UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021
Or
☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from to
Commission File No. 001-40198
Tech and Energy Transition Corporation
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware | | 83-0781939 |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
| | |
125 W 55th St New York, New York | | 10019 |
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) | | (Zip Code) |
(212) 231-1000
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class | | Trading Symbol(s) | | Name of each exchange on which registered |
Units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, and one-third of one redeemable warrant | | TETCU | | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC |
| | | | |
Shares of Class A common stock included as part of the units | | TETC | | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC |
| | | | |
Redeemable warrants included as part of the units, each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Class A common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 | | TETCWS | | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ |
Non-accelerated filer | ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ☒ |
| | Emerging growth company | ☒ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act): Yes ☒ No ☐
As of September 30, 2020 (the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter), the Registrant’s securities were not publicly traded. The Registrant’s units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and one-third of one redeemable warrant, began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market on March 17, 2021. The Registrant’s Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market separately from its units on May 7, 2021. The aggregate market value of the Registrant’s Class A common stock outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the Registrant, at June 14, 2021 was approximately $350,632,812.
As of June 14, 2021, there were 38,500,000 units of the Registrant’s Class A common stock and 9,625,000 of the Registrant’s Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, issued and outstanding.
Tech and Energy Transition Corporation
FORM 10-K FOR THE YEAR ENDED MARCH 31, 2021
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND RISK FACTOR SUMMARY
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains statements that are forward-looking and as such are not historical facts. This includes, without limitation, statements under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regarding our financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations. These statements constitute projections, forecasts and forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.
The forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K 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, the following risks, uncertainties and other factors:
| ● | our being a company with no operating history and no operating revenues; |
| ● | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
| ● | our ability to complete our initial business combination; |
| ● | our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses; |
| ● | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
| ● | our directors and officers allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination; |
| ● | the ability of our directors and officers to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities; |
| ● | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
| ● | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| ● | our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases); |
| ● | the ability of our directors and officers to generate 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 (as defined below) or available to us from interest income on the Trust Account balance; |
| ● | the Trust Account not being subject to claims of third parties; |
| ● | our financial performance; and |
| ● | the other risk and uncertainties discussed in “Item 1A. Risk Factors,” elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). |
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.
PART I.
References in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report”) to “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company” are to Tech and Energy Transition Corporation, a blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors, and references to the “Sponsor” refer to Tech and Energy Transition Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. References to our “initial shareholders” refer to our Sponsor, Daniel R. Hesse and each of our independent directors.
Item 1. Business.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated on December 4, 2017, as a Delaware corporation, for the purpose of effecting a merger, stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). Our sponsor is Tech and Energy Transition Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”), a Delaware limited liability company directly controlled by MIHI LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Macquarie and a part of Macquarie Capital.
Although we are not limited to a particular industry or sector for the purpose of consummating a Business Combination, we intend to focus our search on companies in end markets – communications, internetworking, clean energy, digital technology and services and software applications that enable or support digital transformation.
Our registration statement for our initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”) was declared effective on March 16, 2021. On March 19, 2021, we consummated our Initial Public Offering of 38,500,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A common stock included in the Units offered, the “Public Shares”) at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $385.0 million and incurring offering costs of approximately $22.2 million, including approximately $7,700,000 of underwriting commission, $13,475,000 of deferred underwriting commission and $1,066,089 of other offering costs.
Substantially concurrently with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the private placement (the “Private Placement”) of 7,366,667 warrants (each, a “Private Placement Warrant” and collectively, the “Private Placement Warrants”), at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant to the Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of approximately $11.05 million.
Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement, $385.0 million ($10.00 per Unit) of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds of the Private Placement were placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee and invested in United States government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of an initial Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below.
Our management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating our initial Business Combination. 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 and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in Trust) at the time we sign a definitive agreement in connection with the initial Business Combination. However, we will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.
Our entire activity from inception through March 31, 2021 related to our formation and the preparation for the Initial Public Offering, and, since the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the search for a prospective initial Business Combination. We have not engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations until we complete a Business Combination, and we have not generated any operating revenue to date. We will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial Business Combination, at the earliest. Our entire activity since inception through March 31, 2021 related to our formation and the preparation for the Initial Public Offering. Based on our business activities, we are a “shell company” as defined under the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting almost entirely of cash.
We will provide the holders of our Public Shares (the “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 our initial Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our 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.
If we are unable to complete a Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering (the “Combination 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 (10) 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 franchise and income taxes (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, the Company’s remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors (the “Board), 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.
Effecting a Business Combination
Our Business Strategy
Combining our management team’s domain, operating and market sector expertise, Macquarie Capital’s sourcing strategies and the Macquarie Capital platform, we believe will generate attractive returns for shareholders by selecting a high-quality target, negotiating favorable acquisition terms at an attractive valuation and creating the foundation for improved operational performance of the acquired company. In particular, we expect to distinguish ourselves with our ability to:
| ● | Leverage Best-in-class Sourcing Capabilities of the Macquarie Capital Platform. We believe our ability to access the best-in-class sourcing capabilities of the Macquarie Capital platform is a significant advantage. The multiple sourcing vectors available to us through Macquarie Capital include a network of executives, founders, sponsors, academics and consultants that we can use to identify and evaluate suitable target businesses that could benefit from our experience in structuring complex transactions, accessing capital for growth, deleveraging and operational and strategic expertise. |
| ● | Bring Unique Rigor to the Process of Identifying and Structuring a Business Combination. Macquarie Capital has the investment capabilities and capital markets expertise necessary to consummate a successful Business Combination. The team’s demonstrated ability to identify, value and close large, complex transactions is a distinct advantage that is further bolstered by Macquarie Capital’s reputation, global footprint and significant investing capabilities. |
| ● | Create a platform opportunity. We believe we have the skills necessary to identify a company and give it a foundation for success. As part of its growth strategy, we may contemplate organic as well as potential inorganic growth opportunities that fit our strategy. |
Business Combination 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 or guidelines. We intend to focus on companies that provide value-added services and also:
| ● | Have a Leading Position in Attractive Industries. We will seek to acquire a target company or business that holds a leading position in an industry with large addressable markets, strong secular growth and a favorable regulatory environment. |
| ● | Have Demonstrated Organic Growth. We will seek to acquire a business that has a track record of organic growth, particularly from the sale of recurring products and services into large and growing markets. Emphasis will be placed on companies that demonstrate the ability to up-sell and cross-sell to existing customers, maintain low overall churn rates and continue to innovate with new products and services through changing market conditions. Customer and product diversification along with strong overall industry growth will also be important factors in our selection process. |
| ● | Have Strong Unit Economics. We will seek to acquire a business that has demonstrated strong unit economics in its core products and markets. We will also look for a business capable of maintaining strong cash flow generation in the long term. |
| ● | Have Opportunities for Inorganic Growth. We will seek to acquire a business that can serve as a consolidator for future acquisitions, and we will use the skills of our management team, Board and advisory board members to support such inorganic growth efforts. |
| ● | Are Differentiated. We will seek to acquire a business with a sustaining competitive differentiation. Sources of differentiation can include but are not limited to: patents, product development, brands, customer reputation or other Intellectual Property (IP), unique technical expertise and or personnel, innovative processes or proprietary sourcing and distribution/customer access. |
| ● | Have a Committed and Exceptional Management Team. We will seek to acquire a business with a professional management team whose members have distinguished themselves in terms of expertise, experience, performance, leadership and commitment. In addition to having a strong operating track record, we will look for team who demonstrate a high level of personal integrity. Where necessary, we will enhance the capabilities of the management team of the target business by recruiting additional talent through Macquarie Capital’s network of contacts |
We intend to seek a target with an aggregate enterprise value of approximately $750 million to $4.0 billion, determined according to reasonably accepted valuation standards and methodologies. We believe targeting companies of this size will provide a substantial number of opportunities for investment and will maximize the value of the collective network of our management team and Macquarie Capital.
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive or required. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial Business Combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management team may deem relevant. In the event that we 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 fact in our stockholder 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 Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
Additional Disclosures
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a due diligence review which may 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. All potential transactions considered by the Company will be reviewed and approved by an investment committee (the “Investment Committee”) prior to submission to the Board. The Investment Committee currently consists of Mr. Handen, Mr. Roseman and Mr. Hesse. The consent of each member of the Investment Committee will be required for a potential transaction to be submitted for consideration by the Board.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial Business Combination with a company that is affiliated with Macquarie, our Sponsor, officers or directors, nor are we prohibited from doing so with a business that is or is affiliated with any Macquarie Account. In the event we seek to complete our initial Business Combination with a business that is affiliated with Macquarie, our Sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), or from an independent accounting firm, that such initial Business Combination is fair to the Company from a financial point of view.
Members of our management team may directly or indirectly own our securities, and accordingly, 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. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular Business Combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial Business Combination.
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 become aware of a Business Combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations to present the opportunity to such entity, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. We believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors or Macquarie, or policies applicable to Macquarie, will not materially affect our ability to complete our initial Business Combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides 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 the Company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
While Macquarie will not have any duty to offer acquisition opportunities to us, Macquarie may become aware of a potential transaction that may be an attractive opportunity for us, which it may or may not decide to share with us.
Macquarie is a worldwide, full-service investment banking, broker-dealer, asset management and financial services organization and a major participant in global financial markets. As such, Macquarie provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high net-worth individuals. Macquarie acts as an investment banker, research provider, investment adviser, financier, adviser, market maker, prime broker, derivatives dealer, lender, counterparty, agent, principal and investor. In those and other capacities, Macquarie advises clients in all major markets and purchases, sells, holds and recommends a broad array of investments, including securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps, indices, baskets and other financial instruments and products for its own account and for the accounts of clients, through client accounts and the relationships and products it sponsors, manages and advises. Macquarie has direct and indirect interests in the global fixed income, currency, commodity, equities, bank loan and other markets, and the securities and issuers, in which we and Macquarie Accounts may directly and indirectly invest.
