share of our Class A common stock and none to the one-half of a warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock 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 closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public stockholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 91.8% (or $9.18 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $0.82 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the founder shares result in the issuance of shares of our Class A common stock 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 stockholders seek redemptions from the trust for their public shares. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A common stock.
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 65% of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement will provide 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 65% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% 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 65% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
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We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem the outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, if, among other things, the Reference Value equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). Please see “Description of Securities — Warrants — Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00.” If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the outstanding warrants as described above could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the Market Value of your warrants. Except as set forth below, none of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees.
In addition, unlike many other blank check companies, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant if, among other things, the Reference Value equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). In such a case, the holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of shares of our Class A common stock determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A common stock. Please see “Description of Securities — Warrants — Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00.” We would redeem the warrants in this manner when we believe it is in our best interest to update our capital structure to remove the warrants and pay fair market value to the warrant holders. We can also redeem the warrants in this manner if we believe it will provide certainty with respect to our capital structure and cash position while providing warrant holders with fair market value in the form of shares of Class A common stock. Any such redemption may have similar consequences to the redemption described in the above paragraph. In addition, such redemption may occur at a time when the warrants are “out-of-the-money,” in which case you would lose any potential embedded value from a subsequent increase in the value of the Class A common stock had your warrants remained outstanding. Finally, this redemption feature provides a ceiling to the value of your warrants since it locks in the redemption price in the number of Class A common stock to be received if we choose to redeem the warrants for common stock.
Because each unit contains one-half of one warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.
Each unit contains one-half of one warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole units will trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of shares of our Class A common stock to be issued to the warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one common share and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one third of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if it included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
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 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
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reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of this offering, prices and terms of the units, including the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants 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 at attractive values;
• 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.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our Class A common stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions will include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred stock, and the fact that prior to the completion of our initial business combination only holders of shares of our Class B common stock, which have been issued to our sponsor, are entitled to vote on the appointment of directors, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Our certificate of incorporation will require, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel, which may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers and employees for breach of fiduciary duty and certain other actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware, except any action (A) as to which the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery or (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in our certificate of incorporation.
This choice of forum provision may make it more costly, or limit a stockholder’s ability, to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers or employees, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims. We cannot be certain that a court will decide that this provision is either applicable or enforceable, and if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our
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certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that the exclusive forum provision will be applicable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, subject to certain exceptions. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. In addition, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to actions brought under the Securities Act, or the rules and regulations thereunder.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after the completion of our initial business combination.
In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.
Holders of our Class A common stock will not be entitled to vote on any appointment of directors we hold prior to our initial business combination.
Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. Accordingly, you may not have any say in the management of our company prior to the completion of an initial business combination.
Since only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors, upon the listing of our shares on the NYSE, the NYSE may consider us to be a ‘controlled company’ within the meaning of the NYSE rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.
After completion of this offering, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. As a result, the NYSE may consider us to be a ‘controlled company’ within the meaning of the NYSE corporate governance standards. Under the NYSE corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a ‘controlled company’ and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
• we have a board that includes a majority of ‘independent directors,’ as defined under the rules of the NYSE;
• we have a compensation committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and
• we have a nominating and corporate governance committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities.
We do not intend to utilize these exemptions and intend to comply with the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE, subject to applicable phase-in rules. However, if we determine in the future to utilize some or all of these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements.
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General Risk Factors
We are a recently incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a recently incorporated company incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware 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 a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
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 selected, 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. 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.”
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 of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
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We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be held as cash items or invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (a) the completion of our initial business combination; (b) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provisions relating to the rights of holders of our Class A common stock; or (c) absent our completing an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public stockholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we 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.
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 stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the Market Value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700.0 million as of any June 30th 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.
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Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter. 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 a business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, 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 business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Some of the statements contained in this prospectus may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. 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;
• our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination;
• our pool of prospective target businesses;
• the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities;
• our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading;
• the lack of a market for our securities;
• the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance;
• the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; or
• our financial performance following this offering or 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 section of this prospectus entitled “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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USE OF PROCEEDS
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 together with the funds we will receive from the sale of the private placement warrants will be used as set forth in the following table:
| | Without Over-Allotment Option | | Over-Allotment Option Fully Exercised |
Gross proceeds | | | | | | �� | | |
Gross proceeds from units offered to public(1) | | $ | 200,000,000 | | | $ | 230,000,000 | |
Gross proceeds from private placement warrants offered in the private placement | | | 5,750,000 | | | | 6,350,000 | |
Total gross proceeds | | $ | 205,750,000 | | | $ | 236,350,000 | |
Offering expenses(2) | | | | | | | | |
Underwriting commissions (2% of gross proceeds from units offered to public, excluding deferred portion)(3) | | $ | 4,000,000 | | | $ | 4,600,000 | |
Legal fees and expenses | | | 250,000 | | | | 250,000 | |
Printing and engraving expenses | | | 35,000 | | | | 35,000 | |
Accounting fees and expenses | | | 50,000 | | | | 50,000 | |
SEC/FINRA Expenses | | | 60,000 | | | | 60,000 | |
Travel and road show | | | 25,000 | | | | 25,000 | |
NYSE listing and filing fees | | | 85,000 | | | | 85,000 | |
Director and Officer liability insurance premiums | | | 150,000 | | | | 150,000 | |
Miscellaneous | | | 95,000 | | | | 95,000 | |
Total offering expenses (excluding underwriting commissions) | | $ | 750,000 | | | $ | 750,000 | |
Proceeds after offering expenses | | $ | 201,000,000 | | | $ | 231,000,000 | |
Held in trust account(3) | | $ | 200,000,000 | | | $ | 230,000,000 | |
% of public offering size | | | 100 | % | | | 100 | % |
Not held in trust account after offering expenses | | $ | 1,000,000 | | | $ | 1,000,000 | |
The following table shows the use of the approximately $1,000,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account.(4)
| | Amount | | % of Total |
Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses in connection with any business combination | | $ | 300,000 | | 30.0 | % |
Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations | | | 100,000 | | 10.0 | % |
Consulting, travel and miscellaneous expenses incurred by third parties during search for initial business combination target | | | 100,000 | | 10.0 | % |
Salaries or consulting fees to officers | | | 300,000 | | 30.0 | % |
Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses | | | 200,000 | | 20.0 | % |
Total | | $ | 1,000,000 | | 100.0 | % |
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Of the $201,000,000 in proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, or $231,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, $200,000,000 ($10.00 per unit), or $230,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.00 per unit), will be deposited into a segregated trust account located in the United States at JP Morgan Chase Bank NA, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee, and $1,750,000 in either case will be used to pay expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following this offering. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account will not be released until the earliest to occur of: (a) the completion of our initial business combination; (b) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (c) the redemption of all of our public shares if we have not completed our business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Based on current interest rates, we expect that interest income earned on the trust account (if any) will be sufficient to pay our income and franchise taxes.
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 outstanding indebtedness, 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, together with funds available to us from loans from our sponsor, 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 connection with an indication of interest, we intend to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective acquisition, only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of a business combination. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a 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.
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Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $150,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of September 15, 2020, we borrowed $5,000 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 is due at the earlier of June 30, 2021, the closing of this offering or the abandonment of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the $750,000 of offering proceeds not held in the trust account that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds on a non-interest bearing 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 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. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates, as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. 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 non-public information not disclosed 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.
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 upon consummation of a business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) and the agreement for our 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 stockholders 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 business combination, and instead may search for an alternate business combination.
A public stockholder will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (a) our completion of an initial business combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed our business combination within 18 months 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 business combination. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.
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Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into letter agreements 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 sponsor has agreed to waive its rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by it if we do not complete our 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 do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
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DIVIDEND POLICY
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. If we increase the size of this offering, we will effect a stock dividend or other appropriate mechanism with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time.
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DILUTION
The difference between the public offering price per share of our Class A common stock, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering pursuant to this prospectus or the private placement warrants, and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock 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 stockholders 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 shares of our Class A common stock which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of shares of outstanding Class A common stock.
At September 15, 2020, our net tangible book deficit was $6,000, or approximately $(0.00) per share of common stock. After giving effect to the sale of 20,000,000 Class A common stock included in the units we are offering by this prospectus (or 23,000,000 shares of Class A common stock if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), the sale of the private placement warrants and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at September 15, 2020 would have been $5,000,010 or $0.82 per share (or $0.72 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 approximately 18,902,399 shares of our Class A common stock that may be redeemed for cash or 21,797,399 shares of our Class A common stock if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of $0.82 per share (or $0.72 per share to our initial stockholder as of the date of this prospectus. Total dilution to public stockholders from this offering will be $9.18 per share (or $9.28 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full).
The following table illustrates the dilution to the public stockholders on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units or the private placement warrants:
| | Without Over-Allotment | | With Over-Allotment |
Public offering price | | $ | 10.00 | | | $ | 10.00 | |
Net tangible book deficit before this offering | | | (0.00 | ) | | | (0.00 | ) |
Increase attributable to public stockholders | | | 0.82 | | | | 0.72 | |
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants | | $ | 0.82 | | | $ | 0.72 | |
Dilution to public stockholders | | $ | 9.18 | | | $ | 9.28 | |
Percentage of dilution to public stockholders | | | 91.8 | % | | | 92.8 | % |
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 $189,023,990 because holders of up to approximately 94.5% of our public shares may redeem their 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 stockholder meeting, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any) divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares. The actual amount of shares that can be redeemed may exceed this amount so long as we satisfy the minimum net tangible asset threshold of at least $5,000,001 immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination.
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The following table sets forth information with respect to our sponsor and the public stockholders:
| | Shares Purchased | | Total Consideration | | Average Price per Share |
| | Number | | Percentage | | Amount | | Percentage | |
Class B Common Stock(1) | | 5,000,000 | | 20.0 | % | | $ | 25,000 | | — | | | $ | 0.005 |
Public Stockholders | | 20,000,000 | | 80.0 | % | | | 200,000,000 | | 100.00 | % | | $ | 10.00 |
| | 25,000,000 | | 100.0 | % | | $ | 200,025,000 | | 100.00 | % | | | |
The pro forma net tangible book value per share after the offering (assuming that the underwriters’ do not exercise their over-allotment option) is calculated as follows:
| | Without Over-Allotment | | With Over-Allotment |
Numerator: | | | | | | | | |
Net tangible book deficit before this offering | | $ | (6,000 | ) | | $ | (6,000 | ) |
Net proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement warrants | | | 201,000,000 | | | | 231,000,000 | |
Plus: Offering costs paid in advance, excluded from tangible book value before this offering | | | 30,000 | | | | 30,000 | |
Less: Deferred underwriting commissions | | | (7,000,000 | ) | | | (8,050,000 | ) |
Less: Proceeds held in trust subject to redemption | | | (189,023,990 | ) | | | (217,973,990 | ) |
| | $ | 5,000,010 | | | $ | 5,000,010 | |
Denominator: | | | | | | | | |
Class B common stock outstanding prior to this offering. | | | 5,750,000 | | | | 5,750,000 | |
Class B common stock forfeited if over-allotment is not exercised | | | (750,000 | ) | | | — | |
Class A common stock included in the units offered | | | 20,000,000 | | | | 23,000,000 | |
Less: Common stock subject to redemption. | | | (18,902,399 | ) | | | (21,797,399 | ) |
| | | 6,097,601 | | | | 6,952,601 | |
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CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our capitalization at September 15, 2020, and as adjusted to give effect to the filing of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the sale of our units in this offering and the private placement warrants and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities:
| | September 15, 2020 |
| | Actual | | As Adjusted(1) |
Promissory note – related party(2). | | $ | 5,000 | | | | — | |
Deferred underwriting commissions. | | | — | | | | 7,000,000 | |
Class A common stock subject to possible redemption; actual and as adjusted, respectively(3) | | | — | | | | 189,023,990 | |
Stockholder’s equity (deficit): | | | | | | | | |
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized (actual and as adjusted), none issued and outstanding (actual and as adjusted). | | | — | | | | — | |
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, 70,000,000 shares authorized (actual and as adjusted); no shares issued and outstanding (actual); 1,097,601 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 18,902,399 shares subject to redemption) (as adjusted) | | | — | | | | 110 | |
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value, 12,500,000 shares authorized; 5,750,000 shares issued and outstanding (actual); 5,000,000 shares issued and outstanding (as adjusted)(4) | | | 575 | | | | 500 | |
Additional paid-in capital. | | | 24,425 | | | | 5,000,400 | |
Accumulated deficit. | | | (1,000 | ) | | | (1,000 | ) |
Total stockholder’s equity. | | $ | 24,000 | | | $ | 5,000,010 | |
Total capitalization. | | $ | 29,000 | | | $ | 201,024,000 | |
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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated on August 27, 2020 as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any target business and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions directly or indirectly, with any target business regarding an initial business combination with us. 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, our shares, debt or a combination of cash, equity and debt.
The issuance of additional shares in a business combination:
• may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in our Class B common stock resulted in the issuance of our Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of our Class B common stock;
• may subordinate the rights of holders of our Class A common stock if shares of preferred stock are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A common stock;
• could cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of our Class A common stock are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors;
• may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and
• may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Class A common stock and/or warrants.
• Similarly, if we issue debt securities, or otherwise incur significant debt, it could result in:
• default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
• acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;
• our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand;
• our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding;
• our inability to pay dividends on our Class A common stock;
• using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions and fund other general corporate purposes;
• limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
• increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and
• limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements and execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
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As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, as of September 15, 2020, we had no cash and deferred offering costs of approximately $30,000. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
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 will 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 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
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to the completion of this offering through receipt of (i) a $25,000 capital contribution from our sponsor in exchange for the issuance of the founder shares to our sponsor and (ii) the advancement of funds by our sponsor to cover our expenses in connection with this offering. We estimate that the net proceeds from (i) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $750,000, underwriting commissions of $4,000,000 ($4,600,000 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 approximately $5,750,000 (or $6,350,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be $201,000,000 (or $231,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). $200,000,000 (or $230,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be held in the trust account, which includes the deferred underwriting commissions described above. The proceeds held in the trust account will be held as cash or invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. The remaining approximately $1,000,000 will not be held in the trust account. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $750,000, 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 $750,000, 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 taxes payable and deferred underwriting commissions), to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest income (if any) to pay our taxes, if any. We estimate our annual franchise tax obligations, based on the number of shares of our common stock authorized and outstanding after the completion of this offering, to be $200,000, which is the maximum amount of annual franchise taxes payable by us as a Delaware corporation per annum, which we may pay from funds from this offering held outside of the trust account or from interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and released to us for this purpose. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. Based on assumed interest rates, we expect that the interest income earned on the amount in the trust account (if any), will be sufficient to pay our income and franchise taxes. To the extent that our equity or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us the approximately $1,000,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account. We will use these funds to primarily identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a business combination.
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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 prior to our initial business combination, other than funds available from loans from our sponsor. 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. In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds on a non-interest bearing 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 loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans 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 $300,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses associated with structuring, negotiating and documenting successful business combinations; $100,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $100,000 for consulting, travel and miscellaneous expenses incurred by third parties during the search for a business combination target; $300,000 of salaries or consulting fees that may be paid to our officers prior to an initial business combination for assisting us in locating and consummating an initial business combination; and approximately $200,000 for working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves.
These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses.
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 business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account, or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our business combination. If we do not 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.
Controls and Procedures
We are not currently required to maintain 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, 2022. 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.
Prior to the closing of this offering, we have not completed an assessment, nor have our auditors tested our systems, of our 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
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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. Many small and mid-sized target businesses we may consider for our initial 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 management’s report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent registered public accounting firm to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The independent auditors may identify additional issues concerning a target business’s 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 and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be invested in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk. However, if the interest rates of U.S. Treasury obligations become negative, we may have less interest income available to us for payment of taxes, and a decline in the value of the assets held in the trust account could reduce the principal below the amount initially deposited in the trust account.
Related Party Transactions
In September 2020, our sponsor purchased 5,750,000 founder shares (up to 750,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised) for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the issued and outstanding shares upon completion of this offering. 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.
We may pay our officers up to an aggregate of $300,000 prior to an initial business combination in salaries or consulting fees for their services in assisting us in locating and consummating an initial business combination. We may also pay our sponsor, officers, directors or any of their affiliates, customary financial consulting, finder or advisory fees or other compensation upon consummation of an initial business combination in connection with identifying, investigating and completing our initial business combination. These individuals will also 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 fees and expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on payments that may be made to our sponsor, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates.
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Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $150,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of September 15, 2020, we borrowed $5,000 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 is due at the earlier of June 30, 2021, the closing of this offering or abandonment of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the $750,000 of estimated offering expenses.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds on a non-interest bearing basis 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 loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. Other than as described above, the terms of such loans, 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, officers, directors or their affiliates, as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
Our sponsor and anchor investors have committed to purchase an aggregate of 5,750,000 private placement warrants (or 6,350,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Each whole private placement warrant is exercisable for one Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. The purchasers will be permitted to transfer the private placement warrants held by them to certain permitted transferees, including our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with or related to them, but the transferees receiving such securities will be subject to the same agreements with respect to such securities as the sponsor. Otherwise, these warrants will not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our business combination. The private placement warrants will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. The private placement warrants may also be exercised by the holders and their permitted transferees for cash or on a cashless basis. Otherwise, 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 have also agreed to issue to the anchor investors an aggregate of 571,154 shares of our Class B common stock (or 657,692 shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in connection with the closing of this offering and our sponsor will cancel a like number of shares. We will receive an aggregate of $5,750,000 (or $6,350,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) from these sales of private placement warrants and shares of Class B common stock.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement we will enter into with our sponsor and purchasers of the private placement warrants on or prior to the closing of this offering, we may be required to register certain securities for sale under the Securities Act. These holders, and holders of warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans, if any, are entitled under the registration rights agreement to make up to three demands that we register certain of our securities held by them for sale under the Securities Act and to have the securities covered thereby registered for resale pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders have the right to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. However, the registration rights agreement will provide that we will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until the securities covered thereby are released from their lock-up restrictions, as described herein. We will bear the costs and expenses of filing any such registration statements. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Results
As of September 15, 2020, 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 not conducted any operations to date.
