FTAC Athena Acquisition (FTAA) 8-KNon-Reliance on Previously Issued Financial Statements or a Related Audit Report or Completed Interim Review

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): November 23, 2021

FTAC ATHENA ACQUISITION CORP.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:  (215) 701-9555 

Not Applicable 

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation to the registrant under any of the following provisions:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company x

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

Item 4.02. Non-Reliance on Previously Issued Financial Statements or a Related Audit Report or Completed Interim Review.

(a) In connection with the preparation of FTAC Athena Acquisition Corp.’s (the “Company”) financial statements as of September 30, 2021, the Company’s management, in consultation with its advisors, identified an error made in certain of its previously issued financial statements, arising from the manner in which, as of the closing of the Company’s initial public offering, the Company valued its Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption. The Company previously determined the value of such Class A ordinary shares to be equal to the redemption value of such Class A ordinary shares, after taking into consideration the terms of the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, under which a redemption cannot result in net tangible assets being less than $5,000,001. Management has now determined, after consultation with its advisors, that the Class A ordinary shares underlying the units issued during the initial public offering can be redeemed or become redeemable subject to the occurrence of future events considered to be outside the Company’s control. Therefore, management has concluded that the redemption value of its Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption should reflect the possible redemption of all Class A ordinary shares. As a result, management has noted a reclassification error related to temporary equity and permanent equity. This has resulted in a restatement of the initial carrying value of the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, with the offset recorded to additional paid-in capital (to the extent available), accumulated deficit and Class A ordinary shares. In addition, in connection with the change in presentation for the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, the Company has determined it should restate its earnings per share calculation to allocate income and losses shared pro rata between the two classes of its shares. This presentation contemplates a business combination as the most likely outcome, in which case, both classes of shares share pro rata in the income and losses of the Company.

On November 23, 2021, the audit committee of the board of directors of the Company (the “Audit Committee”), based on the recommendation of and after consultation with management, concluded that the Company’s (i) audited balance sheet as of February 25, 2021 (the “Audited Affected Financials”) filed as Exhibit 99.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 3, 2021, as amended as set forth in the Q-1 Unaudited Financials (as defined below), (ii) unaudited financial statements as of March 31, 2021 (the “Q-1 Unaudited Financials”) contained in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on June 8, 2021, (iii) unaudited financial statements as of June 30, 2021 contained in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on August 16, 2021 (together with the Q-1 Unaudited Financials, the “Unaudited Affected Financials”) and (iv) Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 12, 2021, should no longer be relied upon due to the error described above. The Company intends to restate the error in an amendment to its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2021 (to include restatements with respect to the Audited Affected Financials and the Unaudited Affected Financials) (the “Amended Form 10-Q”). Similarly, the related press releases, stockholder communications, investor presentations or other communications describing relevant portions of the Company’s financial statements for these periods, should no longer be relied upon.

The Company does not expect the changes described above to have any impact on its cash position or the balance held in the trust account.

The Company’s management has concluded that in light of the error and restatement described above, a material weakness exists in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were not effective. The Company’s remediation plan with respect to such material weakness is described in more detail in the Amended Form 10-Q.

The Audit Committee and management have discussed the matters disclosed pursuant to this Item 4.02(a) with the Company’s independent accountant.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

Additional Information About the Transactions and Where to Find It

The Company intends to file with the SEC a preliminary proxy statement in connection with the Transactions and will mail a definitive proxy statement and other relevant documents to its shareholders. The Company’s shareholders and other interested persons are advised to read, when available, the preliminary proxy statement, and amendments thereto, and the definitive proxy statement in connection with the Company’s solicitation of proxies for its extraordinary general meeting to be held to approve the Transactions, as these materials will contain important information about the Company, Pico and the Transactions. The definitive proxy statement will be mailed to shareholders of the Company as of a record date to be established for voting on the Transactions. Shareholders will also be able to obtain copies of the proxy statement, as well as other filings containing information about the Company, without charge, once available, at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or by directing a request to: FTAC Athena Acquisition Corp., 2929 Arch Street, Suite 1703, Philadelphia, PA 19104, Attn: Amanda Abrams.

Participants in Solicitation

The Company, Pico and certain of their respective directors and officers may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies of the Company’s shareholders with respect to the approval of the Transactions. Information regarding the Company’s directors and officers and a description of their interests in the Company is contained in the Company’s final prospectus relating to its initial public offering, which was filed with the SEC on February 24, 2021. Additional information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation, including Pico’s directors and officers, and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be included in the proxy statement for the Transactions when available. Each of these documents is, or will be, available at the SEC’s website or by directing a request to the Company as described above under “Additional Information About the Transactions and Where to Find It.”

In connection with the Transactions, at any time prior to the extraordinary general meeting to approve the Transactions, certain existing Company shareholders, which may include certain of the Company’s officers, directors and other affiliates, may enter into transactions with shareholders and other persons with respect to the Company’s securities to provide such investors or other persons with incentives in connection with the approval and consummation of the Transactions. While the exact nature of such incentives has not yet been determined, they might include, without limitation, arrangements to purchase shares from or sell shares to such investors and persons at nominal prices or prices other than fair market value. These shareholders will only effect such transactions when they are not then aware of any material nonpublic information regarding the Company, Pico or their respective securities.

Forward Looking Statements

This Current Report on Form 8-K contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", “could”, “continue”, "expect", "estimate", “may”, "plan", "outlook", “future” and "project" and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These statements, which involve risks and uncertainties, relate to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results and estimates of amounts not yet determinable and may also relate to the Company’s or Pico’s future prospects, developments and business strategies. In particular, such forward-looking statements include statements concerning the timing of the Transactions; the business plans, objectives, expectations and intentions of the public company once the transaction is complete, and Pico’s estimated and future results of operations, business strategies, competitive position, industry environment and potential growth opportunities. These statements are based on the Company’s or Pico’s management’s current expectations and beliefs, as applicable, as well as a number of assumptions concerning future events.

Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside the Company’s or Pico’s control that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors include, but are not limited to, (1) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the Business Combination Agreement; (2) the inability to complete the Transactions due to the failure to obtain approval of the shareholders of the Company or other conditions to closing in the Business Combination Agreement; (3) the ability of the public entity to meet Nasdaq’s listing standards following the Transactions; (4) the inability to complete the PIPE Investment; (5) the risk that the proposed transaction disrupts current plans and operations of Pico as a result of the announcement and consummation of the transactions described herein; (6) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the proposed business combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of the combined company to grow and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with suppliers and agents and retain its management and key employees; (7) costs related to the proposed business combination; (8) changes in applicable laws or regulations and delays in obtaining, adverse conditions contained in, or the inability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals required to complete the business combination; (9) the possibility that Pico may be adversely affected by other economic, business, regulatory and/or competitive factors; (10) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Company, Pico or any of their respective directors or officers, following the announcement of the potential transaction; and (11) the failure to realize anticipated pro forma results and underlying assumptions, including with respect to estimated shareholder redemptions. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in forward-looking statements can be found in the Company’s final prospectus for its initial public offering, subsequently filed quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, which are available, free of charge, at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, and will also be provided in the Company’s proxy statement when available. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for the Company or Pico to predict these events or how they may affect either party. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made, and the Company and Pico undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Disclaimer

This communication shall not constitute a solicitation of a proxy, an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.