Additionally, we may, but are not required to, engage Macquarie for services as a financial advisor in connection with identifying and investigating potential targets for our Business Combination. Conflicts may arise from Macquarie’s sponsorship of the Company, its provision of services both to us (including as a financial advisor) and to third-party clients, as well as from actions undertaken by Macquarie for its own account. In performing services for other clients and also when acting for its own account, Macquarie may take commercial steps which may have an adverse effect on us. Any of Macquarie’s financial market activities may, individually or in the aggregate, have an adverse effect on us, and the interests of Macquarie or its clients or counterparties may at times be adverse to ours.
Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq rules 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 (excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting commissions). We refer to this as the 80% of fair market value test. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our Board based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). Even though our Board will rely on generally accepted standards, our Board will have discretion to select the standards employed. In addition, the application of the standards generally involves a substantial degree of judgment. Accordingly, investors will be relying on the business judgment of the Board in evaluating the fair market value of the target or targets. The proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents used by us in connection with any proposed transaction will provide Public Stockholders with our analysis of our satisfaction of the 80% of fair market value test, as well as the basis for our determinations. If our Board 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 do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial Business Combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case.
We anticipate structuring our initial Business Combination so that the post-Business Combination company in which our Public Stockholders own or acquire shares will own or acquire 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial Business Combination such that the post-Business Combination company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such Business Combination if the post-Business Combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-Business Combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding 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 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 outstanding capital stock of a target or issue a substantial number of new shares to third-parties in connection with financing our initial Business Combination. In such cases, 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 outstanding shares subsequent to our initial Business Combination. If less than 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-Business Combination company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired by us is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of fair market value test. If our initial Business Combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.
Competition
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, including, without limitation, Macquarie and other Macquarie Accounts, 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. Additionally, the number of blank check companies looking for Business Combination targets has increased compared to recent years and many of these blank check companies are sponsored by entities or persons that have significant experience with completing Business Combinations. While we believe there will be numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. Our Sponsor or any of its affiliates (including Macquarie) may make additional investments in us, although our Sponsor and its affiliates have no obligation or other duty to do so. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. 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 target businesses. Any of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating and completing an initial Business Combination.
Employees
We currently have four officers and do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial Business Combination. Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial Business Combination. The amount of time that any such person will devote in any time period to the Company will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial Business Combination and the current stage of the Business Combination process.
Item 1.A. Risk Factors.
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Annual Report, including our financial statements and related notes, before making a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, may also become important factors that adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Risks Relating to Our Search for, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
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 not hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial Business Combination unless the Business Combination would require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons. For instance, Nasdaq rules currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a stockholder meeting but would still require us to obtain stockholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares to a target business as consideration in any Business Combination. Therefore, if we were structuring a Business Combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares, we would seek stockholder approval of such Business Combination. However, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, 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. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial Business Combination even if holders of a majority of our outstanding Public Shares do not approve of the Business Combination we consummate.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial Business Combination, our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote in favor of such initial Business Combination, regardless of how our Public Stockholders vote.
Unlike some other blank check companies in which the initial stockholders agree to vote their Founder Shares (as defined below) in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the Public Stockholders in connection with an initial Business Combination, our Sponsor and each of our officers and directors have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to vote any Founder Shares and any Public Shares held by them in favor of our initial Business Combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ Founder Shares and taking into account the forfeiture of 1,443,750 Founder Shares, we would need 14,437,501, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted), or 2,406,251, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted), of the 38,500,000 Public Shares sold in the Initial Public Offering to be voted in favor of a transaction, in order to have such initial Business Combination approved. We expect that our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our outstanding shares of common stock at the time of any such stockholder vote. Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial Business Combination, it is more likely that the necessary stockholder approval will be received than would be the case if our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees agreed to vote their Founder Shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our Public Stockholders.
Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential Business Combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of such Business Combination.
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. Accordingly, if we do not seek stockholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential Business Combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our Public Stockholders in which we describe our initial Business Combination.
The ability of our Public Stockholders to redeem their Public Shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential Business Combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into 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. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with a Business Combination and such amount of deferred underwriting discount is not available for us to use as consideration in an initial Business Combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our Public Shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, 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 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related Business Combination and may instead search for an alternate Business Combination (including, potentially, with the same target). Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a Business Combination transaction with us. If we are able to consummate an initial Business Combination, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming stockholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions.
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, we will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial Business Combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to pay the purchase price or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to meet such requirements or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the Trust Account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable Business Combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
The ability of our Public Stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial Business Combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your stock.
If our initial Business Combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to pay the purchase price or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial Business Combination would be unsuccessful increases. If our initial Business Combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the Trust Account until we liquidate the Trust Account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your stock in the open market; however, at such time our stock 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 stock in the open market.
The requirement that we complete our initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a Business Combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential Business Combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial Business Combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a Business Combination will be aware that we must complete our initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public 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 end of the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial Business Combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
We may not be able to complete our initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame, 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 receive only $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 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial Business Combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial Business Combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. For example, the outbreak of COVID-19 continues to grow both in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the outbreak on us 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 outbreak of COVID-19 may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. It may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this ‘‘Risk Factors’’ section, such as those related to the market for our securities and cross-border transactions.
If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within such time period or during any extended period of time that the Company has to consummate a Business Combination (an “Extension Period”), we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and 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 (3) 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 each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our Public Stockholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than $10.00 per share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. Please 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 herein.
Our search for a Business Combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a Business Combination, may be materially adversely affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and other events and the status of debt and equity markets.
In March 2020 the World Health Organization characterized the COVID-19 outbreak as a “pandemic.” The COVID-19 outbreak has, and a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the operations and financial position of any potential target business with which we consummate a Business Combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a Business Combination if ongoing concerns relating to COVID-19 continue to restrict travel; limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel; or prevent vendors and services from being able to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a Business Combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a Business Combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a Business Combination, may be materially adversely affected.
In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity in third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial Business Combination, our Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may enter into certain transactions, including purchasing shares or warrants from the public, which may influence the outcome of our proposed Business Combination and reduce the public “float” 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 Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may purchase Public Shares or public warrants or a combination thereof in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial Business Combination, although they are under no obligation or other duty to do so. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such public 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 any of their respective affiliates purchase Public Shares in privately negotiated transactions from Public Stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling Public Stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their Public Shares. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public stockholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial Business Combination. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial Business Combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our Sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire Public Shares, vote their Public Shares in favor of our initial Business Combination or not redeem their Public Shares. However, such persons have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. The purpose of any such transaction could be to (1) vote such shares in favor of the initial Business Combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial Business Combination, (2) 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 or (3) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial Business Combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such transactions 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 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 tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial Business Combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the tender offer documents or proxy 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 tender or redeem 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 or proxy materials documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial 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 procedures, its shares may not be redeemed.
You are not entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Because we had net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the successful completion of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants and filed a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet of our company 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 are not afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial Business Combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if the Initial Public Offering was subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the Trust Account to us unless and until the funds in the Trust Account were released to us in connection with our completion of our initial Business Combination.
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 redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the Initial Public Offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not restrict 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 stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for Business Combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination, our Public Stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on our redemption of their stock, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, including, without limitation, Macquarie and other Macquarie Accounts, 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. Additionally, the number of blank check companies looking for Business Combination targets has increased compared to recent years and many of these blank check companies are Sponsored by entities or persons that have significant experience with completing Business Combinations. While we believe there will be numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of the Initial Public 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. Our Sponsor or any of its affiliates (including Macquarie) may make additional investments in us, although our Sponsor and its affiliates have no obligation or other duty to do so. Please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance – Conflicts of Interest” for a discussion on certain limitations related to other resources Macquarie may, but is under no obligation or other duty to, provide us. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. 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 target businesses. Any of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating and completing an initial Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination, our Public Stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless. Please 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 herein.
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies increases, there may be more competition to find an attractive target for an initial Business Combination. This could increase the costs associated with completing our initial Business Combination and may result in our inability to find a suitable target for our initial Business Combination.
In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many companies have entered into Business Combinations with special purpose acquisition companies, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial Business Combination, as well as many additional special purpose acquisition companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, effort and resources to identify a suitable target for an initial Business Combination.
In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial Business Combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause target companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close Business Combinations or operate targets post-Business Combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find a suitable target for and/or complete our initial Business Combination.
If the funds not being held in the Trust Account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we may be unable to complete our initial Business Combination.
The funds available to us outside of the Trust Account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of the Initial Public Offering, assuming that our initial Business Combination is not completed during that time. We expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through the Initial Public Offering and potential loans from certain of our affiliates are discussed in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” However, our affiliates are not obligated to make loans to us in the future, and we may not be able to raise additional financing from unaffiliated parties necessary to fund our expenses. Any such event in the future may negatively impact the analysis regarding our ability to continue as a going concern at such time.
Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay commitment fees for financing, fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business or as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed Business Combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we enter into an agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a prospective target business. If we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination, our Public Stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless. Please 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 herein.
Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial Business Combination.
In recent months, the market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. There can be no assurance that these trends will not continue.
The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial Business Combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-Business Combination entity might need to incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. However, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-Business Combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
In addition, even after we were to complete an initial Business Combination, our directors and officers could still be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to the initial Business Combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-Business Combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-Business Combination entity, and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial Business Combination on terms favorable to our investors.
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 an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the Trust Account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the Trust Account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. 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 we are 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 our initial Business Combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial Business Combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by Public Stockholders could be less than the $10.00 per share initially held in the Trust Account, due to claims of such creditors.
Our Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have 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) 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 the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as 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 the Initial Public 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. 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. Our Sponsor may not have sufficient funds available to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our Sponsor to reserve for such obligations, and therefore, no funds are currently set aside to cover any such 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.
Our independent directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our Sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our Public Stockholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the Trust Account are reduced below the lesser of: (1) $10.00 per public share; or (2) 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 the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our Sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in certain instances. For example, the cost of such legal action may be deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or the independent directors may determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our Public 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 (and any other persons who may become an officer or director prior to the initial Business Combination will also be required to waive) any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the Trust Account and not to seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the Trust Account or (ii) we consummate an initial Business Combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage 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.