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JOBS Act
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 auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (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 auditor’s 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 CEO’s 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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PROPOSED BUSINESS
Our Company
We are a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated in August 2020 as a Delaware corporation whose business purpose is to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not identified any potential target business and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential target business with respect to a business combination with us.
We intend to capitalize on the approximately 100 years of combined experience of our management team, including Brian Finn, Stefan M. Selig, and John D. Howard, in investing and managing capital across markets and industries, structuring transactions, and building businesses, and on their respective and complementary extensive and unique global networks of relationships to source and diligence transaction opportunities and add post-transaction value. Our management team has enjoyed a longstanding professional and personal relationship, having both invested and worked together for many years. They share a common vision for investing and building world class businesses. Our management team brings highly complementary capabilities across private equity, public market investing, investment banking and financial services, and government. Through their respective careers they have worked with founders, boards and management teams of companies operating across a broad range of industries in various stages of their life cycles and with enterprise values ranging from micro-cap to the largest in the Fortune 500, including particular and sustained focus on consumer and industrial companies.
Brian D. Finn (CEO). Mr. Finn brings more than 38 years of investment experience spanning the private and public sectors. Mr. Finn is currently the Chairman of Covr Financial Technologies Inc., a firm which offers financial institutions a digital platform to sell leading insurance products, and Chairman of Star Mountain Capital, a lower middle market credit investment firm. Mr. Finn also currently serves as Director of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company and Owl Rock Capital Corp, and an Investment Partner of Nyca Partners, a financial technology venture capital firm. He began his career in 1982 as a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at The First Boston Corporation, ultimately becoming Co-Head of M&A in 1993, advising on dozens of transactions worth well over $100 billion. Mr. Finn served as principal and partner of private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice from 1997 to 2002. From 2002 to 2005, Mr. Finn held a number of senior management positions within Credit Suisse and its predecessor firms, serving as President of Credit Suisse First Boston, President of Investment Banking, Co-President of Institutional Securities, Chief Executive Officer of Credit Suisse USA and a member of the Office of the Chairman of CSFB. He was also a member of the Executive Board of Credit Suisse. From 2004 to 2008, Mr. Finn was Chairman and Head of Alternative Investments at Credit Suisse, one of the world’s leading alternative investment managers with over $100 Billion Assets under Management. During his tenure, Credit Suisse launched a series of new alternative investment management firms, including GSO (now Blackstone-GSO), Global Infrastructure Partners (partnership with General Electric), China Renaissance Capital (China Private Equity), Gulf Capital (Middle East-North Africa PE), Mubadala Infrastructure Partners (Middle East Infrastructure in partnership with Mubadala and GE), Ospraie Special Opportunities (Commodities PE), Hudson Clean Energy (Alternative Energy PE) and Matlin Patterson (distressed). He served as the Chief Executive Officer of Asset Management Finance Corporation from 2009 to March 2013 and as its Chairman from 2008 to March 2013.
Stefan M. Selig (Chairman). Mr. Selig is founder of BridgePark Advisors LLC, a strategic advisory firm. Prior to that Mr. Selig served as the Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade for the U.S. Department of Commerce from 2014 – 2016. Mr. Selig previously was with Bank of America Merrill Lynch from 1999 – 2014, ultimately serving as Executive Vice Chairman of Global Corporate and Investment Banking. At BAML, Mr. Selig built and maintained critical relationships at the CEO and board level with important clients of the bank. He previously served as Vice Chairman of Global Investment Banking and Global Head of Mergers & Acquisitions with responsibility for Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications and Global Financial Sponsors Groups; Chairman, Fairness Opinion Review Committee, and Member of Risk and Reputation and New York Market Committees. Prior to joining Bank of America, Mr. Selig held various senior investment banking positions, including Co-Head of Mergers & Acquisitions for UBS Securities. He began his investment banking career in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at The First Boston Corporation in 1984, and subsequently was an original member of
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Wasserstein Perella & Co. Mr. Selig currently serves on the board of directors of Simon Property Group, Entercom Communications Corp., Tuscan Holdings Corp., and Safehold Inc. where he is the lead independent director.
John D. Howard (Director). Mr. Howard is founder and Co-Managing Partner of Irving Place Capital, an investment firm, and has 35 years of private equity investing experience in the consumer products, retail, and industrial industries. Prior to founding Irving Place Capital in 1997 (as Bear Stearns Merchant Banking), he was the Co-CEO of Vestar Capital Partners, a private investment firm specializing in management buyouts. Previously, Mr. Howard was a Senior Vice President and Partner of Wesray Capital Corporation, one of the foremost private equity sponsors and a pioneer in the leveraged buyout business. His board experience includes Bendon, New York & Company, rag & bone, AERO SAFETY, Aéropostale, Dots, Integrated Circuit Systems, Multi Packaging Solutions, Nice-Pak Holdings, NRT Incorporated, Safety 1st, Seven For All Mankind, Standard Holdings, Stuart Weitzman, Universal Hospital Services and Vitamin Shoppe.
David J. Berkman (Director). Since January 2000, Mr. Berkman has served as the Managing Partner of Associated Partners, LP, a private equity firm primarily engaged in telecommunications infrastructure operations and investments. He serves on the boards (or equivalent bodies) of Hamilton Lane Inc. (NASDAQ: HLNE), Entercom Communications Corp. (NYSE: ETM), as Lead Director, and on its audit, compensation (Chair), nominating/corporate governance and executive committees, Franklin Square Holdings, LP and Chemimage, Inc. and on the advisory committee of First Round Capital, a venture firm. Mr. Berkman also serves on the board of overseers of the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science. He previously served on the boards of Actua Corporation until 2018 and Diamond Resorts International, Inc. until 2016.
Kim S. Fennebresque (Director). Mr. Fennebresque has served as a senior advisor to Cowen Group Inc., a diversified financial services firm, since 2008, where he also served as its chairman, president and chief executive officer from 1999 to 2008. Mr. Fennebresque serves on the board of directors of Albertsons Companies, a grocery retailer, since March 2015, Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY), a financial services company, since May 2009, BlueLinx Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BXC), a distributor of building products, since May 2013, and as its Chairperson since May 2016. Mr. Fennebresque has served as a member of the Supervisory Board of BAWAG P.S.K., one of Austria’s largest banks, since 2017, and as Deputy Chairman since 2019. Mr. Fennebresque previously served as a director of Ribbon Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: RBBN), a provider of network communications solutions, from October 2017 to February 2020, and as a director of Delta Tucker Holdings, Inc. (the parent of DynCorp International, a provider of defense and technical services and government outsourced solutions) from May 2015 to July 2017. From 2010 to 2012, Mr. Fennebresque served as chairman of Dahlman Rose & Co., LLC, an investment bank. He has also served as head of the corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions departments at UBS and was a general partner and co-head of investment banking at Lazard Frères & Co. He has also held various positions at First Boston Corporation, an investment bank acquired by Credit Suisse.
While our management team has expertise and experience investing across a multitude of industries and sectors and we may pursue an acquisition in any business industry or sector, we believe there are attractive trends in several particular industries where we have expertise, including industrial and consumer sectors. We intend to target businesses where our management team’s insights, expertise and networks can provide advantaged solutions to create value, including through add-on acquisitions, governance enhancements, capital structure optimization, improvements to operations and risk management and attracting and expanding institutional following and ownership.
We intend to leverage our management teams’ experiences and ability to partner with a company that can benefit from our capital, their public market expertise, their experience in developing value-enhancing strategies and their network of relationships with CEOs, board members and members of executive management teams, who can provide specialized insights into their areas of expertise.
We believe our management team is well positioned to identify attractive business combination opportunities that have the opportunity for significant growth. Our objectives are to generate attractive returns for our shareholders and enhance value by bringing strategic, financial and operational improvements to the acquired company. We expect to focus on potential target companies with certain industry and business characteristics. Key industry characteristics include compelling long term growth prospects, attractive competitive dynamics, consolidation opportunities and products or services with large total addressable markets. Key business characteristics include
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attractive disruptive technology or business model, high returns on invested capital, significant streams of recurring revenue, opportunity for operational improvement, attractive steady-state margins, high incremental margins and attractive free cash flow characteristics.
In recent years, Messrs. Finn and Howard have invested together in dozens of companies. Many of their best performing investments have been in high growth “disruptive” technology companies in both consumer and industrial markets. These companies have transformed industries, including rocket manufacturing, software, construction equipment, plant-based proteins, wine and spirits distribution, power storage, and industrial automation. Our management team applies its decades of experience to regularly filter through hundreds of investment opportunities, identify unique companies with best-in-class management teams and partners with them to create new industries.
With respect to the above, past experience or performance of our management team and their respective affiliates is not a guarantee of either (1) our ability to successfully identify and execute a transaction or (2) success with respect to any business combination that we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team or their respective affiliates as indicative of future performance. Our management team and their respective affiliates have been involved with a large number of public and private companies in addition to those identified above, not all of which have achieved similar performance levels. See “Risk Factors — Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.” For a complete list of our executive officers and entities for which a conflict of interest may or does exist between such officers and the company, please refer to “Management — Conflicts of Interest.”
Business Strategy
Our business strategy is to identify and complete our initial business combination with a company that complements the experience of our management team and can benefit from their sourcing, investing, governance and public market and value-enhancement expertise. Our selection process will capitalize on our management team’s extensive and unique networks of relationships to both source a transaction as well as implement an operational and growth strategy. These networks have been developed through our management team’s well-established experience across private and public market investing, global financial services and government where they have demonstrated a distinct combination of capabilities including:
• Broad experience and a proven track record of identifying and capitalizing on target industries that rely on legacy assets without modern technological enablement;
• Extensive experience consummating transactions across market cycles and in partnering with operators to drive exceptional results;
• Proven execution ability in complex acquisitions, private equity and business operations, collectively advising on well over $100 billion of mergers and acquisitions and managing well over $100 billion in investment funds;
• Deep investment experience in the consumer and industrial sectors with a focus on leveraging technology to drive transformational change in legacy businesses;
• Long track record of co-investing and collaboration by Messrs. Finn, Howard and Selig;
• Targeted experience screening opportunities and identifying unique companies with best-in-class management teams and partnering with them to create new industries and categories;
• Broad and diverse network of operational, investment and transactional relationships to provide access to unique deal flow as well as experienced operators and management teams;
• Broad and diverse network at the highest levels of the financial services and asset management industry;
• Extensive experience operating businesses, allocating capital and managing risk across a broad array of markets;
• Unique experience managing the complexities of a global public company with a deep understanding of the interplay between macroeconomic events, global capital flows and evolving regulatory landscapes;
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• Deep understanding and connectivity across the capital markets to position companies and help management teams transition from private to public ownership;
• Wide-ranging and meaningful relationships with a range of sellers such as private equity firms, entrepreneurs and corporates, active and retired executives and financing providers to source ideas and targets;
• Deep experience as operators, risk-takers, business builders and managers at complex and world class global financial institutions; and
• Extensive history of serving on public boards and working with public companies to effect change.
Acquisition Criteria
Consistent with our business strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We intend to use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We intend to acquire one or more businesses that we believe:
• Have a leading position within their industry with identified competitive advantages, defensible business strategy;
• Can benefit from our management team’s expertise and collective capabilities in transaction sourcing, deal execution, investing, and public company management;
• Can capitalize on disruptive technology or business model with high prospective growth;
• Are focused on the industrial or consumer end markets;
• Have products or services focused on a large total addressable market;
• Are highly capital efficient, with substantial returns on invested capital;
• Have the potential to deploy capital for strategic growth initiatives or add-on acquisitions;
• Have preparedness for the public markets and can benefit from being a public company with access to broader capital markets to help achieve the company’s business strategy and capital structure needs;
• Present unique opportunity for asymmetric risk-reward profile, enabling our management team to utilize their structuring expertise and investment experience to negotiate an attractive transaction;
• Illustrate substantial growth potential and operate in an industry with positive end market trends, secular drivers and growth dynamics; and
• Have a strong and innovative management team aligned with shareholder interest.
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents that we would file with the SEC.
In addition to any potential business candidates we may identify on our own, we anticipate that other target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct an extensive due diligence review which may encompass, as applicable and among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities and a review of financial and
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other information about the target and its industry. We will also call upon our management team’s networks of relationships with CEOs, board members and members of executive management teams, to provide specialized insights into their areas of expertise, and utilize our operational and capital planning experience.
Each of our directors and officers will, directly or indirectly, own founder shares and/or private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, such 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.
Certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity subject to his or her fiduciary duties. As a result, 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, then, subject to such officer’s and director’s fiduciary duties under Delaware law, he or she will need to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, before we can pursue such opportunity. If these other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. However, we do not expect these duties to materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our memorandum and articles of association provide that we renounce our interest in any business combination opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis.
Initial Business Combination
In accordance with the rules of the NYSE, our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts held in trust and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to satisfaction of such criteria. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective 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.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such 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 prior owners of the target business, the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons. We only intend to 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 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 stockholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% fair market value test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable.
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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 target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which 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.
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with any of the foregoing, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view from either an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions.
Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock, shares or other equity interests in the target business for our Class A common stock (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our Class A common stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. 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, that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed 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. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital, an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
While we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds will make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek stockholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.
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Financial Position
With funds available for a business combination from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants initially in the amount of $193,000,000, after payment of the estimated expenses of this offering and $7,000,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or $221,950,000 after payment of $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), 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 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, the private placement of the private placement warrants, our equity, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. 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 common stock, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on outstanding indebtedness, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We have not selected any target business and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, directly or indirectly, initiated any substantive discussions with any target business regarding a business combination with us. Additionally, we have not engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate, to conduct any research or take any measures, directly or indirectly, to locate or contact a target business, other than our officers and directors. Accordingly, there is no current basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination. Although our management will assess the risks inherent in a particular target business with which we may combine, we cannot assure you that this assessment will result in our identifying all risks that a target business may encounter. Furthermore, some of those risks may be outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely affect a target business.
We may need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account, or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. There are no prohibitions on our ability to issue securities or incur debt in connection with our initial business combination. We are not currently a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities, the incurrence of debt or otherwise.
Sources of Target Businesses
Our process of identifying target businesses will leverage our management team’s industry experiences, proven deal sourcing capabilities and broad and deep network of relationships in numerous industries, including executives and management teams, private equity groups and other institutional investors, large business enterprises, lenders, investment bankers, restructuring advisers, consultants, attorneys and accountants, which we believe should provide us with a number of business combination opportunities. We expect that the collective experience, capability and network of our management team, combined with their individual and collective reputations in the investment community, will help to create prospective business combination opportunities.
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In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates may be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and private investment funds. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read this prospectus and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates of which they become aware 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.
We also 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. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account.
In no event will our initial stockholders or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is), except that we may pay up to $300,000 of salaries and consulting fees to our officers prior to an initial business combination for their services in assisting us in locating and consummating an initial business combination and at the closing of our initial business combination, we may pay customary financial consulting, finder or advisory fees to our initial stockholders, officers, directors 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. We may pay such fee upon consummation of our initial business combination in the event such party or parties provide us with specific target company, industry, financial or market expertise, as well as insights, relationships, services or resources in order to assess, negotiate and consummate an initial business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates or from making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with any of the foregoing, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including entities that are affiliates of our sponsor, pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which 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 entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Delaware law. See “Management — Conflicts of Interest.”
Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination
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. The fair market value of the target or targets 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 or value of comparable businesses. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine
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the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses.
We intend to 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 valued for purposes of the 80% fair market value 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 business combination.
To the extent we effect our 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 target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review, which will 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, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of the business combination transaction.
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, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
• subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination; and
• cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services.
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
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We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following 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 additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons.
Under the NYSE’s listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
• we issue shares of common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of our shares of common stock then outstanding (other than in a public offering);
• any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by the NYSE rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding common stock or voting power of 5% or more; or
• the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control.
The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination in those instances in which stockholder approval is not required by law will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and legal reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
• the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine stockholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek stockholder approval or doing so would place the company at a disadvantage in the transaction or result in other additional burdens on the company;
• the expected cost of holding a stockholder vote;
• the risk that the stockholders would fail to approve the proposed business combination;
• other time and budget constraints of the company; and
• additional legal complexities of a proposed business combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to stockholders.
Permitted Purchases of Our Securities
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
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Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgment that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. 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.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to (i) vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business combination or (ii) 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 common stock or public warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders (in the case of our Class A common stock) following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such stockholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination but only if such shares have not already been voted at the stockholder meeting related to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, executive officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to purchase shares from based on the negotiated price and number of shares and any other factors that they may deem relevant, and will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of 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 purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.
Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, 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 $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) a stockholder vote to approve
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an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering.
Limitations on Redemptions
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides 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 upon consummation of an initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). However, the proposed 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 business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption would reduce our net tangible assets below $5,000,001, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or whether we were deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require a tender offer rather than seeking stockholder approval under SEC rules). Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our shares of outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require stockholder approval. We currently intend to conduct redemptions in connection with a stockholder vote unless stockholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement and we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other legal reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on the NYSE, we will be required to comply with the NYSE rules.
If we held a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
• conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and
• file proxy materials with the SEC.
In the event that we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. Our sponsor and members of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.5%, 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 our initial business combination approved (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). This number and percentage would go down if our anchor investors purchased units in this offering and vote the shares underlying such units in favor of our initial business combination. These voting agreements of our initial stockholders may make it more likely that we will complete our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a stockholder on the record date for the stockholder meeting held to approve the proposed transaction. In addition,
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our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with (i) the completion of a business combination and (ii) a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering.
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
• conduct the redemptions 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 Class A common stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than the number of public shares we are permitted to redeem. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation 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 upon consummation of an initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed 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 business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of our Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption would reduce our net tangible assets below $5,000,001, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of our Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination If We Seek Stockholder Approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to the Excess Shares. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash.