The securities in which we invest the funds held in the Trust Account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by Public Stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
The proceeds held in the Trust Account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries. While short-term U.S. government 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 that we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination or make certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, our Public Stockholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the Trust Account, plus any interest income earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to fund our working capital requirements, and/or to pay our taxes (less, in the case we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination, $100,000 of interest). Negative interest rates could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by Public Stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the Trust Account to our Public Stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy 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 petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our 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 by paying Public Stockholders from the Trust Account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the Trust Account to our Public Stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy 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 petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the Trust Account, the per share amount that would otherwise be received by our Public Stockholders in connection with our liquidation would be reduced.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial Business Combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
| ● | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
| ● | restrictions on the issuance of securities; |
each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial Business Combination.
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
| ● | registration as an investment company with the SEC; |
| ● | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| ● | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and compliance with other rules and regulations that we are currently not subject to. |
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. The proceeds held in the Trust Account may be invested by the trustee only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Because the investment of the proceeds will be restricted to these instruments, we believe we will meet the requirements for the exemption provided in Rule 3a-1 promulgated under the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a Business Combination. If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within the required time period, our Public Stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial Business Combination, and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. in particular, we 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.
If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within the allotted time period, our Public Stockholders may be forced to wait beyond such allotted time period before redemption from our Trust Account.
If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or during any Extension Period, we will distribute 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 fund our working capital requirements, and/or to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), pro rata to our Public Stockholders by way of redemption and cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up of our affairs, as further described herein. Any redemption of Public Stockholders from the Trust Account shall be affected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to windup, 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 Companies Act. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond the allotted time period before the redemption proceeds of our Trust Account become available to them and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our Trust Account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless, prior thereto, we consummate our initial Business Combination or amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and then only in cases where investors have properly sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will Public Stockholders be entitled to distributions if we have not completed our initial Business Combination within the required time period and do not amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior thereto.
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 Delaware General Corporation Law, or 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 the required time period 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 24th month from the closing of the Initial Public Offering (or the end of any Extension Period) 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 do not intend to comply 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, consultants, 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 the required time period is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, 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.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate our initial Business Combination and you will not be entitled to any of the corporate protections provided by such a meeting.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate our initial Business Combination (unless required by Nasdaq) and thus may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting of stockholders be held for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with a company’s bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to our 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. Until we hold an annual meeting of stockholders, Public Stockholders may not be afforded the opportunity to discuss company affairs with management. In addition, prior to our Business Combination (a) as holders of our Class A common stock, our Public Stockholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment of our directors and (b) holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock (the “Founder Shares”) may remove a member of our board of directors for any reason.
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees may make it more difficult to complete our initial Business Combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock.
At or after the time of our initial Business Combination, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of their Founder Shares after those shares convert to shares of our Class A common stock. In addition, our Sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the Private Placement Warrants and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants, and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register the resale of such warrants or the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial Business Combination more costly or difficult to complete. 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 common stock owned by our initial stockholders or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants or warrants issued in connection with working capital loans are registered for resale.
Certain agreements related to the Initial Public Offering may be amended without stockholder approval.
Certain agreements, including the letter agreement among us and our Sponsor, officers and directors, and the registration rights agreement among us and our initial stockholders, may be amended without stockholder approval. These agreements contain various provisions, including transfer restrictions on our Founder Shares, that our Public Stockholders might deem to be material. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial Business Combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to any such agreement in connection with the consummation of our initial Business Combination. Any such amendments would not require approval from our stockholders, may result in the completion of our initial Business Combination that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
Because we are neither limited to evaluating target businesses in a particular industry, sector or geographic area 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 seek to complete a Business Combination with an operating company in any industry, sector or geographic area. However, we will not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, be permitted to effectuate our initial Business Combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a Business Combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial Business Combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our securities will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a Business Combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain a stockholder or warrant holder following our initial Business Combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
We may seek acquisition opportunities in acquisition targets that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
We will consider a Business Combination outside of our management’s areas of expertise if such Business Combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. 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 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 relevant to such acquisition. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain a stockholder or warrant holder following our initial Business Combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial Business Combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial Business Combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial Business Combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial Business Combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these criteria and guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective Business Combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of 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 applicable law or stock exchange rules, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other 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 are unable to complete our initial Business Combination, our Public Stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel.
To the extent we complete our initial Business Combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm regarding fairness. Consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial Business Combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our 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 tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial Business Combination.
We may engage the underwriters of our Initial Public Offering or one of their affiliates to provide additional services to us, which may include acting as financial advisor in connection with an initial Business Combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. The underwriters are entitled to receive deferred commissions that will be released from the Trust Account only on a completion of an initial Business Combination. These financial incentives may cause the underwriters to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial Business Combination.
We may engage the underwriters of our Initial Public Offering or one of their affiliates to provide additional services to us, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing financial advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing. We may pay the underwriters or one of their affiliates fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with the underwriters or their affiliates and no fees or other compensation for such services will be paid to the underwriters or their affiliates prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of our final prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriter’s compensation in connection with the Initial Public Offering. The underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial Business Combination. The fact that the underwriters’ or their affiliates’ financial interests are tied to the consummation of a Business Combination transaction may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial Business Combination.
We may issue additional shares of 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 Class A common stock upon the 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 described herein. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 500,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share and 50,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share and 5,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. As of March 31, 2021, there were 461,500,000 and 37,925,000 authorized but unissued shares of Class A and Class B common stock available, respectively, for issuance, which amount takes into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants but not upon the conversion of the Class B common stock. Shares of Class B common stock are automatically convertible into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial Business Combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein. As of March 31, 2021, there were no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock, and may issue shares of preferred stock, in order to complete our initial Business Combination (including pursuant to a specified future issuance) or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial Business Combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock to redeem the warrants 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 described herein. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that prior to our initial Business Combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the Trust Account or (2) vote pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation on any initial Business Combination or any amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:
| ● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the Initial Public Offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B common stock resulted in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock; |
| ● | may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock; |
| ● | could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our 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; |
| ● | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; |
| ● | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Units, Class A common stock and/or warrants; and |
| ● | may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants. |
Our initial Business Combination or reincorporation in another jurisdiction may result in taxes imposed on stockholders or warrant holders.
We may affect a Business Combination with a target company in another jurisdiction, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located, or reincorporate in another jurisdiction. Such transactions may result in tax liability for a shareholder or warrant holder in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrant holder is a tax resident (or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity), in which the target company is located, or in which we reincorporate. In the event of a reincorporation pursuant to our initial Business Combination, such tax liability may attach prior to the consummation of redemptions of any of our Public Shares properly submitted to us for redemption in connection with such Business Combination. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to pay such taxes. Stockholders or warrant holders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after a Business Combination or reincorporation.
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 are unable to complete our initial Business Combination, our Public Stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial Business Combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial Business Combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination, our Public Stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our warrants will expire worthless. Please 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 herein.
We may engage in a Business Combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with Macquarie, our Sponsor, officers or directors which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our Sponsor, officers and directors with other businesses, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with or competitive with Macquarie, our Sponsor, officers and directors, Macquarie Accounts and their respective affiliates. Our directors also serve as officers and/or board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for Business Combination opportunities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a Business Combination and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm, 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 Macquarie, our Sponsor, officers or directors, 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.
Moreover, we may, at our option, pursue an affiliated joint acquisition opportunity with Macquarie, other Macquarie Accounts or their respective affiliates or with other entities to which an officer or director has a fiduciary, contractual or other obligation or duty. Any such parties may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial Business Combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such parties, which may give rise to certain conflicts of interest.
Since our initial stockholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial Business Combination is not completed (other than with respect to any Public Shares they may hold), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular Business Combination target is appropriate for our initial Business Combination.
Our initial shareholders hold 11,068,750 Founder Shares as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including 9,961,875 held by our Sponsor and 1,106,875 held by Dan Hesse. The Founder Shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial Business Combination.
In addition, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 7,366,667 Private Placement Warrants for a purchase price of $11,050,000.50, or $1.50 per warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete our initial Business Combination. Each Private Placement 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 provided.
The Sponsor reserved up to 5% of the Founder Shares for transfer to employees of the Sponsor or the Company (other than employees of Macquarie Capital) and advisory board members of the Company who are helpful in connection with the initial Business Combination. Such transfers could take the form of profits interests in the Sponsor or outright transfers of Founder Shares. All transferred Founder Shares would continue to bear the restrictions on transferability and access to the Trust Account that such shares currently bear.
The Founder Shares are identical to the shares of common stock included in the Units, except that: (1) prior to our initial Business Combination, only holders of the Class B common stock have the right to vote on the election of directors and holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock may remove members of our board of directors for any reason; (2) our Sponsor and each of our officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive: (a) their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares and any Public Shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial Business Combination, (b) their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares and Public Shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (I) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we have not consummated our initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or (II) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity; and (c) their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Founder Shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Public Shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame); (3) the Founder Shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions; (4) the Founder Shares are automatically convertible into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial Business Combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described herein; and (5) the holders of Founder Shares are entitled to registration rights.
The personal and financial interests of our Sponsor, officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target Business Combination, completing an initial Business Combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial Business Combination. This risk may become more acute as the deadline for completing our initial Business Combination nears.
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.
We may choose to incur substantial debt (including from Macquarie, other Macquarie Accounts or their respective affiliates) to complete our initial Business Combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the Trust Account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per share amount available for redemption from the Trust Account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
| ● | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial Business Combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| ● | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| ● | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand; |
| ● | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
| ● | our inability to pay dividends on our 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 common stock if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
| ● | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| ● | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
| ● | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We may only be able to complete one Business Combination with the proceeds of the Initial Public 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 materially negatively impact our operations and profitability.