However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
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Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights
Public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” will be required to either tender their certificates (if any) to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, mailed to such holders, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/ Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option, in each case up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote to approve the business combination. The proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate the applicable delivery requirements, which may include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the initial vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short period in which to exercise redemption rights, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the stockholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s shares in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the general meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming stockholder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination, unless otherwise agreed to by us. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public stockholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until 18 months from the closing of this offering.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed that we will have only 18 months from the closing of this offering to complete an initial business combination. If we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months 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 the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account,
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including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering.
Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering. However, if they 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 do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering.
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to written agreements with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement, we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time. This redemption right shall apply in the event of the approval of any such amendment, whether proposed by our sponsor, any executive officer or director or any other person.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $1,000,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account plus up to $100,000 of funds from the trust account available to us to pay dissolution expenses, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of 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 stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.00. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a
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waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. Neither Credit Suisse nor Marcum LLP, our auditors, will execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account. In addition, there is no guarantee that 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 they will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share, due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our taxes, if any, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy their indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we believe it is unlikely that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share, due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay our taxes, if any, and our sponsor asserts that they are unable to satisfy their indemnification obligations or that they have no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.00 per 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 (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), 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 $1,000,000 from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors, however such liability will not be greater than the amount of funds from our trust account received by any such stockholder. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $750,000, 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 $750,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
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Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution.
Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months 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 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 that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following our 18th month and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account. As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the trust account is remote. Further, our sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest withdrawn to pay taxes and will not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
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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 estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders 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 stockholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to the rights of holders of our Class A common stock, or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the initial business combination. Public stockholders who redeem their shares of our Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, with respect to such shares of our Class A common stock so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote.
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Comparison of Redemption or Purchase Prices in Connection with our Initial Business Combination and if We Do Not Complete our Initial Business Combination
The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we have not completed our business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering.
| | Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination | | Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by our Affiliates | | Redemptions if we do not Complete an Initial Business Combination |
Calculation of redemption price | | Redemptions at the time of our initial business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a stockholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a stockholder vote. In either case, our public stockholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of the initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per share), including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination. | | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit to the prices that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may pay in these 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. | | If we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, we will redeem all public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount, then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per share), including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares. |
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| | Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination | | Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by our Affiliates | | Redemptions if we do not Complete an Initial Business Combination |
Impact to remaining stockholders | | The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining stockholders, who will bear the burden of the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable. | | If the permitted purchases described above are made, there would be no impact to our remaining stockholders because the purchase price would not be paid by us. | | The redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our sponsor, who will be our only remaining stockholder after such redemptions. |
Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419
The following table compares the terms of this offering to the terms of an offering by a blank check company subject to the provisions of Rule 419. This comparison assumes that the gross proceeds, underwriting commissions and underwriting expenses of our offering would be identical to those of an offering undertaken by a company subject to Rule 419, and that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option. None of the provisions of Rule 419 apply to our offering.
| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
Escrow of offering proceeds | | $200,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account at JP Morgan Chase Bank NA, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee. | | Approximately $170,100,000 of the offering proceeds, representing the gross proceeds of this offering 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 | | $200,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in trust will be held as cash or invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. | | 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 income (if any) on proceeds from the trust account to be paid to stockholders is reduced by (i) any 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 $100,000 of net interest that may be released to us should we have no or insufficient working capital to fund the costs and expenses of our dissolution and liquidation. | | Interest income 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 Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business | | 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 amount of deferred underwriting discounts held in trust 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 | | The units are expected to begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Credit Suisse 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. 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 common stock and warrants would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account. |
| | The units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination. | | |
Exercise of the warrants | | The warrants cannot be exercised until the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination or twelve 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. |
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| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
Election to remain an investor | | We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash at a per-share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the completion 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 taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by law to hold a stockholder vote. If we are not required by law and do not otherwise decide to hold a stockholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, conduct the redemptions pursuant to 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 and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, we hold a stockholder vote, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. | | A prospectus containing information pertaining to the business combination 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 a post-effective amendment to the company’s registration statement, to decide if he, she or it elects to remain a stockholder of the company or require the return of his, her or its 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 are automatically returned to the stockholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all funds on deposit in the escrow account must be returned to all of the investors and none of the securities are issued. |
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| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
Business combination deadline | | If we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months 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 public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. | | If an acquisition has not been completed within 18 months after the effective date of the company’s registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account are returned to investors. |
Release of funds | | Except for the withdrawal of interest income (if any) to pay our taxes, if any, none of the funds held in trust will be released from the trust account until the earliest of: | | The proceeds held in the escrow account are not released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. |
| | (i) the completion of our initial business combination, | | |
| | (ii) the redemption of 100% of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law, or | | |
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| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
| | (iii) the redemption of our public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that (A) would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to the rights of holders of our Class A common stock and any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. | | |
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Facilities
Our executive offices are located at c/o Graubard Miller, The Chrysler Building, 405 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York 10174 and our telephone number is (212) 818-8800. Our office space, to the extent it is needed, is being provided to us for no charge by Graubard Miller, our counsel. We consider our current office space, combined with the other office space otherwise available to our executive officers and directors, adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have three executive officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
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Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We have registered our units, Class A common stock and warrants 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 accounting firm.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements may be required 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 target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential acquisition candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with the requirements outlined above, 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 acquisition 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, 2022 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 business 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 acquisition.
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.
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MANAGEMENT
Founder, Officers and Directors
Our officers and directors are as follows:
Name | | Age | | Position |
Brian D. Finn | | 60 | | Chief Executive Officer, Secretary, Treasurer and Director |
Stefan M. Selig | | 57 | | Director (Chairman) |
Amy Salerno | | 45 | | Chief Financial Officer |
Sam S. Potter | | 36 | | Vice President of Corporate Development |
John Howard | | 68 | | Director |
David J. Berkman | | 58 | | Director |
Kim S. Fennebresque | | 70 | | Director |
Brian Finn has served as our Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Treasurer and a member of our board of directors since our formation. Mr. Finn has over 35 years of experience in the financial services industry as well as a variety of corporate and philanthropic board roles. From 2008 until he retired in 2013, Mr. Finn served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Asset Management Finance Corp (AMF) and as a Senior Advisor to Credit Suisse. From 2004 to 2008, Mr. Finn was Chairman and Head of Alternative Investments (AI) at Credit Suisse. During his tenure at Credit Suisse, the firm launched a series of alternative investment management firms, including GSO (now Blackstone-GSO), Global Infrastructure Partners (partnership with General Electric), China Renaissance Capital (China Private Equity), Gulf Capital (Middle East-North Africa PE), Mubadala Infrastructure Partners (Middle East Infrastructure in partnership with Mubadala and GE), Ospraie Special Opportunities (Commodities PE), Hudson Clean Energy (Alternative Energy PE) and Matlin Patterson (distressed). From 2002 to 2005, Mr. Finn held senior managements positions within Credit Suisse, including President of Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), President of Investment Banking, Co-President of Institutional Securities, CEO of Credit Suisse USA and a member of the Office of the Chairman of CSFB. He was also a member of the Executive Board of Credit Suisse Group. Mr. Finn began his career in 1982 as a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group (M&A) at The First Boston Corporation, ultimately becoming Co-Head of M&A in 1993. He has advised on dozens of transactions worth well over $100 billion. In 1997, he joined the private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice as a partner and then later rejoined Credit Suisse in 2002. Mr. Finn is a member of the boards of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company and Owl Rock Capital. He is currently Chairman of Star Mountain Capital, Chairman of Covr Financial Technologies, an Investment Partner at Nyca Partners (fintech VC) as well as a board member of a number of early stage companies. He has previously been a Strategic Advisor to KKR, member of the boards of Baxter International, Telemundo, MGM Pictures, and a number of other public and private companies. Mr. Finn is past Chairman of the Undergraduate Executive Board of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Vice Chairman of the Board of the City Kids Foundation and a member of the Boards of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, the Gordon A. Rich Memorial Foundation and the Starmar Foundation. Mr. Finn received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. We believe Mr. Finn is well-qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors due to his extensive experience, relationships and contacts.
Stefan M. Selig has served as a member of our board of directors (Chairman) since our formation. Mr. Selig is an accomplished banker and senior executive who has served in prominent leadership roles in both the private and public sectors. During his nearly 30-year Wall Street career, Mr. Selig built a reputation as a trusted counselor to his clients, and he is recognized for his experience and judgment in providing strategic and financial advice to leading companies and investors. In 2017, Mr. Selig founded, and has since served as Managing Partner of, BridgePark Advisors LLC to provide personalized strategic advice on a broad range of critical business and financial issues and transaction execution to a select group of CEOs, boards of directors, and institutional and high net worth investors. Mr. Selig served as President Obama’s Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade at the U.S. Department of Commerce from 2014 to 2016. As one of the nation’s most senior commercial diplomats, Mr. Selig headed the International Trade Administration, a bureau of 2,200 trade and investment professionals in over 75 countries. Mr. Selig also served as the Executive Director of the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, sat on the board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. government’s development finance institution, was a Commissioner for the Congressional Executive Commission on China, and was the Executive Director of the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa. Before joining the Obama Administration, Mr. Selig was at Bank of America Merrill Lynch from 1999 to 2014, most recently as the Executive Vice Chairman
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of Global Corporate & Investment Banking. At BAML, Mr. Selig built and maintained critical relationships at the CEO and board level with important clients of the bank. He previously served as Vice Chairman of Global Investment Banking and Global Head of Mergers & Acquisitions with responsibilityfor Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications and Global Financial Sponsors Groups; Chairman, Fairness Opinion Review Committee, and Member of Risk and Reputation and New York Market Committees. Prior to joining Bank of America, Mr. Selig held various senior investment banking positions, including Co-Head of Mergers & Acquisitions for UBS Securities. He began his investment banking career in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at The First Boston Corporation in 1984, and subsequently was an original member of Wasserstein Perella & Co. Mr. Selig currently serves as a director of a number of public and private companies including: Tuscan Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: THCB), a blank check company searching for an initial business combination; Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG), an S&P 100 company and a global leader in the ownership of premier shopping, dining, entertainment, and mixed-use destinations; Entercom Communications Corp. (NYSE: ETM), one of the top two radio broadcasters in the U.S., reaching more than 100 million people weekly via its 235 radio stations and its digital platforms and live events. Mr. Selig also serves as lead director of Safehold Inc. (NYSE: SAFE), which acquires, owns, manages and capitalizes ground net leases and of Drive DeVilibiss Healthcare, a leading manufacturer of medical products controlled by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, The Economic Club of New York, the Bretton Woods Committee and the Atlantic Council Councilors Program. Mr. Selig is a graduate received a B.A. from Wesleyan University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. We believe Mr. Selig is well-qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors due to his extensive experience, relationships and contacts.
Amy Salerno has served as our Chief Financial Officer since September 2020. From 2016 to 2020, Ms. Salerno served as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Covr Financial Technologies, a leading insurance technology firm, where she is currently a member of its Board of Directors. Since retiring from her executive positions with Covr, she has been a private advisor and consultant. Prior to Covr, she was the Chief Operating Officer of Pioneer Wealth Partners, a multi-family office and wealth advisory boutique catering to high-net worth families, from 2009 to 2016. Previous operational management roles include Greentech Capital Advisors where she was a Principal in the operations and business development area from 2008 to 2009 and BroadStreet Capital Partners where she was Head of Operations from 2005 to 2009. Ms. Salerno began her career in 1997 at Lehman Brothers in the structured products origination and mortgage backed securities groups. Ms. Salerno received a B.A. in Economics with Distinction from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
Sam S. Potter has served as our Vice President of Corporate Development since September 2020. Mr. Potter has been serving as Managing Member of BMB Capital, a financial consulting firm he founded, since November 2019. Mr. Potter has also been serving as the Vice President of Corporate Development for WVC Holdings, an early-stage investment firm, starting in November 2016 at its predecessor Wolf Venture Capital. From April 2015 to September 2016, Mr. Potter served as Vice President of Finance at Ebbu, an early-stage hemp and cannabis research company, and from June 2014 to April 2015, he was a consultant to GoHydrate, a direct-to-consumer beverage company. Previously, Mr. Potter served as an investment professional in Ares Management’s Direct Lending business from 2010 to 2014. Mr. Potter started his career in 2007 at Deutsche Bank in the Global Industrials Group. Mr. Potter received a B.S. from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.
John D. Howard has served as a member of our board of directors since our formation. Mr. Howard has served as the founder and Co-Managing Partner of Irving Place Capital, an investment firm, since its formation in 1997. Mr. Howard has 35 years of private equity investing experience in the consumer products, retail, and industrial industries. Prior to founding Irving Place Capital (as Bear Stearns Merchant Banking), he was the co-Chief Executive Officer of Vestar Capital Partners, a private investment firm specializing in management buyouts. Previously, Mr. Howard was a Senior Vice President and Partner of Wesray Capital Corporation, one of the foremost private equity sponsors and a pioneer in the leveraged buyout business. His board experience includes Bendon, New York & Company, rag & bone, AERO SAFETY, Aéropostale, Dots, Integrated Circuit Systems, Multi Packaging Solutions, Nice-Pak Holdings, NRT Incorporated, Safety 1st, Seven For All Mankind, Standard Holdings, Stuart Weitzman, Universal Hospital Services, Vitamin Shoppe. Mr. Howard received a BA from Trinity College and an MBA from Yale School of Management. We believe Mr. Howard is well-qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors due to his extensive experience, relationships and contacts.
David J. Berkman has served as a member of our board of directors since October 2020. Since January 2000, Mr. Berkman has served as the Managing Partner of Associated Partners, LP, a private equity firm primarily engaged in telecommunications infrastructure operations and investments. He serves on the boards (or equivalent bodies) of Hamilton Lane Inc. (NASDAQ: HLNE), Entercom Communications Corp. (NYSE: ETM), as Lead
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Director, and on its audit, compensation (Chair), nominating/corporate governance and executive committees, Franklin Square Holdings, LP and Chemimage, Inc. and on the advisory committee of First Round Capital, a venture firm. Mr. Berkman also serves on the board of overseers of the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science. He previously served on the boards of Actua Corporation until 2018 and Diamond Resorts International, Inc. until 2016. He received a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. We believe Mr. Berkman is well-qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors due to his extensive experience in private markets, in the start-up and operation of various platforms, as well as his long-standing service on other public company boards. Additionally, we believe his insight in the areas of corporate finance, financial reporting, and accounting and controls will be valuable to our board.
Kim S. Fennebresque has served as a member of our board of directors since October 2020. Mr. Fennebresque has served as a senior advisor to Cowen Group Inc., a diversified financial services firm, since 2008, where he also served as its chairman, president and chief executive officer from 1999 to 2008. Mr. Fennebresque serves on the board of directors of Albertsons Companies, a grocery retailer, since March 2015, Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY), a financial services company, since May 2009, BlueLinx Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BXC), a distributor of building products, since May 2013, and as its Chairperson since May 2016. Mr. Fennebresque has served as a member of the Supervisory Board of BAWAG P.S.K., one of Austria’s largest banks, since 2017, and as Deputy Chairman since 2019. Mr. Fennebresque previously served as a director of Ribbon Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: RBBN), a provider of network communications solutions, from October 2017 to February 2020, and as a director of Delta Tucker Holdings, Inc. (the parent of DynCorp International, a provider of defense and technical services and government outsourced solutions) from May 2015 to July 2017. From 2010 to 2012, Mr. Fennebresque served as chairman of Dahlman Rose & Co., LLC, an investment bank. He has also served as head of the corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions departments at UBS and was a general partner and co-head of investment banking at Lazard Frères & Co. He has also held various positions at First Boston Corporation, an investment bank acquired by Credit Suisse. Mr. Fennebresque received a B.A. from Trinity College and a J.D. from Vanderbilt Law School where he was Associate Editor of the Law Review. We believe Mr. Fennebresque is well-qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors due to his extensive experience as a director of several public companies and history of leadership in the financial services industry.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors is divided into three classes, with only one class of directors being elected in each year, and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Kim S. Fennebresque, expires at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of John D. Howard and David J. Berkman, expires at our second annual meeting of the stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Brian D. Finn and Stefan M. Selig, expires at our third annual meeting of stockholders. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we complete our initial business combination.
Prior to the completion of an initial business combination, any vacancy on the board of directors may be filled by a nominee chosen by holders of a majority of our founder shares. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.
Our 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 nominate persons to the offices set forth in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our officers may consist of one or more chairman of the board of directors, chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, vice presidents, secretary, treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Director Independence
NYSE listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that John D. Howard, Kim S. Fennebresque and David J. Berkman are “independent directors” as defined in the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
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Executive Officer and Director Compensation
None of our executive officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by us to our initial stockholders, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, except that we may pay up to $300,000 of salaries and consulting fees to our officers prior to our initial business combination and at the closing of our initial business combination, we may pay customary financial consulting, finder or advisory fees to our initial stockholders, officers, directors or their affiliates which will not be made from the proceeds of this offering held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination. We may pay such financial consulting, finder or advisory fees at the closing of our initial business combination in the event such party or parties provide us with specific target company, industry, financial or market expertise, as well as insights, relationships, services or resources in order to assess, negotiate and consummate an initial business combination. The amount of any such fee we pay will be based upon the prevailing market for similar services for comparable transactions at such time, and will be subject to the review of our audit committee pursuant to the audit committee’s policies and procedures relating to transactions that may present conflicts of interest. We would disclose any such fee in the proxy or tender offer materials used in connection with a proposed business combination. In addition, our initial stockholders, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and completing an initial business combination.
After the completion of our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may also be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to members of our management team. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the completion of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has three standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a corporate governance and nominating committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of the NYSE and Rule 10A of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of the NYSE require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. We do not currently intend to take advantage of the phase-in rules or exception.
Audit Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish an audit committee of the board of directors. John D. Howard, Kim S. Fennebresque and David J. Berkman will
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serve as members of our audit committee, each of whom is independent under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Mr. Fennebresque will serve as the chairman of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Fennebresque qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules. None of the Audit Committee members serves on the audit committee of more than three public companies.