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 risks. 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.
We may attempt to complete our initial Business Combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a Business Combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial Business Combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial Business Combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a Business Combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
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 does 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 following such redemptions, 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 initial Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our Sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their respective affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed Business Combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the Business Combination or redeem any shares, all shares of common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate Business Combination (including, potentially, with the same target).
In order to effectuate an initial Business Combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or governing instruments, including our warrant agreement, in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial Business Combination that some of our stockholders or warrant holders may not support.
In order to effectuate an initial Business Combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of Business Combination, increased redemption thresholds, extended the time to consummate an initial Business Combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial Business Combination in order to effectuate our initial Business Combination. To the extent any such amendment would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities that were offered through the Initial Public Offering, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities.
Certain 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 outstanding 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 and the trust agreement 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 holders of a certain percentage of the company’s stockholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by holders holding between 90% and 100% of the company’s Public Shares. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that any of its provisions (other than amendments relating to the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial Business Combination, which require the approval by holders of a majority of at least 90% of the outstanding shares of our common stock voting at a stockholder meeting) related to pre-Business Combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement 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 at least 65% of our outstanding common stock, 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 outstanding common stock. Unless specified in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our stockholders, and, prior to our initial Business Combination, the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock is required to approve the election or removal of directors. We may not issue additional securities that can vote pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation on any initial Business Combination or any amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our initial stockholders, who beneficially own 20% of our common stock, may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and 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 will govern our pre-Business Combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete our initial Business Combination with which you do not agree.
Our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we do not complete our initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, unless we provide our Public Stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of 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, divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our Sponsor, officers and directors. Our Public 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, officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our Public Stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law. 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 the net proceeds of the Initial Public 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 (including pursuant to a specified future issuance or otherwise from Macquarie, other Macquarie Accounts or their respective affiliates) or to abandon the proposed Business Combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. None of Macquarie, the Macquarie Accounts or their respective affiliates is obligated to provide, or seek, any such financing or, except as expressly set forth herein, to provide any other services to us. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial Business Combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular Business Combination and seek an alternative target business candidate.
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 are unable to complete our initial Business Combination, our Public Stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our initial stockholders will control the election of our board of directors until consummation of our initial Business Combination and will hold a substantial interest in us. As a result, they will elect all of our directors prior to our initial Business Combination and may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial stockholders own 20% of our outstanding common stock. In addition, prior to our initial Business Combination, holders of our Class B common stock will have the right to appoint all of our directors and may remove members of our board of directors for any reason. Holders of our Public Shares will have no right to vote on the election of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended by holders of a majority of at least 90% of the outstanding shares of our common stock voting at a stockholder meeting. As a result, you will not have any influence over the election of directors prior to our initial Business Combination.
In addition, as a result of their substantial ownership in our company, our initial stockholders may exert a substantial influence on other actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence over these actions. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will exert significant influence over actions requiring a stockholder vote.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial Business Combination.
Unlike some blank check companies, if (x) we issue additional shares of 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 (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 any of its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by our Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance, and (ii) to the extent that such issuance is made to our Sponsor or any of its 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 consummation of our initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price applicable to our warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger applicable to our warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial Business Combination with a target business.
Our warrants and Founder Shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial Business Combination.
We have issued warrants to purchase 12,833,333 shares of our Class A common stock, at a price of $11.50 per whole share (subject to adjustment as provided herein), as part of the Units and, simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we issued an aggregate of 7,366,667 Private Placement Warrants, each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. Our initial stockholders currently hold 11,068,750 Founder Shares. The Founder Shares are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our Sponsor, an affiliate of our Sponsor or certain of our officers and directors make any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans made to us more than 60 days after the date of our final prospectus may be converted into warrants, at the price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants.
To the extent we issue shares of Class A common stock to effectuate our initial Business Combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants or conversion rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of outstanding shares of our Class A common stock and reduce the value of the Class A common stock issued to complete the Business Combination. Therefore, our warrants and Founder Shares may make it more difficult to effectuate a Business Combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the Units in the Initial Public Offering except that, so long as they are held by our Sponsor or its permitted transferees: (1) they will not be redeemable by us, except under certain limited exceptions; (2) they (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may 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; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) the holders thereof (including with respect to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights.
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, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial Business Combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an 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 March 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. 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.
If our management team pursues a 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 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 our management team pursues 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 market, 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 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 affected; |
| ● | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| ● | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| ● | changes in local regulations as part of a response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak; |
| ● | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
| ● | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| ● | cultural and language differences; |
| ● | crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars; |
| ● | deterioration of political relations with the United States; |
| ● | obligatory military service by personnel; 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 combination or, if we complete such combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Relating to the Post-Business Combination Company
Subsequent to our completion of our initial Business Combination, we may be required to subsequently take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain a stockholder or warrant holder following our initial Business Combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial Business Combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial Business Combination so that the post-Business Combination company in which our Public Stockholders own or acquire shares will own less than 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such Business Combination if the post-Business Combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-Business Combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding 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 our initial Business Combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target, or issue a substantial number of new shares to third-parties in connection with financing our initial Business Combination. In such cases, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of 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 stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business.
We 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’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target’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 or warrant holders who choose to remain a stockholder or warrant holder following our initial Business Combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial Business Combination. The departure of a Business Combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an 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. As a result, we may need to reconstitute the management team of the post-Business Combination company in connection with our initial Business Combination, which may adversely impact our ability to complete an acquisition in a timely manner or at all.
If our management following our initial Business Combination is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial Business Combination, any or all of our management could resign from their positions as officers of the post-Business Combination company, and the management of the target business at the time of the Business Combination could remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with U.S. securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
Risks Relating to Our Management Team and Sponsor
We are dependent upon our officers and directors and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals. 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. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial Business Combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial Business Combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial Business Combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial Business Combination, we do not currently expect that any of them will do so. 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.
In addition, the officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial Business Combination. The departure of a Business Combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an 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. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
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 cause our key personnel to have conflicts of interest in determining whether to proceed with a particular Business Combination. However, we do not expect that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial Business Combination.
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. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial Business Combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential Business Combination, as we do not expect that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial Business Combination. 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.
Our officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial Business Combination.
Our officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a Business Combination and their other responsibilities. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our Business Combination. Each of our officers and directors is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he or she may be entitled to substantial compensation and our officers and directors are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. In particular, John Spirtos, Greg Callman, Stephan Feilhauer, Gautham Srinivas, Lawrence Handen, and David Roseman are currently associated with Macquarie (although there is no assurance that any of them will remain associated with Macquarie), which Sponsors, manages and advises Macquarie Accounts that make, or may in the future make, investments in securities or other interests of or relating to companies in industries we may target for our initial Business Combination. Our independent directors also serve as officers and/or board members for other entities. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial Business Combination. Please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance” for a discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs.
Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity or other transaction should be presented.
Until we consummate our initial Business Combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our Sponsor and officers and directors are, or may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business. We do not have employment contracts with our officers and directors that will limit their ability to work at other businesses.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties to one or more other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a Business Combination opportunity to such entities. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a Business Combination opportunity which is suitable for one or more entities to which he or she has fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties or otherwise have an interest in, he or she will honor these obligations and duties to present such Business Combination opportunity to such entities first, and only present it to us if such entities reject the opportunity and he or she determines to present the opportunity to us. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated 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.
Please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Conflicts of Interest” and “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” for a discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and potential conflicts of interest.
Our officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a Business Combination with a target business that is affiliated with Macquarie, our Sponsor, our directors or officers or a Macquarie Account, or we may pursue an affiliated joint acquisition opportunity with any such persons. We do not have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
In particular, affiliates of our Sponsor (including Macquarie and other Macquarie Accounts) have invested, and may in the future invest, in a broad array of sectors, including those in which our company may invest. As a result, there may be substantial overlap between companies that would be a suitable Business Combination for us and companies that would make an attractive target for such other affiliates.
Macquarie’s engagement with other entities may limit its ability to participate in certain transactions on our behalf or preclude us from taking certain actions.
We may, but are not required to, engage Macquarie for services as a financial advisor in connection with identifying and investigating potential targets for our Business Combination, or for other services in connection with our initial Business Combination, such as placement agent, or financing or capital markets advisor. Macquarie is often engaged as a financial advisor, or to provide financing, to corporations and other entities and their directors and managers in connection with the sale of those entities, their assets or their subsidiaries, and Macquarie’s compensation in connection with these engagements may be substantial. Sellers generally require Macquarie to act exclusively on their behalf and Macquarie may be precluded in many instances from participating in our initial Business Combination with such a target business. Additionally, for these reasons and/or for other reasons, we may be precluded in many instances from attempting to acquire securities of the business being sold or otherwise participate as a buyer in the transaction. Macquarie also represents potential buyer’s businesses. Macquarie may be incentivized to direct an opportunity to one of these buyers or to form a consortium with such buyers to bid for the opportunity, thereby eliminating or reducing the investment opportunity available to us.
We may be subject to certain regulatory or contractual requirements because of our Sponsor that may restrict our activities.
Macquarie is subject to certain regulatory and contractual requirements, including certain banking regulation, that may apply to its investments, including Tech and Energy Transition Corporation. In the event that such restrictions were to apply to us, we may be unable to engage in certain activities or be required to implement additional measures, such as supplemental risk controls. Accordingly, we may be limited in our ability to engage in certain initial Business Combinations or such initial Business Combinations may take longer than normal or we may be required to spend additional working capital to implement additional measures.