The primary functions of the audit committee include:
• appointing, compensating and overseeing our independent registered public accounting firm;
• reviewing and approving our annual audit plan;
• overseeing the integrity of our financial statements and our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements;
• discussing the annual audited financial statements and unaudited quarterly financial statements with management and the independent registered public accounting firm;
• pre-approving all audit services and permitted non-audit services to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm, including the fees and terms of the services to be performed;
• appointing or replacing the independent registered public accounting firm;
• establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints (including anonymous complaints) we receive concerning accounting, internal accounting controls, auditing matters or potential violations of law;
• monitoring our environmental sustainability and governance practices;
• establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or reports which raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies;
• approving audit and non-audit services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm;
• discussing earnings press releases and financial information provided to analysts and rating agencies;
• discussing with management our policies and practices with respect to risk assessment and risk management;
• reviewing any material related party transactions; and
• producing an annual report for inclusion in our proxy statement, in accordance with applicable rules and regulations.
The audit committee is a separately designated standing committee established in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act.
Compensation Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a compensation committee of our board of directors. The members of our compensation committee will consist of John D. Howard, Kim S. Fennebresque and David J. Berkman, all of whom are independent, and Mr. Howard serves as the chairman of the compensation committee.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
• reviewing and approving corporate goals and objectives relevant to our President’s compensation, evaluating our President’s performance in light of those goals and objectives, and setting our President’s compensation level based on this evaluation;
• setting salaries and approving incentive compensation and equity awards, as well as compensation policies, for all other officers who file reports of their ownership, and changes in ownership, of our common stock under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act (the “Section 16 Officers”), as designated by our board of directors;
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• making recommendations to the board with respect to incentive compensation programs and equity-based plans that are subject to board approval;
• approving any employment or severance agreements with our Section 16 Officers;
• granting any awards under equity compensation plans and annual bonus plans to our executive officers and the Section 16 Officers;
• approving the compensation of our directors; and
• producing an annual report on executive compensation for inclusion in our proxy statement, in accordance with applicable rules and regulations.
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by the NYSE and the SEC.
Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a corporate governance and nominating committee of our board of directors. The members of our corporate governance and nominating committee will be John D. Howard, Kim S. Fennebresque and David J. Berkman, each of whom is independent, and Mr. Berkman serves as the chairperson of the corporate governance and nominating committee.
The primary function of the corporate governance and nominating committee include:
• identifying individuals qualified to become members of the board of directors and making recommendations to the board of directors regarding nominees for election;
• reviewing the independence of each director and making a recommendation to the board of directors with respect to each director’s independence;
• developing and recommending to the board of directors the corporate governance principles applicable to us and reviewing our corporate governance guidelines at least annually;
• making recommendations to the board of directors with respect to the membership of the audit, compensation and corporate governance and nominating committees;
• overseeing the evaluation of the performance of the board of directors and its committees on a continuing basis, including an annual self-evaluation of the performance of the corporate governance and nominating committee;
• considering the adequacy of our governance structures and policies, including as they relate to our environmental sustainability and governance practices;
• considering director nominees recommended by stockholders; and
• reviewing our overall corporate governance and reporting to the board of directors on its findings and any recommendations.
Guidelines for Selecting Director Nominees
The guidelines for selecting nominees, which will be specified a charter to be adopted by us, generally provide that persons to be nominated:
• should possess personal qualities and characteristics, accomplishments and reputation in the business community;
• should have current knowledge and contacts in the communities in which we do business and in our industry or other industries relevant to our business;
• should have the ability and willingness to commit adequate time to the board of directors and committee matters;
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• should demonstrate ability and willingness to commit adequate time to the board of directors and committee matters;
• should possess the fit of the individual’s skills and personality with those of other directors and potential directors in building a board of directors that is effective, collegial and responsive to our needs; and
• should demonstrate diversity of viewpoints, background, experience, and other demographics, and all aspects of diversity in order to enable the board to perform its duties and responsibilities effectively, including candidates with a diversity of age, gender, nationality, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.
Each year in connection with the nomination of candidates for election to the board of directors, the corporate governance and nominating committee will evaluate the background of each candidate, including candidates that may be submitted by our stockholders.
Code of Ethics
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will adopt a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees, which will be available on our corporate website. We have filed a copy of the Code of Ethics as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You will be able to review this document by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find Additional Information.”
Conflicts of Interest
In general, officers and directors of a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware are required to present business opportunities to a corporation if:
• the corporation could financially undertake the opportunity;
• the opportunity is within the corporation’s line of business; and
• it would not be fair to our company and its stockholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation.
Certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including entities that are affiliates of our sponsor, pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which 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 entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Delaware law. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
In addition, our officers and directors may participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company prior to completion of our initial business combination. As a result, our sponsor, officers or directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. Although we have no formal policy in place for vetting potential conflicts of interest, our board of directors will review any potential conflicts of interest on a case-by-case basis. In particular, Stefan Selig, our Chairman, is a director of Tuscan Holdings Corp. Tuscan Holdings Corp. is currently focusing on business combinations in the cannabis industry although it may can acquire a target business in any industry or sector. Any companies that our officers and directors are affiliated with, including Tuscan Holdings Corp., may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target. However, we do not believe that any potential conflicts with Tuscan Holdings Corp. would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination, because while we expect that Tuscan Holdings Corp. will have priority over us with respect to acquisition opportunities until it completes its initial business combination, our management team has significant experience in identifying and executing multiple acquisition opportunities simultaneously, and we are not limited by industry or geography in terms of the acquisition
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opportunities we can pursue. In addition, we do not believe that any potential conflicts with Tuscan Holdings Corp. would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination, because Tuscan Holdings Corp. has a different management team than our company.
Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties, contractual obligations or other material management relationships:
Individual | | Entity | | Entity’s Business | | Affiliation |
Brian D. Finn | | Owl Rock Capital Corp. | | Investment | | Director |
| | The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company | | Consumer lawn and garden products | | Director |
| | Star Mountain Capital LLC | | Investment | | Chairman |
| | Covr Financial Technologies Inc. | | Insurance technology | | Chairman |
| | Nyca Partners | | Venture capital | | Investment Partner |
| | Concertiv, Inc. | | Business services | | Director |
| | X-Vax Technology, Inc. | | Biotech and vaccines | | Director |
Stefan M. Selig | | Tuscan Holdings Corp. | | Blank check company | | Director |
| | Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare | | Medical products | | Director |
| | Gulfport Energy Corporation | | Oil and gas | | Director of Certain Subsidiaries |
| | Safehold Inc. | | Real estate finance | | Director |
| | Simon Property Group | | Owner of mixed-use destinations | | Director |
| | Entercom Communications Corp. | | Radio broadcaster | | Director |
John D. Howard | | Irving Place Capital | | Investment | | Co-Managing Partner |
| | Bendon Publishing International, Inc | | Publishing | | Director |
| | Frame LA Brands, LLC | | Apparel | | Director |
| | Good American, LLC | | Apparel | | Director |
| | Rag & Bone Holdings, LLC | | Apparel | | Director |
| | Skims Body, Inc. | | Apparel | | Director |
| | Wolf & Shepherd Inc | | Shoes | | Director |
| | Celebrands LLC | | Investment | | Co-Founder |
David J. Berkman | | Associated Partners, LP | | Investment | | Managing Partner |
| | Entercom Communications Corp | | Radio broadcaster | | Director |
| | Hamilton Lane Inc. | | Investment | | Director |
| | Franklin Square Holdings, LP | | Investment | | Director |
| | Chemimage, Inc. | | Threat detection & biomedical technology company | | Director |
Kim S. Fennebresque | | Albertsons Companies, Inc. | | Grocery retailer | | Director |
| | Ally Financial Inc. | | Financial services | | Director |
| | BlueLinx Holdings Inc. | | Distributor of building products | | Director |
| | BAWAG P.S.K | | Financial services | | Deputy Chairman |
Amy H. Salerno | | Covr Financial Technologies Inc. | | Insurance technology | | Director |
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Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
• Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers and directors is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers and directors are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs.
• Our sponsor subscribed for founder shares prior to the date of this prospectus and will purchase private placement warrants in a transaction that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering.
• Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering. Additionally, our sponsor has agreed to waive its rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to its founder shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. Except as described herein, our sponsor and our directors and executive officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earliest of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their common stock for cash, securities or other property. The private placement warrants will not be transferable until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. Because some of our executive officers and directors will own common stock or warrants directly or indirectly, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination.
• Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors is included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or making the acquisition 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 a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, that such 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.
We cannot assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their founder shares, and our sponsor and the members of our management team have agreed to vote any shares purchased during or after the offering, in favor of our initial business combination.
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Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our officers and directors will be indemnified by us to the fullest extent authorized by Delaware law, as it now exists or may in the future be amended. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our directors will not be personally liable for monetary damages to us or our stockholders for breaches of their fiduciary duty as directors, unless they violated their duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders, acted in bad faith, knowingly or intentionally violated the law, authorized unlawful payments of dividends, unlawful stock purchases or unlawful redemptions, or derived an improper personal benefit from their actions as directors.
We will enter into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our amended and restated bylaws also permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director or employee for any liability arising out of his or her actions, regardless of whether Delaware law would permit such indemnification.
We expect to 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. Our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we complete an initial business combination.
Our indemnification obligations may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
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PRINCIPAL STOCKHOLDERS
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of the date of this prospectus, and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our Class A common stock included in the units offered by this prospectus, and assuming no purchase of units in this offering, by:
• each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock;
• each of our executive officers and directors that beneficially owns shares of common stock; and
• all our executive officers and directors as a group.
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all of our common stock beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this prospectus.
In September 2020, our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, in exchange for the issuance of 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock (up to 750,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised). Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the sponsor, we had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The post-offering percentages in the following table assume that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, that our sponsor forfeits 750,000 founder shares and that there are 25,000,000 shares of common stock issued and outstanding after this offering. The following table does not reflect the cancellation by our sponsor of an aggregate of 571,154 shares of Class B common stock (or 657,692 shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in connection with the closing of this offering and our issuance of a like number of shares to the anchor investors as described elsewhere in this prospectus.
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned(2) | | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Common Stock |
Before Offering | | After Offering |
Rotor Sponsor LLC(3) | | 5,000,000 | | 100.0 | % | | 20.0 | % |
Brian D. Finn(3) | | 5,000,000 | | 100.0 | % | | 20.0 | % |
Stefan M. Selig(4) | | — | | * | | | * | |
Amy Salerno(4) | | — | | * | | | * | |
Sam S. Potter(4) | | — | | * | | | * | |
John D. Howard(4) | | — | | * | | | * | |
David J. Berkman(4) | | — | | * | | | * | |
Kim S. Fennebresque(4) | | — | | * | | | * | |
All officers and directors as a group (seven individuals) | | 5,000,000 | | 100.0 | % | | 20.0 | % |
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Immediately after this offering, our initial stockholders will beneficially own 20% of the then issued and outstanding common stock (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering) and will have the right to appoint all of our directors prior to our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to appoint any directors to our board of directors prior to our initial business combination. Because of this ownership block, our initial stockholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of significant corporate transactions including our initial business combination.
The holders of the founder shares have agreed (a) to vote any founder shares owned by it in favor of any proposed business combination and (b) not to redeem any founder shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination.
Our sponsor and our executive officers 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 shares of our Class A common stock issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in the agreements entered into by our sponsor and management team. Our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earliest of (a) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (b) upon completion of our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property. The private placement warrants and the respective Class A common stock underlying such warrants are not transferable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. The foregoing restrictions are not applicable to transfers (a) to our initial stockholders, officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our initial stockholders, officers or directors, any members of our sponsor or its affiliates, any affiliates of our sponsor, or any employees of such affiliates; (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of one of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family, an affiliate of such person or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made in connection with the completion of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the founder shares, private placement warrants or Class A common stock, as applicable, were originally purchased; (f) by virtue of the limited partnership agreements or other applicable organizational documents of the sponsor upon dissolution of the sponsor; (g) as distributions to limited partners or members of the sponsor; (h) by virtue of the laws of the State of Delaware or of our sponsor’s organizational documents upon liquidation or dissolution of our sponsor; (i) to the Company for no value for cancellation in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (j) in the event of our liquidation prior to the completion of our initial business combination; or (k) in the event of our completion of a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination; provided , however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (h), or with our prior written consent, 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.
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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
In September 2020, the sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, in exchange for the issuance of 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock (up to 750,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment 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 upon completion of this offering. The founder shares (including the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 5,086,538 private placement warrants (or 5,617,308 private placement warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. The private placement warrants (including the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder. Additionally, the anchor investors have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 663,462 private placement warrants (or up to 732,692 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) from us upon consummation of this offering. Each such investor has also expressed an interest to purchase up to 10% of the units sold in this offering at the public offering price of the units offered hereby. However, because expressions of interest are not binding agreements or commitments to purchase, they may determine not to purchase any such units. In connection with the foregoing, we have agreed to issue to them an aggregate of 571,154 shares of our Class B common stock (or 657,692 shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in connection with the closing of this offering and our sponsor will cancel a like number of shares. We will receive an aggregate of $5,750,000 (or $6,350,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) from these sales of private placement warrants and shares of Class B common stock.
No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by us to our initial stockholders, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination, except that we may pay up to $300,000 of salaries and fees to our officers prior to an initial business combination for their services in assisting us in locating and consummating an initial business combination and at the closing of our initial business combination, we may pay any of such individuals or entities customary financial consulting, finder or advisory fees, 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. We may pay such financial consulting, finder or advisory fees at the closing of our initial business combination in the event such party or parties provide us with specific target company, industry, financial or market expertise, as well as insights, relationships, services or resources in order to assess, negotiate and consummate an initial business combination. The amount of any such financial consulting, finder or advisory fees we pay will be based upon the prevailing market for similar services for comparable transactions at such time, and will be subject to the review of our audit committee pursuant to the audit committee’s policies and procedures relating to transactions that may present conflicts of interest. We would disclose any such fee in the proxy or tender offer materials used in connection with a proposed business combination. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our initial stockholders, 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.
Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $150,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. This loan is non-interest bearing, unsecured and is due at the earliest of June 30, 2021, the closing of this offering and our determination not to proceed with the offering. As of September 15, 2020, there was $5,000 outstanding under the note.
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In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds on a non-interest bearing basis as may be required. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. Other than as described herein, the terms of such loans, 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 the foregoing individuals, as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our stockholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a stockholder meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
We will enter into a registration rights agreement pursuant to which our sponsor and anchor investors will be entitled to certain registration rights with respect to the private placement warrants, the warrants issuable upon conversion of working capital loans (if any) and the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the foregoing and upon conversion of the founder shares. In addition, the agreement provides for certain “piggy-back” registration rights to the holders to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Registration Rights.”
We will enter into indemnification agreements with each of our officers and directors. These agreements will require us to indemnify these individuals to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law against liabilities that may arise by reason of their service to us, and to advance expenses incurred as a result of any proceeding against them as to which they could be indemnified.
Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions
The audit committee of our board of directors will adopt a charter, providing for the review, approval and/or ratification of “related party transactions,” which are those transactions required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K as promulgated by the SEC, by the audit committee. At its meetings, the audit committee shall be provided with the details of each new, existing or proposed related party transaction, including the terms of the transaction, any contractual restrictions that the company has already committed to, the business purpose of the transaction and the benefits of the transaction to the company and to the relevant related party. Any member of the committee who has an interest in the related party transaction under review by the committee shall abstain from voting on the approval of the related party transaction, but may, if so requested by the chairman of the committee, participate in some or all of the committee’s discussions of the related party transaction. Upon completion of its review of the related party transaction, the committee may determine to permit or to prohibit the related party transaction.
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DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
We are a Delaware corporation and our affairs are governed by our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the DGCL. Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation we will be authorized to issue 70,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock and 12,500,000 shares of our Class B common stock, as well as 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.0001 par value each. The following description summarizes certain terms of our capital stock as set out more particularly in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. 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 share of our Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock 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 the shares of the Company’s Class A common stock. This means only a whole warrant 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.
The shares of our Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units are expected to begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless Credit Suisse inform 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 shares of our Class A common stock and warrants 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 common stock and warrants.
In no event will the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants 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 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. 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.
Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination.
Common Stock
Prior to the date of this prospectus, there were 5,750,000 shares of our Class B common stock issued and outstanding, all of which were held of record by our initial stockholders, so that our initial stockholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming our initial stockholders do not purchase any units in this offering). Upon the closing of this offering, 25,000,000 of our shares of common stock will be outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of 750,000 founder shares by our sponsor) including:
• 20,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock underlying the units issued as part of this offering; and
• 5,000,000 shares of our Class B common stock held by our sponsor.
Stockholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders. Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended by approval of a majority of at least 90% of our Class B common stock voting in an annual meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a
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vote of our stockholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.
Unless specified in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or as required by applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our shares of common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our stockholders. Our board of directors is divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the election of directors can elect all of the directors. Our stockholders 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 certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 70,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock, if we were to enter into a business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such a business combination) be required to increase the number of shares of our Class A common stock which we will be authorized to issue at the same time as our stockholders vote on the business combination to the extent we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.
Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold annual meetings of stockholders for the purpose of electing directors in accordance with our amended and restated bylaws, unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the completion of an initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL. Prior to the completion of an initial business combination, any vacancy on the board of directors may be filled by a nominee chosen by holders of a majority of our founder shares. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.
We will provide our public stockholders 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 calculated as of two business days prior to the completion 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 taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial owner must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering. If a stockholder vote is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we may, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation require these tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, a stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the
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tender offer rules. If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of our initial business combination. However, the participation of our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates in privately-negotiated transactions (as described in this prospectus), if any, could result in the approval of our initial business combination even if a majority of our public stockholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding common stock, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to Excess Shares. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Our stockholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination, and such stockholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such stockholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And, as a result, such stockholders will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose such shares would be required to sell their shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
If we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, pursuant to the terms of letter agreements entered into with us, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering, in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.5%, 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 our initial business combination approved (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). This number and percentage would go down if our anchor investors purchased units in this offering and vote the shares underlying such units in favor of our initial business combination. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months 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 no more than ten business days thereafter subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our sponsor and members of our management team 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 their founder shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our sponsor or members of our management team 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 do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time period.