Risks Relating to Our Securities
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the Trust Account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your Public Shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our Public Stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the Trust Account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) the completion of our initial Business Combination, and then only in connection with those shares of Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any Public Shares properly submitted 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 redemptions in connection with our initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we do not complete our initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity; and (3) the redemption of all of our Public Shares if we have not completed our initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In addition, if we have not completed an initial Business Combination within the required time period 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 the end of such period 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 or to the Trust Account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the Trust Account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your Public Shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on Nasdaq prior to our initial Business Combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial Business Combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. In general, we must maintain a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 Public Stockholders). Generally, following our initial public offering, we must maintain a minimum amount in stockholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial Business Combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with the applicable exchange’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If any of our securities are delisted from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list such securities on another national securities exchange, we expect such 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 is 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 pre-empts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Our Units, Class A common stock and warrants currently qualify as covered securities under such statute. Although the states are pre-empted from regulating the sale of covered securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under such statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
You will not be permitted to exercise your warrants unless we register and qualify the issuance of the underlying Class A Common Stock or certain exemptions are available.
Pursuant to the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial Business Combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file a registration statement covering the issuance of such shares, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following our initial Business Combination to have declared effective and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our 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 applicable state securities laws and no exemption is available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant shall not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of Units will have paid the full Unit purchase price solely for the shares of 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 public warrants that were included as part of Units sold in the Initial Public Offering. In such an instance, our Sponsor and its permitted transferees (which may include our directors and officers) would be able to exercise their warrants and sell the shares of Class A 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 Class A common stock. The warrants may not be exercised for cash unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, except if the warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act, including our (i) 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) as a result of a notice of redemption. The Private Placement Warrants will not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our Sponsor or its permitted transferees, except under certain circumstances. 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 as part of the Initial Public Offering. Our Sponsor, as well as its permitted transferees, have the option to exercise the Private Placement Warrants on a cashless basis.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the warrants could be converted into cash or stock (at a ratio different than initially provided), 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 provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or stock (at a ratio different than initially provided), shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant if, among other things, the last reported sales price of our Class A common stock for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date 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 dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities). If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the public warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to: (1) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so; (2) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants; or (3) 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.
In addition, we have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants once 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 adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant) and if the Reference Value is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant), the Private Placement Warrants are also concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants, as described above. In such a case, the holders will be able to exercise their warrants for cash or on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares of Class A common stock, as adjusted. Any such redemption may have similar consequences to a cash redemption described above. 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.
None of the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our Sponsor or its permitted transferees although we can only elect to redeem warrants at a price of $0.10 per warrant as described in the paragraph immediately above if our Private Placement Warrants are also exchanged for the same per share consideration although we can only elect to redeem warrants at a price of $0.10 per warrant as described in the paragraph immediately above if our Private Placement Warrants are also exchanged for the same per share consideration. The holders of the private placement shares (including with respect to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights and the Private Placement Warrants may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis.
Because each unit contains one-third of one redeemable warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the Units may be worth less than Units of other blank check companies.
Each Unit contains one-third of one redeemable warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units, and only whole Units will trade. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose Units include one share of Class A common stock and one whole warrant or a greater fraction of one whole warrant to purchase one whole share or one half warrant to purchase on half 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 a third of the number of shares compared to Units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive Business Combination partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this Unit structure may cause our Units to be worth less than if they included one whole warrant or a greater fraction of one whole warrant to purchase one whole share.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company or our company’s directors, officers or other employees.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for any (1) derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of our company, (2) action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, employee or agent of our company to our company or our stockholders, or any claim for aiding and abetting any such alleged breach, (3) action asserting a claim against our company or any director or officer of our company arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our bylaws, or (4) action asserting a claim against us or any director or officer of our company governed by the internal affairs doctrine except for, as to each of (1) through (4) above, any claim (a) as to which the Court of Chancery 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) or (b) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this paragraph do not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or otherwise arising under federal securities laws, for which the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. If any action the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions is filed in a court other than a court located within the State of Delaware (a “foreign action”) in the name of any stockholder, such stockholder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located within the State of Delaware in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such stockholder in any such enforcement action by service upon such stockholder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such stockholder.
This forum selection clause may discourage claims or limit stockholders’ ability to submit claims in a judicial forum that they find favorable and may result in additional costs for a stockholder seeking to bring a claim. While we believe the risk of a court declining to enforce this forum selection clause is low, if a court were to determine the forum selection clause to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs in conjunction with our efforts to resolve the dispute in an alternative jurisdiction, which could have a negative impact on our results of operations and financial condition and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
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 our Class A common stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include two-year director terms and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares, 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 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.
General Risk Factors
We are a blank check company with no operating history and no operating revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We have no operating results. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial Business Combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a Business Combination and may be unable to complete our initial Business Combination. If we fail to complete our initial Business Combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Past performance by Macquarie and members of our management team may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, Macquarie and members of our management team is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience and performance, including related to acquisitions, of Macquarie or members of our management team is not a guarantee either: (1) that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial Business Combination; or (2) of any results with respect to any initial Business Combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record and performance of Macquarie or members of our management team, 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 Macquarie.
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 common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of any second quarter of a fiscal year, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the end of such fiscal year. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such 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 equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equals or 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.
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.
Risks Relating to Correction of an Error in Our Previously Furnished Financial Statements
Our warrants are accounted for as liabilities and changes in the value of our warrants could have a material effect on our financial results.
On April 12, 2021, the staff of the SEC issued a new Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”) (the “SEC Staff Statement”). The SEC Staff Statement addresses certain accounting and reporting considerations related to warrants. In the SEC Staff Statement, the SEC Staff expressed its view that certain terms and conditions common to SPAC warrants may require the warrants to be classified as liabilities instead of equity on the SPAC’s balance sheet. As a result of the SEC Staff Statement, we reevaluated the accounting treatment of our 12,833,333 public and 7,366,667 private placement warrants, and determined to classify the warrants as derivative liabilities measured at fair value, with changes in fair value reported in our statement of operations for each reporting period.
As a result, included on our balance sheet as of March 31, 2021 contained elsewhere in this Annual Report are derivative liabilities related to embedded features contained within our warrants. ASC 815-40 provides for the remeasurement of the fair value of such derivatives at each balance sheet date, with a resulting non-cash gain or loss related to the change in the fair value being recognized in earnings in the statement of operations. As a result of the recurring fair value measurement, our financial statements and results of operations may fluctuate quarterly based on factors which are outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we expect that we will recognize non-cash gains or losses on our warrants each reporting period and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material.
We identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, due solely to our reconsideration of the accounting treatment for our warrants in connection with the SEC Staff Statement.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our management also evaluates the effectiveness of our internal controls and we will disclose any changes and material weaknesses identified through such evaluation in those internal controls. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
As described in footnote 9A in this Annual Report, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the classification of our warrants as equity instead of liabilities. On June 2, 2021, our audit committee authorized management to correct an error in this filing of our balance sheet dated March 19, 2021, filed on Form 8-K on March 25, 2021, and, accordingly, management concluded that the control deficiency that resulted in the incorrect classification of our warrants constituted a material weakness as of March 31, 2021.
We have implemented a remediation plan, described under Item 9A, Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures, to remediate the material weakness surrounding our historical presentation of our warrants but can give no assurance that the measures we have taken will prevent any future material weaknesses or deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting. Even though we have strengthened our controls and procedures, in the future those controls and procedures may not be adequate to prevent or identify irregularities or errors or to facilitate the fair presentation of our financial statements.
Item 1.B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
None.
Item 2. Properties.
We currently maintain our executive offices at 125 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
We are not currently subject to any material legal proceedings, nor, to our knowledge, is any material legal proceeding threatened against us or any of our officers or directors in their corporate capacity.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
None.
PART II.
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
(a) Market Information
(b) Our Units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are each traded on NASDAQ under symbols “TETCU” and “TETCWS” respectively. Our units commenced public trading on March 17, 2021. Our Class A ordinary shares and warrants began separate trading on May 7, 2021.
As of June 14, 2021, there were approximately two holders of record of our Units, approximately four holders of record of our separately traded Class A common stock, and approximately two holders of record of our redeemable warrants.
(c) 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 our initial Business Combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial Business Combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial Business Combination will be within the discretion of our Board at such time. In addition, our Board is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial Business Combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
(d) Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
(e) Performance Graph
The performance graph has been omitted as permitted under rules applicable to smaller reporting companies.
(f) Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
Unregistered Sales
On December 4, 2017, the Company issued 100 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, for an aggregate consideration of $25,000. As of December 31, 2020, March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2019, the Company recorded a stock subscription receivable of $25,000. The proceeds were received on January 11, 2021.
On January 22, 2021, the Company (i) effectuated a recapitalization, and as a result, the Sponsor held 9,056,250 shares of our Class B common stock, (ii) issued to Dan Hesse 1,006,250 shares of our Class B common stock in exchange for an initial investment of $2,467 and (iii) filed an amended and restated certificate of incorporation to change its par value of its Class A and B common stock from $0.01 to $0.0001. As of January 22, 2021, there were 10,062,500 Founder Shares outstanding.
On March 16, 2021, the Company effectuated an 11-for-10 stock split of the Class B common stock, resulting in an aggregate outstanding amount of 11,068,750 shares of the Class B common stock, of which the Sponsor holds 9,961,875 shares and Dan Hesse holds 1,106,875 shares. Of these Founder Shares, 1,443,750 shares were subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor and Mr. Hesse depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised. On April 30, 2021, upon the expiration of the 45-day period and underwriters not exercising the over-allotment option, 1,443,750 shares of Class B common stock were forfeited by the Sponsor and Mr. Hesse, in the aggregate.
The Founder Shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, at the time of the Company’s initial Business Combination and are subject to certain transfer restrictions.
Holders of Founder Shares may also elect to convert their shares of Class B common stock into an equal number of shares of Class A common stock, subject to adjustment, at any time. The initial stockholders have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination or (B) subsequent to the initial 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 the initial 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.
Our Sponsor purchased 7,366,667 Private Placement Warrants, each exercisable to purchase one ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.50 per warrant ($11.1 million in the aggregate), in a private placement that closed substantially concurrently with the closing of the Initial Public Offering.
This issuance was 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.
Use of Proceeds
On March 19, 2021, the Company consummated its Initial Public Offering of 38,500,000 Units, including 5,775,000 Over-Allotment Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $385.0 million. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and BofA Securities acted as joint book-running managers for the Initial Public Offering. The securities sold in the Initial Public Offering were registered under the Securities Act on a registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-253444). The SEC declared the registration statements effective on March 16, 2021.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 7,366,667 Private Placement Warrants at a purchase price of $1.50 per Private Unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $11,050,000.50. The Private Placement Warrants (and the underlying securities) are identical to the Units sold as part of the Units in the Initial Public Offering.
In connection with the Initial Public Offering, we incurred offering costs of approximately $22.2 million, including approximately $7,700,000 of underwriting commission, $13,475,000 of deferred underwriting commission, and $1,066,089 of other offering costs. Other incurred offering costs consisted principally of preparation fees related to the Initial Public Offering. After deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions (excluding the deferred portion, which amount will be payable upon consummation of the initial Business Combination, if consummated) and the Initial Public Offering expenses, $385,000,000 of the net proceeds from our Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds from the Private Placement (or $10.00 per Unit sold in the Initial Public Offering) was placed in the Trust Account. The net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants are held in the Trust Account and invested as described elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
There has been no material change in the planned use of the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement as is described in the Company’s final prospectus related to the Initial Public Offering. For a description of the use of the proceeds generated from the Initial Public Offering, see “Item 1. Business.”
Item 6. Selected Financial Data.
Selected financial data has been omitted as permitted under rules applicable to smaller reporting companies.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
References to the “Company,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to Tech and Energy Transition Corporation. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factor Summary,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated in Delaware on December 4, 2017 for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). While we may pursue an initial Business Combination target in any industry or geographic location, we intend to focus our search for a target business operating in end markets – communications, internetworking, clean energy, digital technology and services and software applications that enable or support digital transformation. Our sponsor is Tech and Energy Transition Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”), a Delaware limited liability company.
Our registration statement for our initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”) was declared effective on March 16, 2021. On March 19, 2021, we consummated our Initial Public Offering of 38,500,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A common stock included in the Units offered, the “Public Shares”) at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $385 million and incurring offering costs of approximately $22.2 million, consisting of $7,700,000 of underwriting commission, $13,475,000 of deferred underwriting commission, and $1,066,089 of other offering costs.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the private placement (the “Private Placement”) of 7,366,667 warrants (each, a “Private Placement Warrant” and collectively, the “Private Placement Warrants”), at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant to our Sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $11.05 million.
Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement, an aggregate of $385 million ($10.00 per Unit) of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds of the Private Placement was placed in a trust account (“Trust Account”) with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee and invested in United States government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay franchise and income tax obligations (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will not be released from the trust account until the earlier of (i) the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination or (ii) the redemption of 100% of the Company’s public shares if the Company is unable to complete the Company’s initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering (the “Combination Period”). 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.
If we are unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, as such period may be extended, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten (10) 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 franchise and income taxes (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, 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.
Results of Operations
Our entire activity from inception through March 31, 2021 related to our formation and the preparation for the Initial Public Offering, and, since the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the search for a prospective initial Business Combination. We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any operating revenues to date. We will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial Business Combination, at the earliest. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest and investment income on cash and cash equivalents and investments. 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. Additionally, we recognize non-cash gains and losses within other income (expense) related to changes in recurring fair value measurement of our warrant liabilities at each reporting period
For the year ended March 31, 2021, we had a net income of $2,674,800, income comprised of a $3,709,666 income from changes in fair value of warrant liabilities, approximately $812,094 of financing costs and $223,404 of general and administrative expenses partially offset by approximately $632 of income on the investments held in the Trust Account.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of March 31, 2021, we had approximately $3.2 million in our operating bank accounts and working capital of approximately $2.3 million.
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to the completion of the Initial Public Offering through a payment from the Sponsor of $27,467 (see Note 6) for the Founder Shares, borrowings under the Promissory Note totaled $275,000 (see Note 5), and the net proceeds from the consummation of the Private Placement not held in the Trust Account. The Promissory Note was fully repaid by March 31, 2021, has expired and no further borrowing are allowed. Subsequent to the consummation of the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement, our liquidity needs have been satisfied from the proceeds from the consummation of the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement not held in the Trust Account. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor, or our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, provide us working capital loans (“Working Capital Loans”). As of March 31, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under any Working Capital Loan.
Based on the foregoing, management believes that we will have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity to meet our needs through the earlier of the consummation of a Business Combination or one year from this filing. Over this time period, we will be using these funds for paying existing accounts payable, identifying and evaluating prospective initial Business Combination candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to merge with or acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination.
Critical Accounting Policies
This management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of our financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our financial statements. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments, including those related to fair value of financial instruments and accrued expenses. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. The Company has identified the following as its critical accounting policies:
Derivative Warrant Liabilities
We do not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market or foreign currency risks. We evaluate all of our financial instruments, including issued stock purchase warrants, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC 480 and ASC 815-15. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is re-assessed at the end of each reporting period.
We issued an aggregate of 12,833,333 warrants as part of the Units offered in the Initial Public Offering and an aggregate of 7,366,667 Private Placement Warrants concurrently with the closing of the Initial Public Offering. All 20,200,000 outstanding warrants are recognized as derivative liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40. Accordingly, we recognize the warrant instruments as liabilities at fair value and adjust the instruments to fair value at each reporting period. The liabilities are subject to remeasurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. The fair value of warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement were measured at fair value using a binomial lattice model.
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as liability instruments and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A common stock (including Class A common stock that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A common stock are classified as stockholders’ equity. Our Class A common stock feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, at March 31, 2021, 35,063,281 shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption are presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of our balance sheet.
Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share
Net income (loss) per common share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. We have not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement to purchase an aggregate of 20,200,000 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, since their inclusion would be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method.
Our statement of operations includes a presentation of income (loss) per share for common stock subject to redemption in a manner similar to the two-class method of income (loss) per share. Net income (loss) per common share, basic and diluted for common stock subject to possible redemption is calculated by dividing the interest income (loss) earned on investments held in the Trust Account, by the weighted average number of common stock subject to possible redemption outstanding for the period.
Net income (loss) per share, basic and diluted, for non-redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing the net income (loss), adjusted for income or loss on marketable securities attributable to Common stock subject to possible redemption, by the weighted average number of non-redeemable common stock outstanding for the period.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Our management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of March 31, 2021, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K.
JOBS Act
The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”) contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act are 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, the 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, (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.
This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company that is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company that has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Item 7.A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk.
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
Tech and Energy Transition Corporation
Index to Financial Statements
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of
Tech and Energy Transition Corporation
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Tech and Energy Transition Corporation (the “Company”) as of March 31, 2021 and 2020, the related statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended March 31, 2021 and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of March 31, 2021 and 2020 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended March 31, 2021 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Marcum llp
Marcum llp
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.
New York, NY
July 1, 2021
Tech and Energy Transition Corporation
Balance Sheets
| | March 31, 2021 | | | March 31, 2020 | |
Assets | | | | | | |
Current assets: | | | | | | |
Cash | | | 3,149,760 | | | | — | |
Current tax assets | | $ | — | | | $ | 217 | |
Prepaid expense | | | 579,974 | | | | — | |
Stock subscription receivable | | | — | | | | 27,467 | |
Total current assets | | | 3,729,734 | | | | 27,684 | |
Cash held in trust account | | | 385,000,632 | | | | — | |
Prepaid expenses | | | 554,647 | | | | — | |
Total assets | | $ | 389,285,012 | | | $ | 27,684 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Liabilities and Stockholder’s Equity | | | | | | | | |
Current liabilities: | | | | | | | | |
Accrued offering costs and expenses | | $ | 2,196,900 | | | $ | 706 | |
Due to related party | | | 2,299 | | | | 1,709 | |
Total current liabilities | | | 2,199,199 | | | | 2,415 | |
Derivative warrant liabilities | | | 17,978,000 | | | | — | |
Deferred Underwriters' Discount | | | 13,475,000 | | | | — | |
Total liabilities | | | 33,652,199 | | | | 2,415 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Commitments and Contingencies | | | | | | | | |
Class A Common Stock subject to possible redemption, 35,063,281 shares and 0 shares at redemption value, respectively | | | 350,632,812 | | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Stockholders’ Equity | | | | | | | | |
Common stock Class A $0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; 3,436,719 shares issued and outstanding (excluding 35,063,281 shares subject to possible redemption) and 0 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. | | | 344 | | | | — | |
Common stock, Class B $0.0001 par value; 50,000,000 shares authorized, 11,068,750(1)(2) shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2021 and March 31, 2020, respectively. | | | 1,107 | | | | 1,107 | |
Additional paid-in-capital | | | 2,326,544 | | | | 26,360 | |