In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our stockholders are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of shares, if any, having preference over the common stock. Our stockholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock, except that we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash at a per share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.
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Founder Shares
The founder shares are designated as Class B common stock and, except as described below, are identical to the shares of our Class A common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of founder shares have the same stockholder rights as public stockholders, 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 letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (A) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (B) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (C) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to its founder shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, although it will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares it holds if we do not complete our initial business combination within such time period, (iii) the founder shares will automatically convert into Class A common stock on the first business day following the completion of our initial business combination as described herein and in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, and (iv) prior to the completion of our initial business combination, only our founder shares will have the right to vote on the election of our directors. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders and each member of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination.
The founder shares will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock on the first business day following the completion of our initial business combination at a ratio such that the number of shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of shares of our common stock issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering, plus (ii) the sum of (a) all shares of our common stock issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or deemed issued by the Company in connection with or in relation to the completion of the initial business combination, excluding (1) any shares of our Class A common stock or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into shares of our Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any (2) private placement warrants issued to our sponsor or any of its affiliates upon conversion of working capital loans minus (b) the number of public shares redeemed by public stockholders in connection with our initial business combination. In no event will the shares of our Class B common stock convert into shares of our Class A common stock at a rate of less than one to one.
Except as described herein, our sponsor and our directors and executive officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until (a) one year after the completion of our initial business combination, or (b) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of our Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property. Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial stockholders with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last reported sale price of the shares of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, the converted Class A common stock will be released from the lock-up.
Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended by approval of a majority of at least 90% of our Class B
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common stock voting in an annual meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.
Preferred Stock
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will authorize 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock and provide that shares of preferred stock 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 stockholder approval, issue shares of preferred stock with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the common stock and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue shares of preferred stock without stockholder 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 shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any shares of preferred stock, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No shares of preferred stock are being issued or registered in this offering.
Warrants
Public Stockholders’ Warrants
Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing on the later of one year from the closing of this offering and 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, provided in each case that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement) and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of shares of our Class A common stock. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at a 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. 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 common stock 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 shares of our Class A common stock 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, or a valid exemption from registration is available. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue a share of our Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless the share of our Class A common stock 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 share of our Class A common stock underlying such unit.
We have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than twenty business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon
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exercise of the warrants. We will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration or redemption of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of the initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when 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 another exemption. In addition, if our Class A common stock are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of our 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 elect to do so, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering each such warrant for that number of shares of our Class A common stock equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of our Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied the excess of the “fair market value” less the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and (B) 0.361. The “fair market value” shall mean the volume weighted average price of the shares of our Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent.
Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants):
• in whole and not in part;
• at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
• upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and
• if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the shares of our Class A common stock for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period commencing after the warrants become exercisable and ending three business days before we send to the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (which we refer to as the “Reference Value”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like).
If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. However, we will not redeem the warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of our Class A common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period.
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 his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. Any such exercise would not be done on a “cashless” basis and would require the exercising warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised. However, the price of the shares of our Class A common stock may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
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Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants if we do not utilize this redemption provision):
• in whole and not in part;
• at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined by reference to the table below, based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock (as defined below);
• if, and only if, the Reference Value (as defined above under “Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00”) equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like); and
• if the Reference Value is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) the private placement warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms (except as described above with respect to a holder’s ability to cashless exercise its warrants) as the outstanding public warrants, as described above.
The numbers in the table below represent the number of shares of our Class A common stock that a warrant holder will receive upon exercise in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, based on the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock on the corresponding redemption date (assuming holders elect to exercise their warrants and such warrants are not redeemed for $0.10 per warrant), determined based on volume-weighted average price of our Class A common stock as reported during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, and the number of months that the corresponding redemption date precedes the expiration date of the warrants, each as set forth in the table below. We will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10-trading day period described above ends.
Pursuant to the warrant agreement, references above to shares of our Class A common stock shall include a security other than shares of our Class A common stock into which the shares of our Class A common stock have been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination. The numbers in the table below will not be adjusted when determining the number of shares of our Class A common stock to be issued upon exercise of the warrants if we are not the surviving entity following our initial business combination.
The stock prices set forth in the column headings of the table below will be adjusted as of any date on which the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant or the exercise price of the warrant is adjusted as set forth under the heading “— Anti-dilution Adjustments” below. If the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant is adjusted, the adjusted stock prices in the column headings will equal the stock prices immediately prior to such adjustment, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the exercise price of the warrant after such adjustment and the denominator of which is the price of the warrant immediately prior to such adjustment. In such an event, the number of shares in the table below shall be adjusted by multiplying such share amounts by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant immediately prior to such adjustment and the denominator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant as so adjusted. If the exercise price of the warrant is adjusted, as a result of raising capital in connection with the initial business combination, the adjusted stock prices in the column headings will by multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price as set forth under the heading “— Anti-dilution Adjustments” and the denominator of which is $10.00.
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Redemption Date (period to expiration of warrants) | | Fair Market Value of Our Class A Common stock
|
≤$10.00 | | $11.00 | | $12.00 | | $13.00 | | $14.00 | | $15.00 | | $16.00 | | $17.00 | | ≥$18.00 |
60 months | | 0.261 | | 0.281 | | 0.297 | | 0.311 | | 0.324 | | 0.337 | | 0.348 | | 0.358 | | 0.361 |
57 months | | 0.257 | | 0.277 | | 0.294 | | 0.310 | | 0.324 | | 0.337 | | 0.348 | | 0.358 | | 0.361 |
54 months | | 0.252 | | 0.272 | | 0.291 | | 0.307 | | 0.322 | | 0.335 | | 0.347 | | 0.357 | | 0.361 |
51 months | | 0.246 | | 0.268 | | 0.287 | | 0.304 | | 0.320 | | 0.333 | | 0.346 | | 0.357 | | 0.361 |
48 months | | 0.241 | | 0.263 | | 0.283 | | 0.301 | | 0.317 | | 0.332 | | 0.344 | | 0.356 | | 0.361 |
45 months | | 0.235 | | 0.258 | | 0.279 | | 0.298 | | 0.315 | | 0.330 | | 0.343 | | 0.356 | | 0.361 |
42 months | | 0.228 | | 0.252 | | 0.274 | | 0.294 | | 0.312 | | 0.328 | | 0.342 | | 0.355 | | 0.361 |
39 months | | 0.221 | | 0.246 | | 0.269 | | 0.290 | | 0.309 | | 0.325 | | 0.340 | | 0.354 | | 0.361 |
36 months | | 0.213 | | 0.239 | | 0.263 | | 0.285 | | 0.305 | | 0.323 | | 0.339 | | 0.353 | | 0.361 |
33 months | | 0.205 | | 0.232 | | 0.257 | | 0.280 | | 0.301 | | 0.320 | | 0.337 | | 0.352 | | 0.361 |
30 months | | 0.196 | | 0.224 | | 0.250 | | 0.274 | | 0.297 | | 0.316 | | 0.335 | | 0.351 | | 0.361 |
27 months | | 0.185 | | 0.214 | | 0.242 | | 0.268 | | 0.291 | | 0.313 | | 0.332 | | 0.350 | | 0.361 |
24 months | | 0.173 | | 0.204 | | 0.233 | | 0.260 | | 0.285 | | 0.308 | | 0.329 | | 0.348 | | 0.361 |
21 months | | 0.161 | | 0.193 | | 0.223 | | 0.252 | | 0.279 | | 0.304 | | 0.326 | | 0.347 | | 0.361 |
18 months | | 0.146 | | 0.179 | | 0.211 | | 0.242 | | 0.271 | | 0.298 | | 0.322 | | 0.345 | | 0.361 |
15 months | | 0.130 | | 0.164 | | 0.197 | | 0.230 | | 0.262 | | 0.291 | | 0.317 | | 0.342 | | 0.361 |
12 months | | 0.111 | | 0.146 | | 0.181 | | 0.216 | | 0.250 | | 0.282 | | 0.312 | | 0.339 | | 0.361 |
9 months | | 0.090 | | 0.125 | | 0.162 | | 0.199 | | 0.237 | | 0.272 | | 0.305 | | 0.336 | | 0.361 |
6 months | | 0.065 | | 0.099 | | 0.137 | | 0.178 | | 0.219 | | 0.259 | | 0.296 | | 0.331 | | 0.361 |
3 months | | 0.034 | | 0.065 | | 0.104 | | 0.150 | | 0.197 | | 0.243 | | 0.286 | | 0.326 | | 0.361 |
0 months | | — | | — | | 0.042 | | 0.115 | | 0.179 | | 0.233 | | 0.281 | | 0.323 | | 0.361 |
The exact fair market value and redemption date may not be set forth in the table above, in which case, if the fair market value is between two values in the table or the redemption date is between two redemption dates in the table, the number of shares of our Class A common stock to be issued for each warrant exercised will be determined by a straight-line interpolation between the number of shares set forth for the higher and lower fair market values and the earlier and later redemption dates, as applicable, based on a 365 or 366-day year, as applicable. For example, if the volume-weighted average price of our Class A common stock as reported during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $11.00 per share, and at such time there are 57 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.277 Class A common stock for each whole warrant. For an example where the exact fair market value and redemption date are not as set forth in the table above, if the volume-weighted average price of our Class A common stock as reported during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $13.50 per share, and at such time there are 38 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.298 Class A common stock for each whole warrant. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment).
This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in many other blank check offerings, which typically only provide for a redemption of warrants (other than the private placement warrants) when the trading price for the shares of our Class A common stock exceeds $18.00 per share for a specified period of time. This redemption feature is structured to allow for all of the outstanding warrants to be redeemed when the shares of our Class A common stock are trading at or above $10.00 per share, which may be at a time when the trading price of our the shares of Class A common stock is below the exercise price of the warrants. We have established this redemption feature to provide us with the flexibility to redeem the warrants without the warrants having to reach the $18.00 per share threshold set forth above under “— Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00.” Holders choosing to exercise their warrants in connection with a redemption pursuant to this feature will, in effect, receive a number of shares for their warrants based on an option pricing model with a fixed volatility input as of the date of this prospectus. This redemption right provides us with an additional mechanism by which to redeem all of the outstanding warrants, and therefore have certainty as to our capital structure.
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As stated above, we can redeem the warrants when the shares of our Class A common stock are trading at a price starting at $10.00, which is below the exercise price of $11.50, because it will provide certainty with respect to our capital structure and cash position while providing warrant holders with the opportunity to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis for the applicable number of shares. If we choose to redeem the warrants when the shares of our Class A common stock are trading at a price below the exercise price of the warrants, this could result in the warrant holders receiving fewer shares of Class A common stock than they would have received if they had chosen to wait to exercise their warrants for Class A common stock if and when such shares of Class A common stock were trading at a price higher than the exercise price of $11.50.
No fractional shares of our Class A common stock will be issued upon exercise. If, upon exercise, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of shares of our Class A common stock to be issued to the holder. If, at the time of redemption, the warrants are exercisable for a security other than the shares of our Class A common stock pursuant to the warrant agreement (for instance, if we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination), the warrants may be exercised for such security. At such time as the warrants become exercisable for a security other than the shares of our Class A common stock, the Company (or surviving company) will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register under the Securities Act the security issuable upon the exercise of the warrants.
Redemption Procedures. 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 person’s affiliates), to the warrant agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 4.9% or 9.8% (as specified by the holder) of the shares of our Class A common stock issued and outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
Anti-dilution Adjustments. If the number of outstanding shares of our Class A common stock is increased by a stock capitalization or stock dividend payable in shares of our Class A common stock, or by a split-up of common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such stock capitalization or stock dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of shares of our Class A common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding shares of common stock. A rights offering to holders of common stock entitling holders to purchase Class A common stock at a price less than the “historical fair market value” (as defined below) will be deemed a stock dividend of a number of shares of our Class A common stock equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of our Class A common stock 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 common stock) and (ii) one minus the quotient of (x) the price per share of our Class A common stock paid in such rights offering and (y) the historical fair market value. For these purposes, (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for shares of our Class A common stock, in determining the price payable for Class A common stock, 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) “historical fair market value” means the volume-weighted average price of shares of our Class A common stock as reported during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the shares of our Class A common stock 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 shares of our Class A common stock on account of such Class A common stock (or other securities into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) any cash dividends or cash distributions which, when combined on a per share basis with all other cash dividends and cash distributions paid on the shares of our Class A common stock during the 365-day period ending on the date of declaration of such dividend or distribution does not exceed $0.50 (as adjusted to appropriately reflect any other adjustments and excluding cash dividends or cash distributions that resulted in an adjustment to the exercise price or to the number of shares of our Class A common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant) but only with respect to the amount of the aggregate cash dividends or cash distributions equal to or less than $0.50 per share, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of our Class A common stock in connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of our Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or
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(B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ 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 share of our Class A common stock in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding shares of our Class A common stock is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse share split or reclassification of our Class A common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse share split, reclassification or similar event, the number of shares of our Class A common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding shares of our Class A common stock.
Whenever the number of shares of our Class A common stock 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 shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of shares of our Class A common stock so purchasable immediately thereafter.
In addition, if (x) we issue additional shares of our Class A common stock 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 of our Class A common stock (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 initial stockholders 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 completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we complete 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 $10.00 and $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices described adjacent to “Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00” and “Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 100% and 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, respectively.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding Class A common stock (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such Class A common stock), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding Class A common stock), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of the shares of our Class A common stock immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of our Class A common stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of our Class A common stock in such a transaction is payable in the form of our Class A common stock in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the Black-Scholes value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant. The purpose of such exercise price reduction is to provide additional value to holders of the warrants when an extraordinary transaction occurs during the exercise period of the warrants pursuant to which the holders of the warrants otherwise do not receive the full potential value of the warrants.
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The 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 or mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in this prospectus, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then-outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders. 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 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 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 common stock and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive Class A common stock. After the issuance of our Class A common stock upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.
No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number, the number of shares of our Class A common stock to be issued to the warrant holder.
Private Placement Warrants
The private placement warrants (including the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except pursuant to limited exceptions as described under “Principal Stockholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants,” to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with the initial purchasers of the private placement warrants) and they will not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees (except as otherwise set forth herein). Our sponsor, or its permitted transferees, have the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. Except as described below, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering.
Except as described under “Description of Securities — Warrants — Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00,” if holders of the private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering his, her or its warrants for that number of shares of our Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of our Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “historical fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the historical fair market value. For these purposes, the “historical fair market value” shall mean the average last reported sale price of the shares of our Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the 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 our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees is because it is not known at this time whether they will be affiliated with us following a 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 restrict 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 stockholders who could exercise their warrants and sell the shares of our Class A common stock received upon such exercise freely in the open market in order to recoup the cost of such exercise, the insiders could be significantly restricted from selling such securities. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.
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In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may loan us funds on a non-interest bearing basis as may be required, although they are under no obligation to advance funds or invest in us. Up to $1,500,000 of such 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.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a business combination. If we increase the size of this offering, we will effect a stock dividend or other appropriate mechanism with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering. 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. 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 common stock and warrant agent for our warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in its roles as transfer agent and warrant agent, its agents and each of its stockholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any claims and losses due to any gross negligence or intentional misconduct of the indemnified person or entity.
Amended and restated Certificate of incorporation
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain provisions designed to provide 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 the approval of the holders of 65% of our common stock. Our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees, if any, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our common stock upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that:
• If we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months 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 no more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law;
• Prior to or in connection with our initial business combination, we may not issue additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on our initial business combination or on any other proposal presented to stockholders prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination;
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• 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 executive 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 from another independent firm that commonly renders valuation opinions that such a business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view;
• If a stockholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a stockholder 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;
• Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts held in trust 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 stockholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, or with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A common stock 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 to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein; 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 certificate of incorporation 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.
Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of Delaware Law and our Amended and restated Certificate of incorporation
We will be subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL regulating corporate takeovers upon completion of this offering. This statute prevents certain Delaware corporations, under certain circumstances, from engaging in a “business combination” with:
• a stockholder who owns 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock (otherwise known as an “interested stockholder”);
• an affiliate of an interested stockholder; or
• an associate of an interested stockholder, for three years following the date that the stockholder became an interested stockholder.
A “business combination” includes a merger or sale of more than 10% of our assets. However, the above provisions of Section 203 do not apply if:
• our board of directors approves the transaction that made the stockholder an “interested stockholder,” prior to the date of the transaction;
• after the completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, that stockholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, other than statutorily excluded shares of common stock; or
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• on or subsequent to the date of the transaction, the initial business combination is approved by our board of directors and authorized at a meeting of our stockholders, and not by written consent, by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock not owned by the interested stockholder.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our board of directors will be classified into three classes of directors. As a result, in most circumstances, a person can gain control of our board only by successfully engaging in a proxy contest at two or more annual meetings.
Our authorized but unissued common stock and preferred stock will be available for future issuances without stockholder 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 common stock and preferred stock could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Exclusive Forum for Certain Lawsuits
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers and employees for breach of fiduciary duty and certain other actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware, except any action (A) as to which the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery or (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. If an action is brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, a court may determine that this provision is unenforceable, and to the extent it is enforceable, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that the exclusive forum provision will be applicable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, subject to certain exceptions. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. In addition, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to actions brought under the Securities Act, or the rules and regulations thereunder.
Special Meeting of Stockholders
Our amended and restated bylaws provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by a majority vote of our board of directors or by our Chairman.
Advance Notice Requirements for Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations
Our amended and restated bylaws provide that stockholders seeking to bring business before our annual meeting of stockholders, or to nominate candidates for election as directors at our annual meeting of stockholders, must provide timely notice of their intent in writing. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice will need to be received by the company secretary at our principal executive offices not later than the close of business on the 90th day nor earlier than the opening of business on the 120th day prior to the anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders. Pursuant to Rule 14a-8 of the Exchange Act, proposals seeking inclusion in our annual proxy statement must comply with the notice periods contained therein. Our amended and restated bylaws also specify certain requirements as to the form and content of a stockholders’ meeting. These provisions may preclude our stockholders from bringing matters before our annual meeting of stockholders or from making nominations for directors at our annual meeting of stockholders.