Accumulated earnings (Accumulated Deficit) | | | 2,672,006 | | | | (2,198 | ) |
Total stockholder’s equity | | | 5,000,001 | | | | 25,269 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Total liabilities and stockholder’s equity | | $ | 389,285,012 | | | $ | 27,684 | |
| (1) | This number has been retroactively restated to reflect the recapitalization of the Company in the form of a 90,562.5 for-1 stock split and the issuance of 1,006,250 shares of Class B common stock to Dan Hesse for a consideration of $2,467. On March 16, 2021, we effectuated a 11-for-10 stock split of the Class B common stock, resulting in an aggregate outstanding amount of 11,068,750 shares of the Class B common stock (up to 1,443,750 shares of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised, if at all), of which the Sponsor holds 9,961,875 shares and Dan Hesse holds 1,106,875 shares. All shares and associated amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the split. |
| (2) | Includes an aggregate of 1,443,750 shares held by the Sponsor and Dan Hesse that are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full. On April 30, 2021, upon the expiration of the 45-day period and underwriters not exercising the over-allotment option, 1,443,750 shares of Class B common stock were forfeited by the Sponsor and Mr. Hesse, in the aggregate. |
Tech and Energy Transition Corporation
Statements of Operations
| | For the Year Ended March 31, | | | For the Year Ended March 31, | |
| | 2021 | | | 2020 | |
| | | | | | |
Expense | | | | | | |
Formation and operating expenses | | $ | 223,404 | | | $ | 1,033 | |
Loss from operations before income tax benefit | | | (223,404 | ) | | | (1,033 | ) |
Benefit from income tax | | | — | | | | 217 | |
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities | | | 3,709,666 | | | | — | |
Transaction costs | | | (812,094 | ) | | | — | |
Interest income | | | 632 | | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Total other income/(expenses) | | | 2,898,204 | | | | — | |
Net Income | | $ | 2,674,800 | | | $ | (816 | ) |
| | | | | | | | |
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | | | 34,714,206 | | | | — | |
Basic and diluted net income per share, Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | | | — | | | | — | |
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class B common stock (1)(2) | | | 11,691,729 | | | | 8,750,000 | |
Basic and diluted net income per share, Class B common stock | | $ | 0.23 | | | $ | (0.00 | ) |
| (1) | This number has been retroactively restated to reflect the recapitalization of the Company in the form of a 90,562.5 for-1 stock split and the issuance of 1,006,250 shares of Class B common stock to Dan Hesse for a consideration of $2,467. On March 16, 2021, we effectuated a 11-for-10 stock split of the Class B common stock, resulting in an aggregate outstanding amount of 11,068,750 shares of the Class B common stock (up to 1,443,750 shares of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised, if at all), of which the Sponsor holds 9,961,875 shares and Dan Hesse holds 1,106,875 shares. All shares and associated amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the split. |
| (2) | Includes an aggregate of 1,443,750 shares held by the Sponsor and Dan Hesse that are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full. On April 30, 2021, upon the expiration of the 45-day period and underwriters not exercising the over-allotment option, 1,443,750 shares of Class B common stock were forfeited by the Sponsor and Mr. Hesse, in the aggregate. |
Tech and Energy Transition Corporation
Statements of Changes in Stockholder’s Equity
| | Class A Common Stock | | | Class B Common Stock(1)(2) | | | Additional Paid-In- | | | Accumulated | | | Total Stockholder’s | |
| | Shares | | | Amount | | | Shares | | | Amount | | | Capital | | | Deficit | | | Equity | |
Balances, March 31, 2020 | | | — | | | | — | | | | 11,068,750 | | | $ | 1,107 | | | $ | 26,360 | | | $ | (2,198 | ) | | $ | 25,269 | |
Sale of Units in public offering, less fair value of public warrants | | | 38,500,000 | | | $ | 3,850 | | | | — | | | | — | | | $ | 371,264,484 | | | | — | | | $ | 371,268,334 | |
Offering costs less, costs allocated to public warrants | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | $ | (21,428,995 | ) | | | — | | | $ | (21,428,995 | ) |
Sale of private placement warrants in excess of warrants fair value | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | $ | 3,094,001 | | | | — | | | $ | 3,094,001 | |
Class A Common stock subject to possible redemption | | | (35,063,281 | ) | | $ | (3,506 | ) | | | — | | | | — | | | $ | (350,629,306 | ) | | | — | | | $ | (350,632,812 | ) |
Net Income | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | $ | 2,674,800 | | | $ | 2,674,800 | |
Balances, March 31, 2021 | | | 3,436,719 | | | $ | 344 | | | | 11,068,750 | | | $ | 1,107 | | | $ | 2,326,544 | | | $ | 2,672,006 | | | $ | 5,000,001 | |
| (1) | This number has been retroactively restated to reflect the recapitalization of the Company in the form of a 90,562.5 for-1 stock split and the issuance of 1,006,250 shares of Class B common stock to Dan Hesse for a consideration of $2,467. On March 16, 2021, we effectuated a 11-for-10 stock split of the Class B common stock, resulting in an aggregate outstanding amount of 11,068,750 shares of the Class B common stock (up to 1,443,750 shares of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised, if at all), of which the Sponsor holds 9,961,875 shares and Dan Hesse holds 1,106,875 shares. All shares and associated amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the split. |
| (2) | Includes an aggregate of 1,443,750 shares held by the Sponsor and Dan Hesse that are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full. On April 30, 2021, upon the expiration of the 45-day period and underwriters not exercising the over-allotment option, 1,443,750 shares of Class B common stock were forfeited by the Sponsor and Mr. Hesse, in the aggregate. |
Tech and Energy Transition Corporation
Statements of Cash Flows
| | For the Year Ended March 31, | |
| | 2021 | | | 2020 | |
Cash flows from operating activities: | | | | | | |
Net Income | | $ | 2,674,800 | | | $ | (816 | ) |
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities | | | (3,709,666 | ) | | | — | |
Transaction costs | | | 812,094 | | | | — | |
Change in operating assets and liabilities | | | | | | | | |
Prepaid expense | | | (1,134,620 | ) | | | — | |
Current tax assets | | | 157 | | | | — | |
Due to related party | | | 54 | | | | 816 | |
Offering costs and accounts payable | | | 2,196,194 | | | | — | |
Net cash provided by operating activities | | $ | 839,013 | | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Cash flows from investing activities: | | | | | | | | |
Cash held in Trust Account | | | (385,000,632 | ) | | | — | |
Net cash used in investing activities | | $ | (385,000,632 | ) | | $ | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Cash flows from financing activities | | | | | | | | |
Proceeds from stock subscription receivable | | | 27,467 | | | | — | |
Proceeds from sale of Units, net of offering costs | | | 383,933,911 | | | | — | |
Proceeds from sale of Private Placement warrants | | | 11,050,001 | | | | — | |
Payment of underwriter discount | | | (7,700,000 | ) | | | — | |
Net cash provided by financing activities | | $ | 387,311,379 | | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Net change in cash | | | 3,149,760 | | | | — | |
Cash at beginning of period | | | — | | | | — | |
Cash at end of period | | $ | 3,149,760 | | | $ | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: | | | | | | | | |
Deferred offering costs included in accrued expenses | | $ | 1,996,900 | | | $ | — | |
Deferred underwriting commissions payable | | $ | 13,475,000 | | | $ | — | |
Initial classification of common stock subject to possible redemption | | $ | 347,141,846 | | | $ | — | |
Change in value of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | | $ | 3,490,966 | | | $ | — | |
Notes to Financial Statements
Note 1 — Organization and Business Operations
Tech and Energy Transition Corporation (formerly known as M Acquisition Company IV Corporation) (the “Company”) was incorporated in Delaware on December 4, 2017. The Company was 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 (the “Business Combination”).
Although the Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector for the purpose of consummating a Business Combination, the Company intends to focus its search on companies in end markets – communications, internetworking, clean energy, digital technology and services and software applications that enable or support digital transformation. 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 March 31, 2021, the Company had not yet commenced operations. All activity through March 31, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering (“IPO”) , and since the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the search for a prospective initial Business Combination.. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents from the proceeds derived from the IPO. The Company has selected March 31st as its fiscal year end.
The Company’s Sponsor is Tech and Energy Transition Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”), a Delaware limited liability company.
The registration statement for the Company’s IPO was declared effective on March 16, 2021 (the “Effective Date”). On March 31, 2021, the Company consummated the IPO of 38,500,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A common stock included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $385,000,000, which is discussed in Note 3.
The underwriters had a 45-day option from the date of the IPO (March 19, 2021) to purchase up to an additional 5,775,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the sale of 7,366,667 Private Placement Warrants to the Sponsor at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant, generating total gross proceeds of $11,050,000.50.
Transaction costs of the IPO amounted to $22,241,089 consisting of $7,700,000 of underwriting commission, $13,475,000 of deferred underwriting commission, and $1,066,089 of other offering costs.
Following the closing of the IPO on March 19, 2021, $385,000,000 ($10.00 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was placed in a Trust Account and with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and invested only in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries selected by the Company meeting the conditions of paragraphs (d)(2), (d)(3) and (d)(4) of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to the Company to pay its franchise and income tax obligations (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), the proceeds from the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will not be released from the trust account until the earlier of (i) the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination and (ii) the redemption of 100% of the Company’s public shares if the Company is unable to complete the Company’s initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the IPO (the “Combination Period”). 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 Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding taxes payable on income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
The Company will provide its holders of the outstanding Public Shares of its Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 (“Class A common stock”), (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 (as defined below in Note 3) for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $10.00 per Public Share).
These Public Shares are recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity”. In such case, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation of a Business Combination and a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination.
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 (10) 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 franchise and income taxes (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, 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.
The initial stockholders have agreed to waive their liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the initial stockholders acquire Public Shares in or after the IPO, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be only $10.00 per share initially held in the Trust Account. In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a vendor 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. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account or to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriter of the IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, except for 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.
Risks and Uncertainties
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations, cash flows 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.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern, which contemplates, among other things, the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. As of March 31, 2021, the Company had approximately $3.2 million in its operating bank account and had working capital of approximately $2.3 million.
The Company’s liquidity needs up to March 31, 2021 had been satisfied through a payment from the Sponsor of $27,467 (see Note 6) for the Founder Shares, borrowings under the Promissory Note totaled $275,000 (see Note 5), and the net proceeds from the consummation of the Private Placement not held in the Trust Account. Borrowing from Promissory Note was fully repaid by March 31, 2021, has expired and no further borrowing are allowed.
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Company’s Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, provide the Company Working Capital Loans (see Note 6). As of March 31, 2021, there were no amounts outstanding under any Working Capital Loans.
Based on the foregoing, management believes that the Company will have sufficient working capital and borrowing capacity to meet its needs through the earlier of the consummation of a Business Combination or one year from this filing. Over this time period, the Company will be using these funds for paying existing accounts payable, identifying and evaluating prospective initial Business Combination candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to merge with or acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination.
Note 2 – Correction of An Error in Previously Furnished Financial Statements
On April 12, 2021, the Staff of the SEC issued a statement entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies.” In the statement, the SEC Staff, among other things, highlighted potential accounting implications of certain terms that are common in warrants issued in connection with the initial public offerings of special purpose acquisition companies such as the Company.