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Action by Written Consent
Subsequent to the consummation of the offering, any action required or permitted to be taken by our common stockholders must be effected by a duly called annual or special meeting of such stockholders and may not be effected by written consent of the stockholders other than with respect to our Class B common stock.
Classified Board of Directors
Our board of directors will initially be divided into three classes, Class I, Class II and Class III, with members of each class serving staggered three-year terms. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation 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 preferred stock, 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 of our capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election 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.
Class B Common Stock Consent Right
For so long as any shares of our Class B common stock remain outstanding, we may not, without the prior vote or written consent of the holders of a majority of the shares of our Class B common stock then outstanding, voting separately as a single class, amend, alter or repeal any provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, 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 common stock. Any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the holders of our Class B common stock may be taken without a 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 common stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares of our Class B common stock were present and voted.
Securities Eligible for Future Sale
Immediately after this offering we will have 25,000,000 shares of common stock (or 28,750,000 shares of common stock if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) issued and outstanding on an as-converted basis. Of these shares, the shares of our Class A common stock sold in this offering (20,000,000 shares of Class A common stock if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised and 23,000,000 shares of Class A common stock if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any shares of Class A common stock purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the outstanding founder shares (5,000,000 founder shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised and 5,750,000 founder shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and all of the outstanding private placement warrants (5,750,000 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised and 6,350,000 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering.
Rule 144
Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted 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 and have filed all required reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the twelve months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale.
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Persons who have beneficially owned restricted shares or warrants for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at 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 only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:
• 1% of the total number of shares of common stock then outstanding, which will equal 250,000 shares immediately after this offering (or 287,500 shares if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full); or
• the average weekly reported trading volume of the shares of our Class A common stock during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale.
Sales by our affiliates 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
Rule 144 is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company. However, Rule 144 also includes an important exception to this prohibition 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; and
• the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and material required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding twelve 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, our initial stockholders will be able to sell their founder shares and private placement warrants, as applicable, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination.
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and any Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. The holders 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. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Listing of Securities
We have applied to have our units listed on the NYSE under the symbol “ROT.U.” We expect that our units will be listed on the NYSE promptly after the date of this prospectus. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on the NYSE under the symbols “ROT” and “ROT WS,” respectively. The units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded following the completion of our initial business combination.
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U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The following discussion summarizes certain U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our units (each consisting of one share of our Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant) that are purchased in this offering by U.S. Holders (as defined below) and Non-U.S. Holders (as defined below). Because the components of a unit are generally separable at the option of the holder, the holder of a unit generally should be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as the owner of the underlying share of our Class A common stock and warrant components of the unit. As a result, the discussion below with respect to holders of shares of our Class A common stock and warrants should also apply to holders of units (as the deemed owners of the underlying share of our Class A common stock and warrants that constitute the units).
This discussion is limited to certain U.S. federal income tax considerations to beneficial owners of our securities who are initial purchasers of a unit pursuant to this offering and hold the unit and each component of the unit as a capital asset under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).
This discussion assumes that the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants will trade separately and that any distributions made (or deemed made) by us on the shares of our Class A common stock and any consideration received (or deemed received) by a holder in consideration for the sale or other disposition of our securities will be in U.S. dollars. This discussion is a summary only and does not consider all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of a unit by a prospective investor in light of its particular circumstances, including:
• our founder, sponsor, officers or directors or holders of our Class B common stock or private placement warrants;
• financial institutions or financial services entities;
• broker-dealers;
• taxpayers that are subject to the mark-to-market tax accounting rules;
• tax-exempt entities;
• S-corporations;
• governments or agencies or instrumentalities thereof;
• insurance companies;
• regulated investment companies;
• real estate investment trusts;
• passive foreign investment companies;
• controlled foreign corporations;
• expatriates or former long-term residents of the United States;
• persons that acquired our securities pursuant to an exercise of employee share options, in connection with employee share incentive plans or otherwise as compensation or in connection with services;
• persons required for U.S. federal income tax purposes to conform the timing of income accruals to their financial statements under Section 451 of the Code;
• persons that hold our securities as part of a straddle, constructive sale, hedging, conversion or other integrated or similar transaction; or
• U.S. Holders whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar.
Moreover, the discussion below is based upon the provisions of the Code, the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof, all as of the date hereof, and such provisions may be repealed, revoked, modified or subject to differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive
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basis, so as to result in U.S. federal income tax consequences different from those discussed below. Furthermore, this discussion does not address any aspect of U.S. federal non-income tax laws, such as gift, estate or Medicare contribution tax laws, or state, local or non-U.S. tax laws.
We have not sought, and will not seek, a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) as to any U.S. federal income tax consequence described herein. The IRS may disagree with the discussion herein, and its determination may be upheld by a court. Moreover, there can be no assurance that future legislation, regulations, administrative rulings or court decisions will not adversely affect the accuracy of the statements in this discussion.
As used herein, the term “U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of units, shares of our Class A common stock or warrants that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes: (i) an individual citizen or resident of the United States, (ii) a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) that is created or organized (or treated as created or organized) in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia, (iii) an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source or (iv) a trust if (A) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more United States persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (B) it has in effect a valid election to be treated as a United States person.
This discussion does not consider the tax treatment of partnerships or other pass-through entities (including branches) or persons who hold our securities through such entities. If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is the beneficial owner of our securities, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the partner and the partnership. If you are a partner of a partnership holding our securities, we urge you to consult your own tax advisor.
THIS DISCUSSION IS ONLY A SUMMARY OF CERTAIN U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR UNITS. EACH PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR IN OUR UNITS IS URGED TO CONSULT ITS OWN TAX ADVISOR WITH RESPECT TO THE PARTICULAR TAX CONSEQUENCES TO SUCH INVESTOR OF THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR UNITS, INCLUDING THE APPLICABILITY AND EFFECT OF ANY STATE, LOCAL, AND NON-UNITED STATES TAX LAWS.
Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit
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. The acquisition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as the acquisition of one share of our Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant, a whole one of which is exercisable to acquire one share of our Class A common stock, and we intend to treat the acquisition of a unit in this manner. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, each holder of a unit should allocate the purchase price paid by such holder for such unit between the one share of our Class A common stock and the one-half of one warrant based on the relative fair market value of each at the time of issuance. Under U.S. federal income tax law, each investor must make its own determination of such value based on all the relevant facts and circumstances. Therefore, we strongly urge each investor to consult its tax advisor regarding the determination of value for these purposes. The price allocated to each share of our Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant should constitute the holder’s initial tax basis in such share or warrant. Any disposition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a disposition of the share of our Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant comprising the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated between the share of our Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant based on their respective relative fair market values at the time of disposition. Neither the separation of the share of our Class A common stock and the one-half of one warrant constituting a unit nor the combination of thirds of warrants into a single warrant should be a taxable event for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
The foregoing treatment of the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants and a holder’s 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.
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U.S. Holders
Taxation of Distributions
If we pay cash distributions to U.S. Holders of our Class A common stock, such distributions will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. Distributions in excess of current and accumulated earnings and profits will constitute a return of capital that will be applied against and reduce (but not below zero) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in our shares of our Class A common stock. Any remaining excess will be treated as gain realized on the sale or other disposition of the shares of our Class A common stock and will be treated as described under “U.S. Holders — Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Our Class A Common Stock and Warrants” below.
Dividends we pay to a corporate U.S. Holder will qualify for the dividends received deduction if certain holding period requirements are met. With certain exceptions (including, but not limited to, dividends treated as investment income for purposes of investment interest deduction limitations), and provided certain holding period requirements are met, dividends we pay to a non-corporate U.S. Holder will be taxed as qualified dividend income at the preferential tax rate for long-term capital gains. It is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to the shares of our Class A common stock described in this prospectus may prevent a U.S. Holder from satisfying the applicable holding period requirements with respect to the dividends received deduction or the preferential tax rate on qualified dividend income, as the case may be. If the holding period requirements are not met, then a corporation may not be able to qualify for the dividends received deduction and would have taxable income equal to the entire dividend amount, and non-corporate holders may be subject to tax on such dividend at regular ordinary income tax rates instead of the preferential rate that applies to qualified dividend income.
Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Our Class A Common Stock and Warrants
A U.S. Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss on a sale or other taxable disposition of our Class A common stock or warrants (including on our dissolution and liquidation if we do not complete an initial business combination within the required time period). Any such capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for such share of our Class A common stock or warrants exceeds one year. It is unclear, however, whether certain redemption rights described in this prospectus may suspend the running of the applicable holding period for this purpose.
The amount of gain or loss recognized on a sale or other taxable disposition generally will be equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in such disposition (or, if the shares of our Class A common stock or warrants are held as part of units at the time of the disposition, the portion of the amount realized on such disposition that is allocated to the shares of our Class A common stock or warrants based upon the then relative fair market values of the shares of our Class A common stock and the warrants included in the units) and (ii) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares of our Class A common stock or warrants so disposed of. A U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares of our Class A common stock and warrants generally will equal the U.S. Holder’s acquisition cost (that is, the portion of the purchase price of a unit allocated to a share of our Class A common stock or one-half of one warrant, as described above under “— Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) reduced by any prior distributions treated as a return of capital. Long-term capital gain realized by a non-corporate U.S. Holder is currently eligible to be taxed at reduced rates. See “— Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant” below for a discussion regarding a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in a share of our Class A common stock acquired pursuant to the exercise of a warrant. The deduction of capital losses is subject to certain limitations.
Redemption of Our Class A Common stock
In the event that a U.S. Holder’s shares of our Class A common stock are redeemed pursuant to the redemption provisions described in this prospectus under “Description of Securities — Common Stock” or if we purchase a U.S. Holder’s shares of our Class A common stock in an open market transaction (referred to herein as a redemption), the treatment of the redemption for U.S. federal income tax purposes will depend on whether it qualifies as a sale or exchange of the shares of our Class A common stock under Section 302 of the Code. If the redemption qualifies as a sale or exchange of the shares of our Class A common stock, the U.S. Holder will
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be treated as described under “— Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Our Class A Common Stock and Warrants” above. If the redemption does not qualify as a sale or exchange of the shares of our Class A common stock, the U.S. Holder will be treated as receiving a corporate distribution with the tax consequences described above under “— Taxation of Distributions.” Whether a redemption qualifies for sale or exchange treatment will depend largely on the total number of our shares treated as held by the U.S. Holder (including any shares constructively owned by the U.S. Holder described in the following paragraph) relative to all of our shares outstanding both before and after such redemption. The redemption of our Class A common stock generally will be treated as a sale or exchange of the shares of our Class A common stock (rather than as a corporate distribution) if, within the meaning of Section 302 of the Code, such redemption (i) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to the U.S. Holder, (ii) results in a “complete termination” of the U.S. Holder’s interest in us or (iii) is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to the U.S. Holder. These tests are explained more fully below.
In determining whether any of the foregoing tests are satisfied, a U.S. Holder takes into account not only our stock actually owned by the U.S. Holder, but also shares of our stock that are constructively owned by it. A U.S. Holder may constructively own, in addition to stock owned directly, stock owned by certain related individuals and entities in which the U.S. Holder has an interest or that have an interest in such U.S. Holder, as well as any stock the U.S. Holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which would generally include shares of our Class A common stock which could be acquired pursuant to the exercise of the warrants. In order to meet the “substantially disproportionate” test, the percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately following the redemption of shares of our Class A common stock must, among other requirements, be less than 80% of the percentage of our outstanding voting stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately before the redemption. Prior to our initial business combination, the shares of our Class A common stock may not be treated as voting shares for this purpose and, consequently, this substantially disproportionate test may not be applicable. There will be a complete termination of a U.S. Holder’s interest if either (i) all of our shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed or (ii) all of our shares actually owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed and the U.S. Holder is eligible to waive, and effectively waives in accordance with specific rules, the attribution of shares owned by certain family members and the U.S. Holder does not constructively own any other shares of ours. The redemption of the shares of our Class A common stock will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend with respect to a U.S. Holder if it results in a “meaningful reduction” of the U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction in a U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances. However, the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority stockholder in a publicly-held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” A U.S. Holder should consult with its own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of a redemption.
If none of the foregoing tests are satisfied, then the redemption will be treated as a corporate distribution and the tax effects will be as described under “— Taxation of Distributions” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis of the U.S. Holder in the redeemed shares of our Class A common stock will be added to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its remaining shares, or, if it has none, to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its warrants or possibly in other stock constructively owned by it.
Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant
Except as discussed below with respect to the cashless exercise of a warrant, a U.S. Holder generally will not recognize gain or loss upon the acquisition of a share of our Class A common stock on the exercise of a warrant for cash. A U.S. Holder’s initial tax basis in a share of our Class A common stock received upon exercise of the warrant generally will equal the sum of the U.S. Holder’s initial investment in the warrant (that is, the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for the units that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “— Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the share of our Class A common stock will commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant; in either case, the holding period will not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the warrant.
If a warrant is allowed to lapse unexercised, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize a capital loss equal to such holder’s tax basis in the warrant.
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The tax consequences of a cashless exercise of a warrant are not clear under current law. A cashless exercise may not be taxable, either because the exercise is not a realization event or because the exercise is treated as a “recapitalization” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In either situation, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the shares of our Class A common stock received generally would equal the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants. If the cashless exercise was not a realization event, it is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the shares of our Class A common stock will commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant. If the cashless exercise were treated as a recapitalization, the holding period of the shares of our Class A common stock would include the holding period of the warrants.
It is also possible that a cashless exercise may be treated as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized. In such event, a U.S. Holder may be deemed to have surrendered a number of warrants having a value equal to the exercise price for the total number of warrants to be exercised. The U.S. Holder would recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the fair market value of the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in such warrants. In this case, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the shares of our Class A common stock received would equal the sum of the U.S. Holder’s initial investment in the warrants exercised (i.e., the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for the units that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “— Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price of such warrants. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the shares of our Class A common stock would commence on the date of exercise of the warrants or the day following the date of exercise of the warrants.
Due to the absence of authority on the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a cashless exercise, there can be no assurance which, if any, of the alternative tax consequences and holding periods described above would be adopted by the IRS or a court of law. Accordingly, a U.S. Holder should consult its tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of a cashless exercise.
Possible Constructive Distributions
The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of shares of our Class A common stock for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events, as discussed in the section of this prospectus captioned “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants.” An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. The U.S. Holders of the warrants would, however, be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the warrant holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of shares of our Class A common stock that would be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease to the exercise price, including, for example, where additional shares of our Class A common stock are issued in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price of less than $9.20 and the exercise price of the warrants is adjusted to be equal to 115% of the Newly Issued Price, as described under “Description of Securities — Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”) as a result of a distribution of cash or other property to the holders of shares of our Class A common stock which is taxable to the U.S. Holders of such shares of our Class A common stock as described under “— Taxation of Distributions” above. Such constructive distribution would be subject to tax as described under that section in the same manner as if the U.S. Holders of the warrants received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interest.
Non-U.S. Holders
This section applies to you if you are a “Non-U.S. Holder.” As used herein, the term “Non-U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of our units, Class A common stock or warrants that is an individual, corporation, estate or trust and is not a U.S. Holder, but such term generally does not include an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of disposition. If you are such an individual, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the sale or other disposition of our securities.
Taxation of Distributions
Any distributions (including constructive distributions) we make to a Non-U.S. Holder of shares of our Class A common stock, to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles), will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Provided such dividends are not effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the
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United States (and are not attributable to a U.S. permanent establishment under an applicable treaty), we will be required to withhold tax from the gross amount of the dividend at a rate of 30%, unless such Non-U.S. Holder is eligible for a reduced rate of withholding tax under an applicable income tax treaty and provides proper certification of its eligibility for such reduced rate (usually on an IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E, as applicable). In the case of any constructive dividend, it is possible that this tax would be withheld from any amount owed to a Non-U.S. Holder by the applicable withholding agent, including cash distributions on other property or sale proceeds from warrants or other property subsequently paid or credited to such holder. Any distribution not constituting a dividend will be treated first as reducing (but not below zero) the Non-U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares of our Class A common stock and, to the extent such distribution exceeds the Non-U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis, as gain realized from the sale or other disposition of the shares of our Class A common stock, which will be treated as described under “Non-U.S. Holders — Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Our Class A Common Stock and Warrants” below. In addition, if we determine that we are likely to be classified as a “United States real property holding corporation” (see “Non-U.S. Holders — Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Our Class A Common Stock and Warrants” below), we will withhold 15% of any distribution that exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits, including a distribution in redemption of shares of our Class A common stock. See also “Non-U.S. Holders — Possible Constructive Distributions” for potential U.S. federal tax consequences with respect to constructive distributions.
Dividends that we pay to a Non-U.S. Holder that are effectively connected with such Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (or if a tax treaty applies, are attributable to a U.S. permanent establishment or fixed base maintained by the Non-U.S. Holder) will not be subject to U.S. withholding tax, provided such Non-U.S. Holder complies with certain certification and disclosure requirements (usually by providing an IRS Form W-8ECI). Instead, the effectively connected income will be subject to regular U.S. income tax as if the Non-U.S. Holder were a U.S. resident, unless an applicable income tax treaty provides otherwise. A Non-U.S. corporation receiving effectively connected dividends may also be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” imposed at a rate of 30% (or a lower treaty rate).
Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant
The U.S. federal income tax treatment of a Non-U.S. Holder’s exercise of a warrant, or the lapse of a warrant held by a Non-U.S. Holder, generally will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax treatment of the exercise or lapse of a warrant by a U.S. Holder, as described under “U.S. Holders — Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant” above, although to the extent a cashless exercise results in a taxable exchange, the consequences would be similar to those described below in “Non-U.S. Holders — Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Our Class A Common Stock and Warrants.” The U.S. federal income tax treatment for a Non-U.S. Holder of a redemption of warrants for shares of our Class A common stock described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Warrants — Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00” will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax treatment for a U.S. Holder of a redemption of warrants for shares of our Class A common stock, as described above in “U.S. Holders — Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant.” The U.S. federal income tax treatment for a Non-U.S. Holder of a redemption of warrants for cash (or if we purchase warrants in an open market transaction) would be similar to that described below in “Non-U.S. Holders — Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Our Class A Common Stock and Warrants.”
Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Our Class A Common Stock and Warrants
Subject to the discussion of FATCA and backup withholding below, a Non-U.S. Holder will not be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding tax in respect of gain recognized on a sale, taxable exchange or other taxable disposition of our shares of our Class A common stock (including a dissolution and liquidation if we do not complete an initial business combination within the required time period) or warrants (including an expiration or redemption of our warrants), in each case without regard to whether such securities were held as part of a unit, unless:
• the gain is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business by the Non-U.S. Holder within the United States (and, under certain income tax treaties, is attributable to a United States permanent establishment or fixed base maintained by the Non-U.S. Holder); or
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• we are or have been a “United States real property holding corporation” for U.S. federal income tax purposes at any time during the shorter of the five-year period ending on the date of disposition or the period that the Non-U.S. Holder held our Class A common stock, and, in the case where shares of our Class A common stock are regularly traded on an established securities market, the Non-U.S. Holder has owned, directly or constructively, more than 5% of our Class A common stock at any time within the shorter of the five-year period preceding the disposition or such Non-U.S. Holder’s holding period for the shares of our Class A common stock. There can be no assurance that our Class A common stock will be treated as regularly traded on an established securities market for this purpose. These rules may be modified for Non-U.S. Holders of warrants. If we are or have been a “United States real property holding corporation” and you own warrants, you are urged to consult your own tax advisor regarding the application of these rules.
Unless an applicable treaty provides otherwise, gain described in the first bullet point above will be subject to tax at applicable U.S. federal income tax rates as if the Non-U.S. Holder were a U.S. resident. Any gains described in the first bullet point above of a Non-U.S. Holder that is a foreign corporation may also be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate (or lower treaty rate).
If the second bullet point above applies to a Non-U.S. Holder, gain recognized by such holder on the sale, exchange or other disposition of our Class A common stock or warrants will be subject to tax at applicable U.S. federal income tax rates. In addition, a buyer of our Class A common stock or warrants from such holder may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 15% of the amount realized upon such disposition. We cannot determine whether we will be a United States real property holding corporation in the future until we complete an initial business combination. 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 the fair market value of our worldwide real property interests plus our other assets used or held for use in a trade or business, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Redemption of Our Class A Common Stock
The characterization for U.S. federal income tax purposes of the redemption of a Non-U.S. Holder’s shares of our Class A common stock pursuant to the redemption provisions described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Common Stock” will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax characterization of such a redemption of a U.S. Holder’s shares of our Class A common stock, as described under “U.S. Holders — Redemption of Our Class A Common Stock” above, and the consequences of the redemption to the Non-U.S. Holder will be as described above under “Non-U.S. Holders — Taxation of Distributions” and “Non-U.S. Holders — Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Our Class A Common Stock and Warrants,” as applicable.
Possible Constructive Distributions
The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of shares of our Class A common stock for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events, as discussed in the section of this prospectus captioned “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants.” An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. The Non-U.S. Holders of the warrants would, however, be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the warrant holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of shares of our Class A common stock that would be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease to the exercise price, including, for example, where additional common stock are issued in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price of less than $9.20 and the exercise price of the warrants is adjusted to be equal to 115% of the Newly Issued Price, as described under “Description of Securities — Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”) as a result of a distribution of cash or other property to the holders of shares of our Class A common stock which is taxable to the Non-U.S. Holders of such shares of our Class A common stock as described under “Non U.S. Holders — Taxation of Distributions” above. Such constructive distribution would be subject to tax as described under that section in the same manner as if the Non-U.S. Holders of the warrants received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interest.
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Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Dividend payments with respect to our Class A common stock and proceeds from the sale, exchange or redemption of shares of our Class A common stock or warrants may be subject to information reporting to the IRS and possible United States backup withholding. Backup withholding will not apply, however, to a U.S. Holder who furnishes a correct taxpayer identification number and makes other required certifications, or who is otherwise exempt from backup withholding and establishes such exempt status. A Non-U.S. Holder generally will eliminate the requirement for information reporting and backup withholding by providing certification of its foreign status, under penalties of perjury, on a duly executed applicable IRS Form W-8 or by otherwise establishing an exemption.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Amounts withheld as backup withholding may be credited against a holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, and a holder generally may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules by timely filing the appropriate claim for refund with the IRS and furnishing any required information.
FATCA Withholding Taxes
Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code and the Treasury Regulations and administrative guidance promulgated thereunder (commonly referred to as the “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act” or “FATCA”) impose withholding of 30% on payments of dividends (including constructive dividends) and, subject to the proposed Treasury Regulations discussed below, on proceeds from sales or other disposition of shares of our Class A common stock paid to “foreign financial institutions” (which is broadly defined for this purpose and includes investment vehicles) and certain other non U.S. entities unless various U.S. information reporting and due diligence requirements (relating to ownership by U.S. persons of interests in or accounts with those entities) have been satisfied or an exemption applies (typically certified as to by the delivery of a properly completed IRS Form W-8BEN-E). If FATCA withholding is imposed, a beneficial owner that is not a foreign financial institution will be entitled to a refund of any amounts withheld by filing a U.S. federal income tax return (which may entail significant administrative burden). Foreign financial institutions located in jurisdictions that have an intergovernmental agreement with the United States governing FATCA may be subject to different rules. Similarly, dividends and, subject to the proposed Treasury Regulations discussed below, proceeds from sales or other disposition in respect of our units held by an investor that is a non-financial non-U.S. entity that does not qualify under certain exceptions will be subject to withholding at a rate of 30%, unless such entity either (i) certifies to us or the applicable withholding agent that such entity does not have any “substantial United States owners” or (ii) provides certain information regarding the entity’s “substantial United States owners,” which will in turn be provided to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has proposed regulations which eliminate the federal withholding tax of 30% applicable to the gross proceeds of a sale or other disposition of our Class A common stock. Withholding agents may rely on the proposed Treasury Regulations until final regulations are issued. Prospective investors should consult their own tax advisor regarding the effects of FATCA on their investment in our securities.
THE U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX DISCUSSION SET FORTH ABOVE IS INCLUDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY AND MAY NOT BE APPLICABLE DEPENDING UPON A HOLDER’S PARTICULAR SITUATION. HOLDERS ARE URGED TO CONSULT THEIR OWN TAX ADVISORS WITH RESPECT TO THE TAX CONSEQUENCES TO THEM OF THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR CLASS A COMMON STOCK AND WARRANTS, INCLUDING THE TAX CONSEQUENCES UNDER STATE, LOCAL, ESTATE, NON-U.S. AND OTHER TAX LAWS AND TAX TREATIES AND THE POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF CHANGES IN U.S. OR OTHER TAX LAWS.
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UNDERWRITING
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC is acting as the book-running manager of the offering and as representative of the underwriters named below.
Under the terms and subject to the conditions contained in an underwriting agreement dated ___________, 2020, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters named below the following respective numbers of units:
Underwriters | | Number of Units |
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC | | |
| | |
Total | | 20,000,000 |
The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriters are obligated to purchase all the units in this offering if any are purchased, other than those units covered by the over-allotment option described below.
We have granted to the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase on a pro rata basis up to 3,000,000 additional units at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The option may be exercised only to cover any over-allotments of units.
The underwriters propose to offer the units initially at the public offering price on the cover page of this prospectus and to selling group members at that price less a selling concession of $___ per unit.
The following table summarizes the compensation and estimated expenses we will 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. $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 (or $8,050,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), of deferred underwriting commissions will be paid to the underwriters upon the completion of our initial business combination.
| | Per Unit(1) | | Total(1) |
Without Over-allotment | | With Over-allotment | | Without Over-allotment | | With Over-allotment |
Underwriting Discounts and Commissions paid by us | | $ | 0.55 | | $ | 0.55 | | $ | 11,000,000 | | $ | 12,650,000 |
We estimate that our non-reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses for this offering will be approximately $750,000. We have agreed to pay for the FINRA-related fees and expenses of the underwriters’ legal counsel, not to exceed $25,000, which is included in the foregoing $750,000 estimate.
The underwriters have informed us that they do not intend to make sales to discretionary accounts.
We, our sponsor and our officers and directors have agreed that we will not offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, without the prior written consent of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus, any units, warrants, Class A common stock or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, Class A common stock; provided, however, that we may (1) issue and sell the private placement warrants; (2) issue and sell the additional units to cover our underwriters’ over-allotment option (if any); (3) register with the SEC pursuant to the registration rights agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, the resale of the private placement warrants and the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and the founder shares; and (4) issue securities in connection with our initial business combination. However, the foregoing shall not apply to the forfeiture of any founder shares pursuant to their terms or any transfer of founder shares to
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any current or future independent director (as long as such current or future independent director is subject to the terms of the letter agreement, filed herewith, at the time of such transfer; and as long as, to the extent any Section 16 reporting obligation is triggered as a result of such transfer, any related Section 16 filing includes a practical explanation as to the nature of the transfer). Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC in its sole discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice.
Our initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A common stock issued upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the shares of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalization, stock dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, amalgamation, stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial stockholders with respect to any founder shares.
The private placement warrants (including the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in that respect.
We have applied to have our units listed on the NYSE under the symbol “ROT.U” promptly after the date of this prospectus and, once the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants begin separate trading, to have the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants listed on the NYSE under the symbols “ROT” and “ROT WS,” respectively.
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.
The determination of our per-unit offering price was more arbitrary than would typically be the case if we were an operating company. 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 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, Class A common stock 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, Class A common stock or warrants will develop and continue after this offering.
If we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, the trustee and the underwriters have agreed that: (1) they will forfeit any rights or claims to their deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, including any accrued interest thereon, then in the trust account; and (2) the deferred underwriters’ discounts and commissions will be distributed on a pro rata basis, together with any accrued interest thereon (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) to the public stockholders.
In connection with this offering, the underwriters may engage in stabilizing transactions, over-allotment transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
• Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum.
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• Over-allotment involves sales by the underwriters of units in excess of the number of units the underwriters are obligated to purchase, which creates a syndicate short position. The short position may be either a covered short position or a naked short position. In a covered short position, the number of units over-allotted by the underwriters is not greater than the number of units that they may purchase in the over-allotment option. In a naked short position, the number of units involved is greater than the number of units in the over-allotment option. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their over-allotment option and/or purchasing units in the open market.
• Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of the units in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions. In determining the source of units to close out the 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. If the underwriters sell more units than could be covered by the over-allotment option (a naked short position), the position can only be closed out by buying units in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there could be downward pressure on the price of the units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering.
• Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the units originally sold by the syndicate member are purchased in a stabilizing or syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions.
These stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our units or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the units. As a result, the price of our units may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. These transactions may be effected on the NYSE or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
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 arm’s 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 finder’s fee or other compensation for services rendered to us in connection with the completion of a business combination.
Some of the underwriters and their affiliates have engaged in, and may in the future engage in, investment banking and other commercial dealings in the ordinary course of business with us or our affiliates. They have received, or may in the future receive, customary fees and commissions for these transactions.
In addition, in the ordinary course of their business activities, the underwriters and their 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. Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of ours or our affiliates. The underwriters and their affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the websites maintained by one or more of the underwriters, or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering and one or more of the underwriters participating in this offering may distribute prospectuses electronically. The underwriters may agree to allocate a number of units to underwriters and selling group members for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the underwriters and selling group members that will make internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.
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The units are offered for sale in the United States, Europe, Asia and other jurisdictions where it is lawful to make such offers.
Each of the underwriters has represented and agreed that it has not offered, sold or delivered and will not offer, sell or deliver any of the units directly or indirectly, or distribute this prospectus or any other offering material relating to the units, in or from any jurisdiction except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations thereof and that will not impose any obligations on us except as set forth in the underwriting agreement.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the European Economic Area and United Kingdom
In relation to each member state of the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom (each a “Relevant State”), no Shares have been offered or will be offered pursuant to this offering to the public in that Relevant State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the Shares which has been approved by the competent authority in that Relevant State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation), except that offers of Shares may be made to the public in that Relevant State at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Regulation:
(a) to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under the Prospectus Regulation;
(b) to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under the Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriters for any such offer; or
(c) in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation,
provided that no such offer of Shares shall require the Issuer or any Manager to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any Shares in any Relevant State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any Shares to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any Shares, and the expression “Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the United Kingdom
Each of the underwriters severally represents, warrants and agrees as follows:
a) it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of FSMA) to persons who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling with Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 or in circumstances in which section 21 of FSMA does not apply to the company; and
b) it has complied with, and will comply with all applicable provisions of FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the units in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.
Notice to Residents of Japan
The underwriters will not offer or sell any of our units directly or indirectly in Japan or to, or for the benefit of any Japanese person or to others, for re-offering or re-sale directly or indirectly in Japan or to any Japanese person, except in each case pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Securities and Exchange Law of Japan and any other applicable laws and regulations of Japan. For purposes of this paragraph, “Japanese person” means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan.
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Notice to Residents of Hong Kong
The underwriters and each of their affiliates have not (1) offered or sold, and will not offer or sell, in Hong Kong, by means of any document, our units other than (A) to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571) of Hong Kong and any rules made under that Ordinance or (B) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32 of Hong Kong) or which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of that Ordinance or (2) issued or had in its possession for the purposes of issue, and will not issue or have in its possession for the purposes of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere any advertisement, invitation or document relating to our units which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to our 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 Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made under that Ordinance. The contents of this document have not been reviewed by any regulatory authority in Hong Kong. You are advised to exercise caution in relation to the offer. If you are in any doubt about any of the contents of this document, you should obtain independent professional advice.
Notice to Residents of Singapore
This prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units has not been and will not be registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the units will be offered in Singapore pursuant to exemptions under Section 274 and Section 275 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “Securities and Futures Act”). Accordingly our units may not be offered or sold, or be the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, nor may this prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units be circulated or distributed, whether directly or indirectly, to the public or any member of the public in Singapore other than (a) to an institutional investor or other person specified in Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, (b) to a sophisticated investor, and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the Securities and Futures Act or (c) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the Securities and Futures Act.
Notice to Residents of Germany
Each person who is in possession of this prospectus is aware that no German sales prospectus (Verkaufsprospekt) within the meaning of the Securities Sales Prospectus Act (Wertpapier-Verkaufsprospektgesetz, the “Act”) of the Federal Republic of Germany has been or will be published with respect to our units. In particular, each underwriter has represented that it has not engaged and has agreed that it will not engage in a public offering (offentliches Angebot) within the meaning of the Act with respect to any of our units otherwise then in accordance with the Act and all other applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
Notice to Residents of France
The units are being issued and sold outside the Republic of France and that, in connection with their initial distribution, it has not offered or sold and will not offer or sell, directly or indirectly, any units to the public in the Republic of France, and that it has not distributed and will not distribute or cause to be distributed to the public in the Republic of France this prospectus or any other offering material relating to the units, and that such offers, sales and distributions have been and will be made in the Republic of France only to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) in accordance with Article L.411-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code and decrét no. 98-880 dated October 1, 1998.
Notice to Residents of the Netherlands
Our units may not be offered, sold, transferred or delivered in or from the Netherlands as part of their initial distribution or at any time thereafter, directly or indirectly, other than to, individuals or legal entities situated in The Netherlands who or which trade or invest in securities in the conduct of a business or profession (which includes banks, securities intermediaries (including dealers and brokers), insurance companies, pension funds, collective investment institution, central governments, large international and supranational organizations, other institutional investors and other parties, including treasury departments of commercial enterprises, which as an ancillary activity
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regularly invest in securities; hereinafter, “Professional Investors”); provided that in the offer, prospectus and in any other documents or advertisements in which a forthcoming offering of our units is publicly announced (whether electronically or otherwise) in The Netherlands it is stated that such offer is and will be exclusively made to such Professional Investors. Individual or legal entities who are not Professional Investors may not participate in the offering of our units, and this prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units may not be considered an offer or the prospect of an offer to sell or exchange our units.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the Cayman Islands
No invitation, whether directly or indirectly, may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for our units.
Notice to Canadian Residents
Resale Restrictions
The distribution of units in Canada is being made only in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia 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.
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.
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.
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 prospectus (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 purchaser’s province or territory.
The purchaser of these securities in Canada should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
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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.
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.
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LEGAL MATTERS
Graubard Miller, New York, New York, is acting as counsel in connection with the registration of our securities under the Securities Act, and as such, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP advised the underwriters in connection with the offering of the securities.
EXPERTS
The financial statements of Rotor Acquisition Corp. at September 15, 2020 and for the period from August 27, 2020 (inception) through September 15, 2020 included in this prospectus have been audited by Marcum LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report, thereon (which contains an explanatory paragraph relating to substantial doubt about the ability of Rotor Acquisition Corp. to continue as a going concern as described in Note 1 to the financial statements), appearing elsewhere in this prospectus, and are included in reliance on such report given upon such firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
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 SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Our corporate website address is ____________. Upon request, we will provide electronic copies of our public filings free of charge.
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ROTOR ACQUISITION CORP.
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholder and Board of Directors of
Rotor Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Rotor Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of September 15, 2020, and the related statements of operations, changes in stockholder’s equity and cash flows for the period from August 27, 2020 (inception) through September 15, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of September 15, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from August 27, 2020 (inception) through September 15, 2020 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Explanatory Paragraph — Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As more fully described in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company’s 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 deficiency as of September 15, 2020 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 Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans with regard to these matters are also described in Notes 1 and 3. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might become necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (the “PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Marcum LLP
Marcum LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.
New York, NY
October 2, 2020
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ROTOR ACQUISITION CORP.
BALANCE SHEET
SEPTEMBER 15, 2020
ASSETS | | | | |
Deferred offering costs | | $ | 30,000 | |
Total Assets | | $ | 30,000 | |
| | | | |
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY | | | | |
Current liabilities | | | | |
Accrued expenses | | $ | 1,000 | |
Promissory note – related party | | | 5,000 | |
Total Liabilities | | | 6,000 | |
| | | | |
Commitments | | | | |
| | | | |
Stockholder’s Equity | | | | |
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized, none issued and outstanding | | | — | |
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value; 70,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding | | | — | |
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value; 12,500,000 shares authorized; 5,750,000 shares issued and outstanding(1) | | | 575 | |
Additional paid-in capital | | | 24,425 | |
Accumulated deficit | | | (1,000 | ) |
Total Stockholder’s Equity | | | 24,000 | |
Total Liabilities and Stockholder’s Equity | | $ | 30,000 | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
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ROTOR ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 27, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH SEPTEMBER 15, 2020
Formation costs | | $ | 1,000 | |
Net loss | | $ | (1,000 | ) |
| | | | |
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted(1) | | | 5,000,000 | |
| | | | |
Basic and diluted net loss per common share | | $ | (0.00 | ) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
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ROTOR ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY
FOR THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 27, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH SEPTEMBER 15, 2020
| | Class B Common Stock(1)
| | Additional Paid-in Capital | | Accumulated Deficit | | Stockholder’s Equity |
| | Shares | | Amount | |
Balance – August 27, 2020 (Inception) | | — | | $ | — | | $ | — | | $ | — | | | $ | — | |
Issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor(1) | | 5,750,000 | | | 575 | | | 24,425 | | | — | | | | 25,000 | |
Net loss | | — | | | — | | | — | | | (1,000 | ) | | | (1,000 | ) |
Balance – September 15, 2020 | | 5,750,000 | | $ | 575 | | $ | 24,425 | | $ | (1,000 | ) | | $ | 24,000 | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
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ROTOR ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 27, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH SEPTEMBER 15, 2020
Cash flows from Operating Activities: | | | | |
Net loss | | $ | (1,000 | ) |
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | | | | |
Accrued expenses | | | 1,000 | |
Net cash used in operating activities | | | — | |
| | | | |
Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | | | | |
Proceeds from promissory note – related party | | | 5,000 | |
Payment of offering costs | | | (5,000 | ) |
Net cash provided by financing activities | | | — | |
| | | | |
Net Change in Cash | | | — | |
Cash – Beginning | | | — | |
Cash – Ending | | $ | — | |
| | | | |
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities: | | | | |
Payment of deferred offering costs by the Sponsor in exchange for the issuance of Class B common stock | | $ | 25,000 | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
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ROTOR ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Rotor Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated in Delaware on August 27, 2020. The Company was formed for the purpose of effectuating a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or other similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”).The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
As of September 15, 2020, the Company had not yet commenced any operations. All activity for the period August 27, 2020 (inception) through September 15, 2020 relates to the Company’s formation and the proposed initial public offering (the “Proposed Public Offering”). The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
The Company’s ability to commence operations is contingent upon obtaining adequate financial resources through a proposed initial public offering of 20,000,000 units at $10.00 per unit (or 23,000,000 units if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) (the “Units” and, with respect to the shares of Class A common stock included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”) which is discussed in Note 3 and the sale of 5,750,000 warrants (or 6,350,000 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) (the “Private Placement Warrants”) that will close in a private placement to Rotor Sponsor LLC, an affiliate of the Company’s officers and directors (the “Sponsor”), and two qualified institutional buyers simultaneously with the closing of the Proposed Public Offering (see Note 4).
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Proposed Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. NASDAQ rules provide that the Business Combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the Trust Account (as defined below) (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the signing a definitive agreement to enter a Business Combination. The Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-Business Combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination. Upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, management has agreed that $10.00 per Unit sold in the Proposed Public Offering, including the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, will be held in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) and invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less, or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund meeting the conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the consummation of a Business Combination or (ii) the distribution of the funds in the Trust Account to the Company’s stockholders, as described below.
The Company will provide its holders of the outstanding Public Shares (the “public stockholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The public stockholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $10.00 per Public Share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants. The Public Shares subject to redemption will be recorded at redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.”
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ROTOR ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS (cont.)
The Company will proceed with a Business Combination only if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 either prior to or upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks stockholder approval, a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a stockholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If the Company seeks stockholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor has agreed to vote its Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Proposed Public Offering in favor of approving a Business Combination. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or don’t vote at all.
Notwithstanding the above, if the Company seeks stockholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% or more of the Public Shares, without the prior consent of the Company.
The Sponsor has agreed (a) to waive its redemption rights with respect to its Founder Shares and Public Shares held by it in connection with the completion of a Business Combination, (b) to waive its liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within 18 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering and (c) not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the Company’s initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless the Company provides the public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment.
The Company will have until 18 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering to complete a Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the Company’s warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period.
The Sponsor has agreed to waive its liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the Sponsor acquires Public Shares in or after the Proposed Public Offering, such Public Shares will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 6) held in the
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ROTOR ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS (cont.)
Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within in the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the Proposed Public Offering price per Unit ($10.00).
In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below (1) $10.00 per Public Share or (2) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay our taxes. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account and except as to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Proposed Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (except the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
Going Concern Consideration
At September 15, 2020, the Company had no cash and a working capital deficit of $6,000. 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 Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of time within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued. Management plans to address this uncertainty through the Proposed Public Offering as discussed in Note 3. There is no assurance that the Company’s plans to raise capital or to consummate a Business Combination will be successful or successful within the Combination Period. 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 conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
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
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ROTOR ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company, which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with 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 revenues and expenses during the reporting period.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. 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 September 15, 2020.
Deferred Offering Costs
Deferred offering costs consist of legal, accounting and other expenses incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Proposed Public Offering and that will be charged to stockholder’s 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 incurred, will be charged to operations.
Income Taxes
The Company complies with the accounting and reporting requirements of ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes,” which requires an asset and liability approach to financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are computed for differences between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities that will result in future taxable or deductible amounts, based on enacted tax laws and rates applicable to the periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
ASC Topic 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits, if any, as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of September 15, 2020. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
The provision for income taxes was deemed to be de minimis for the period from August 27, 2020 (inception) through September 15, 2020.
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ROTOR ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont.)
Net Loss Per Common Share
Net loss per share of common stock is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period, excluding shares of common stock subject to forfeiture. Weighted average shares were reduced for the effect of an aggregate of 750,000 shares of Class B common stock that are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised by the underwriter (see Note 5). At September 15, 2020, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into common stock 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.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
NOTE 3. PROPOSED PUBLIC OFFERING
Pursuant to the Proposed Public Offering, the Company will offer for sale up to 20,000,000 Units (or 23,000,000 Units if the underwriter’s overallotment option is exercised in full) at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit will consist of one share of the Company’s Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, and one-half of one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each Public Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per whole share (see Note 7).
NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
The Sponsor and two qualified institutional investors have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 5,750,000 Private Placement Warrants (or 6,350,000 Private Placement Warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of Proposed Public Offering. The proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will be added to the net proceeds from the Proposed Public Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
In connection with the foregoing, the Company has agreed to issue to the two qualified institutional investors an aggregate of 571,154 shares of Class B common stock (or 657,692 shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) upon consummation of the Proposed Public Offering. The Company will receive an aggregate of $5,750,000 (or $6,350,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) from these sales of Private Placement Warrants and shares of Class B common stock.
NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
On September 15, 2020, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain offering costs of the Company in consideration for 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock (the “Founder Shares”). The Founder Shares include an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor to the extent that the underwriter’s
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ROTOR ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS (cont.)
over-allotment is not exercised in full or in part, so that the Sponsor will collectively own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Proposed Public Offering (assuming the Sponsor does not purchase any Public Shares in the Proposed Public Offering).
The Sponsor has agreed, subject to certain limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (1) one year after the completion of a Business Combination or (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after a Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Promissory Note — Related Party
On September 14, 2020, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $150,000 to cover expenses related to the Proposed Public Offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). The Note is non-interest bearing and is payable on the earlier of (i) June 30, 2021, (ii) the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering or (iii) the date on which the Company determines not to proceed with the Proposed Public Offering. As of September 15, 2020, the Company had $5,000 outstanding under the Note.
Related Party Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans, but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants.
NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS
Executive Compensation
The Company intend to enter into an agreement for the payment of salaries or consulting fees to its officers prior to a Business Combination of up to an aggregate of $300,000 for their services in assisting the Company in locating and consummating a Business Combination.
Registration Rights
The holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and any warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans (and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the Founder Shares) will be entitled to registration rights 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. In addition,
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ROTOR ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS (cont.)
the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriter’s Agreement
The Company will grant the underwriter a 45-day option to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments at the Proposed Public Offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions.
The underwriter will be entitled to a cash underwriting discount of $0.20 per Unit, or $4,000,000 in the aggregate (or $4,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. In addition, the underwriters will be entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $7,000,000 in the aggregate (or $8,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriter 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.
Risks and Uncertainties
Management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations, 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 7. STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY
Preferred Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of $0.0001 par value preferred stock. At September 15, 2020, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.
Class A Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue up to 70,000,000 shares of Class A, $0.0001 par value common stock. Holders of the Company’s common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. At September 15, 2020, there were no shares of Class A common stock issued or outstanding.
Class B Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue up to 12,50,000 shares of Class B, $0.0001 par value common stock. Holders of the Company’s common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. At September 15, 2020, there were 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock issued and outstanding, of which an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part so that the Sponsor will own 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock after the Proposed Public Offering (assuming the Sponsor does not purchase any Public Shares in the Proposed Public Offering).
Holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all other matters submitted to a vote of shareholders, except as required by law.
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock on the first business day following the completion of a Business Combination at a ratio such that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of shares of common stock issued and outstanding upon completion of the Proposed Public Offering, plus (ii) the sum of (a) all shares of common stock issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or deemed issued by the Company in connection with or in relation to the completion of a Business Combination, excluding (1) any shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into shares of Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in a Business Combination and any (2) Private Placement Warrants issued to the
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ROTOR ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 7. STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY (cont.)
Sponsor or any of its affiliates upon conversion of Working Capital Loans minus (b) the number of public shares redeemed by public stockholders in connection with a Business Combination. In no event will the shares of Class B common stock convert into shares of Class A common stock at a rate of less than one to one.
Warrants — Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the Public Warrants. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the consummation of a Business Combination or (b) one year from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. The Public Warrants will expire five years from the consummation of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a Public Warrant and will have no obligation to settle such Public Warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and the Company will not be obligated to issue shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless Class A common stock issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants.
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than twenty business days after the closing of a Business Combination, it will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration or redemption of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of a Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. In addition, if the Class A common stock are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of the Public Warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company elect to do so, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but the Company will use its best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
Redemption of Warrants When the Price per share of Class A common stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00 — Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding Public Warrants:
• in whole and not in part;
• at a price of $0.01 per Public Warrant;
• upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and
• if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the shares of Class A common stock for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period commencing after the warrants become exercisable and ending three business days before the Company sends to the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (the “Reference Value”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like).
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ROTOR ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 7. STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY (cont.)
If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may exercise its redemption right even if it is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
Redemption of Warrants When the Price per share of Class A common stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00 — Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants:
• in whole and not in part;
• at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares based on the redemption date and the fair market value of the shares of Class A common stock;
• if, and only if, the Reference Value equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like); and
• if the Reference Value is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) the private placement warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms (except as described above with respect to a holder’s ability to cashless exercise its warrants) as the outstanding public warrants, as described above.
The exercise price and number of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend, extraordinary dividend or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the Public Warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of Class A common stock at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the Public Warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of Public Warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their Public Warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with respect to such Public Warrants. Accordingly, the Public Warrants may expire worthless.
In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of its initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the Company’s initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of such initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Company’s common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates its initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price and the $10.00 and $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described above will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 100% and 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, respectively.
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 will and the common shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement
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ROTOR ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 7. STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY (cont.)
Warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis and will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.
NOTE 8. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to October 2, 2020, the date that the financial statements were available to be issued. Based upon this review, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
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20,000,000 Units
Rotor Acquisition Corp.
___________________
PROSPECTUS
, 2021
___________________
Credit Suisse
Until ___________, 2021 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade our common stock, 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.
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PART II
Information not required in prospectus
Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The estimated expenses payable by us in connection with the offering described in this registration statement (other than the underwriting discount and commissions) will be as follows:
SEC expenses | | $ | 25,000 |
FINRA expenses | | | 35,000 |
Accounting fees and expenses | | | 50,000 |
Printing and engraving expenses | | | 35,000 |
Travel and road show expenses | | | 25,000 |
Legal fees and expenses | | | 250,000 |
Stock exchange listing and filing fees (not including deferred portion) | | | 85,000 |
Director & Officer liability insurance premiums(1) | | | 150,000 |
Miscellaneous | | | 95,000 |
Total | | $ | 750,000 |
Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that all of our directors, officers, employees and agents shall be entitled to be indemnified by us to the fullest extent permitted by Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law.
Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law concerning indemnification of officers, directors, employees and agents is set forth below.
“Section 145. Indemnification of officers, directors, employees and agents; insurance.
(a) A corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s conduct was unlawful. The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that the person’s conduct was unlawful.
(b) A corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise
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against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.
(c) To the extent that a present or former director or officer of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith.
(d) Any indemnification under subsections (a) and (b) of this section (unless ordered by a court) shall be made by the corporation only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the present or former director, officer, employee or agent is proper in the circumstances because the person has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of this section. Such determination shall be made, with respect to a person who is a director or officer at the time of such determination, (1) by a majority vote of the directors who are not parties to such action, suit or proceeding, even though less than a quorum, or (2) by a committee of such directors designated by majority vote of such directors, even though less than a quorum, or (3) if there are no such directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, or (4) by the stockholders.
(e) Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding may be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified by the corporation as authorized in this section. Such expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by former directors and officers or other employees and agents may be so paid upon such terms and conditions, if any, as the corporation deems appropriate.
(f) The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, the other subsections of this section shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in such person’s official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office. A right to indemnification or to advancement of expenses arising under a provision of the certificate of incorporation or a bylaw shall not be eliminated or impaired by an amendment to the certificate of incorporation or the bylaws after the occurrence of the act or omission that is the subject of the civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding for which indemnification or advancement of expenses is sought, unless the provision in effect at the time of such act or omission explicitly authorizes such elimination or impairment after such action or omission has occurred.
(g) A corporation shall have power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of such person’s status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under this section.
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(h) For purposes of this section, references to “the corporation” shall include, in addition to the resulting corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to indemnify its directors, officers, and employees or agents, so that any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under this section with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as such person would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued.
(i) For purposes of this section, references to “other enterprises” shall include employee benefit plans; references to “fines” shall include any excise taxes assessed on a person with respect to any employee benefit plan; and references to “serving at the request of the corporation” shall include any service as a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation which imposes duties on, or involves services by, such director, officer, employee or agent with respect to an employee benefit plan, its participants or beneficiaries; and a person who acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of an employee benefit plan shall be deemed to have acted in a manner “not opposed to the best interests of the corporation” as referred to in this section.
(j) The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this section shall, unless otherwise provided when authorized or ratified, continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.
(k) The Court of Chancery is hereby vested with exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine all actions for advancement of expenses or indemnification brought under this section or under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise. The Court of Chancery may summarily determine a corporation’s obligation to advance expenses (including attorneys’ fees).”
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. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person in a successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, we will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to the court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
Paragraph B of Article Eighth of our certificate of incorporation provides:
“The Corporation, to the full extent permitted by Section 145 of the [DGCL], as amended from time to time, shall indemnify all persons whom it may indemnify pursuant thereto. Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director in defending any civil, criminal, administrative, or investigative action, suit or proceeding for which such officer or director may be entitled to indemnification hereunder shall be paid by the Corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that he is not entitled to be indemnified by the Corporation as authorized hereby.”
Pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Registration Statement, we have agreed to indemnify the Underwriter and the Underwriter has agreed to indemnify us against certain civil liabilities that may be incurred in connection with this offering, including certain liabilities under the Securities Act.
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Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
(a) During the past three years, we sold the following shares of Class B common stock without registration under the Securities Act:
Stockholders | | Number of Shares |
Rotor Sponsor LLC | | 5,750,000 |
Such shares were issued in August 2020 in connection with our organization pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act as the shares were sold to an accredited investor. The shares issued were sold for an aggregate offering price of $25,000 at an average purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share.
The Company’s sponsor and two qualified institutional buyers have committed that they will purchase 5,750,000 warrants, or 6,350,000 warrants if the underwriter’s option to purchase additional units is exercised in full. The Company has also agreed to issue to the two qualified institutional buyers an aggregate of 571,154 shares of Class B common stock (or 657,692 shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) upon consummation of this offering. The Company will receive an aggregate of $5,750,000 (or $6,350,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) from these sales of private placement warrants and shares of Class B common stock. The foregoing purchases will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of the initial public offering. These issuances will be made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sales.
Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) The following exhibits are filed as part of this Registration Statement:
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Item 17. Undertakings.
(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
i. To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;
ii. To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement;
iii. To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement.
(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
(4) That for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933 in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:
(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;
(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;
(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and
(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.
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(b) The undersigned hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriter at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriter to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.
(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
(d) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:
(1) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.
(2) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
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Signatures
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in New York, New York, on the 30th day of December, 2020.
| | ROTOR ACQUISITION CORP. |
| | BY: | | /s/ Brian D. Finn |
| | | | Name: Brian D. Finn |
| | | | Title: Chief Executive Officer |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints each of Brian D. Finn and Amy Salerno his true and lawful attorney-in-fact, with full power of substitution and re-substitution for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities to sign any and all amendments including pre- and post-effective amendments to this registration statement, any subsequent registration statement for the same offering which may be filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and pre- or post-effective amendments thereto, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact or his substitute, each acting alone, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Name | | Position | | Date |
/s/ Stefan M. Selig | | Chairman | | December 30, 2020 |
Stefan M. Selig | | | | |
/s/ Brian D. Finn | | Chief Executive Officer | | December 30, 2020 |
Brian D. Finn | | (Principal Executive Officer), Secretary, Treasurer and Director | | |
/s/ Amy Salerno | | Chief Financial Officer | | December 30, 2020 |
Amy Salerno | | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | | |
/s/ John D. Howard | | Director | | December 30, 2020 |
John D. Howard | | | | |
/s/ David J. Berkman | | Director | | December 30, 2020 |
David J. Berkman | | | | |
/s/ Kim S. Fennebresque | | Director | | December 30, 2020 |
Kim S. Fennebresque | | | | |
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