The Company previously accounted for its outstanding Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants (collectively, with the Public Warrants, the “Warrants”) issued in connection with its Initial Public Offering as components of equity instead of as derivative liabilities. The warrant agreement governing the Warrants includes a provision that provides for potential changes to the settlement amounts dependent upon the characteristics of the holder of the warrant. In addition, the warrant agreement includes a provision that in the event of a tender or exchange offer made to and accepted by holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of a single class of common stock, all holders of the Warrants would be entitled to receive cash for their Warrants (the “tender offer provision”).
In connection with the audit of the Company’s financial statements for the period ended March 31, 2021, the Company’s management further evaluated the Warrants under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Subtopic 815-40, Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity. ASC Section 815-40-15 addresses equity versus liability treatment and classification of equity-linked financial instruments, including warrants, and states that a warrant may be classified as a component of equity only if, among other things, the warrant is indexed to the issuer’s common stock. Under ASC Section 815-40-15, a warrant is not indexed to the issuer’s common stock if the terms of the warrant require an adjustment to the exercise price upon a specified event and that event is not an input to the fair value of the warrant. Based on management’s evaluation, the Company’s audit committee, in consultation with management, concluded that the Company’s Private Placement Warrants are not indexed to the Company’s common stock in the manner contemplated by ASC Section 815-40-15 as described above. In addition, based on management’s evaluation, the Company’s audit committee, in consultation with management, concluded the tender offer provision included in the warrant agreement fails the “classified in stockholders’ equity” criteria as contemplated by ASC Section 815-40-25. As a result the company reclassified public and private placement warrants as derivative warrant liability at the date of issuance recorded at their fair values, with subsequent changes in their respective fair values recognized in the statement of operations at each reporting date.
The following summarizes the impact to the balance sheet dated March 19, 2021, filed on Form 8-K on March 25, 2021.
Tech and Energy Transition Corporation |
|
| | March 19, 2021 | |
| | As Reported | | | Adjustment | | | As Revised | |
Derivative warrant liabilities | | | — | | | | 21,687,667 | | | | 21,687,667 | |
Total Liabilities | | | 15,480,182 | | | | 21,687,667 | | | | 37,167,849 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Commitments and contingencies, Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | | | 368,829,730 | | | | (21,687,884 | ) | | | 347,141,846 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Common stock, Class A (par value) | | | 162 | | | | 217 | | | | 379 | |
Additional Paid in Capital | | | 5,005,380 | | | | 812,094 | | | | 5,817,474 | |
Accumulated Deficit | | | (6,643 | ) | | | (812,094 | ) | | | (818,737 | ) |
Note 3 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The financial statements are presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“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 auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and 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 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 this financial statement in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the balance sheet. 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 balance sheet, 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.
Offering Costs associated with the Initial Public Offering
The Company complies with the requirements of the ASC 340-10-S99-1 and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) Topic 5A - “Expenses of Offering”. Offering costs consist principally of professional and registration fees incurred through the balance sheet date that are related to the IPO. Offering costs are allocated to the separable financial instruments issued in the Initial Public Offering based on a relative fair value basis, compared to total proceeds received. Offering costs associated with warrant liabilities are expensed as incurred, presented as non-operating expenses in the statement of operations. Offering costs associated with the Public Shares were charged to stockholders’ equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. Of the total offering costs of the Initial Public Offering, approximately $819,000 is included in Transaction costs attributable to warrant liabilities in the statement of operations and $21,421,801 is included in stockholders’ equity. The Company will keep deferred underwriting commissions classified as a long-term liability due to the uncertain nature of the closing of the business combination and its encumbrance to the trust account.
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes under ASC 740 Income Taxes (“ASC 740”). ASC 740 requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for both the expected impact of differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities and for the expected future tax benefit to be derived from tax loss and tax credit carry forwards. ASC 740 additionally requires a valuation allowance to be established when it is more likely than not that all or a portion of deferred tax assets will not be realized.
ASC 740 also clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statement and prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement process for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position 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. ASC 740 also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim period, disclosure and transition. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of March 31, 2021 and 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 has identified the United States as its only “major” tax jurisdiction.
The Company may be subject to potential examination by federal and state taxing authorities in the areas of income taxes. These potential examinations may include questioning the timing and amount of deductions, the nexus of income among various tax jurisdictions and compliance with federal and state tax laws. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
Net Income (Loss) per Common Share
The Company’s net income is adjusted for the portion of loss income that is attributable to common stock subject to redemption, as these shares only participate in the earnings of the Trust Account and not the income or losses of the Company. Accordingly, basic and diluted loss per share of common stock is calculated as follows:
| | For the Year Ended March 31, 2021 | | | For the Year Ended March 31, 2020 | |
Common stock subject to possible redemption | | | | | | |
Numerator: Net income allocable to Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | | | | | | |
Interest earned on marketable securities held in trust | | | 632 | | | | — | |
Less: interest available to be withdrawn for payment of taxes | | | (632 | ) | | | — | |
Net income allocable to Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | | | — | | | | — | |
Denominator: Weighted Average Redeemable Class A | | | | | | | | |
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | | | 34,714,206 | | | | — | |
Basic and Diluted net income per share, Redeemable Class A Common Stock | | | — | | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Non-Redeemable Common Stock | | | | | | | | |
Numerator: Net income minus redeemable net earnings | | | | | | | | |
Net income | | | 2,674,800 | | | | (817 | ) |
Redeemable Net Income | | | — | | | | | |
Non-Redeemable Net Income | | | 2,674,800 | | | | | |
Denominator: Weighted Average Non-Redeemable Class B | | | | | | | | |
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding, common stock | | | 11,691,729 | | | | 8,750,000 | |
Basic and diluted net income per share, common stock | | | .23 | | | | — | |
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times may exceed the Federal depository insurance coverage of $250,000. At March 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.
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 March 31, 2021 and 2020.
Cash Held in Trust Account
At March 31, 2021, the Company had $385,000,632 in cash held in the Trust Account.
Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under FASB ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures”, approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheets, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A common stock (including Class A common stock that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A common stock feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, Class A common stock subject to possible redemption is presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet.
Warrant Liability
The Company accounts for the Warrants in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40-15-7D and 7F under which the Warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment and must be recorded as liabilities. Accordingly, the Company classifies the Warrants as liabilities at their fair value and adjust the Warrants to fair value at each reporting period. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. The Public Warrants and the Private Placement Warrants for periods where no observable traded price was available are valued using a binomial lattice model, which is considered to be a Level 3 fair value measurement. The binomial lattice model’s primary unobservable input utilized in determining the fair value of the Private Warrants is the expected volatility of the common stock. The expected volatility as of the IPO date was derived from observable public warrant pricing on comparable ‘blank-check’ companies without an identified target.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements - In August 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2020-06, Debt —debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging —Contracts in Entity' Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity' Own Equity (“ASU 2020-06”), which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. The ASU also removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity-linked contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception, and it simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. The Company adopted ASU 2020-06 on January 1, 2021. Adoption of the ASU did not impact the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
The Company's management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.
Note 4 — Initial Public Offering
On March 31, 2021, the Company consummated the IPO of 38,500,000 Units, (plus up to an additional 5,775,000 Units if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised) at a price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock (such shares of Class A common stock included in the Units being offered, and one-third of one redeemable warrant. Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 8).
Note 5 — Private Placement
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 7,366,667 Private Placement Warrants at a purchase price of $1.50 per Private Unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $11,050,000.50. The Private Placement Warrants (and the underlying securities) are identical to the Units sold as part of the Units in the IPO. The fair value of these private placement warrants at the date of sale was $7,956,000 which was recorded as derivative warrant liability. The excess of gross proceeds over the fair value of the private placement warrants $3,094,001 was recorded as additional paid in capital.
Note 6 — Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On December 4, 2017, the Company issued 100 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, for an aggregate consideration of $25,000. As of December 31, 2020, March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2019, the Company recorded a stock subscription receivable of $25,000. The proceeds were received on January 11, 2021.
On January 22, 2021, the Company effectuated a recapitalization, and as a result, the Sponsor held 9,056,250 shares of our Class B common stock (up to 1,181,250 of which were subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units was exercised, if at all).
On January 22, 2021, the Company issued to Dan Hesse 1,006,250 shares of our Class B common stock (up to 131,250 of which were subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units was exercised, if at all) in exchange for an initial investment of $2,467. As of January 22, 2021, the Founder Shares outstanding were 10,062,500, of which the Sponsor held 9,056,250 and Dan Hesse held 1,006,250.
On January 22, 2021, the Company filed an amended and restated certificate of incorporation to change its par value of its Class A and B common stock from $0.01 to $0.0001. Information contained in the financial statements has been adjusted for this split.
On March 16, 2021, the Company effectuated an 11-for-10 stock split of the Class B common stock, resulting in an aggregate outstanding amount of 11,068,750 shares of the Class B common stock (up to 1,443,750 shares of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised, if at all), of which the Sponsor holds 9,961,875 shares and Dan Hesse holds 1,106,875 shares. All shares and associated amounts have been retroactively restated to reflect the split (see Note 8)
The Founder Shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, at the time of the Company’s initial Business Combination and are subject to certain transfer restrictions (see Note 8).
Holders of Founder Shares may also elect to convert their shares of Class B common stock into an equal number of shares of Class A common stock, subject to adjustment, at any time. The initial stockholders have agreed to forfeit up to 1,443,750 Founder Shares to the extent that the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriter. The forfeiture will be adjusted to the extent that the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriter so that the Founder Shares will represent 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the IPO (not including the placement shares).
The initial stockholders have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination or (B) subsequent to the initial 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 the initial 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.
Related Party Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the warrants included in the Private Placement Warrants.
Promissory Note- Related Party
On December 16, 2020, the Sponsor made available to the Company, under a promissory note, up to $950,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of the IPO. The promissory note was non-interest bearing and due on the earlier of September 30, 2021 or the completion of the IPO. The Promissory Note funds borrowed of $275,000 were repaid upon the consummation of the IPO on March 19, 2021.
Note 7 — Commitments and Contingencies
Registration Rights
The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, if any, will be entitled to registration rights (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion of such shares to shares of Class A common stock) pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed on or before the date of the prospectus for the IPO. These holders will be entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until the termination of the applicable lock-up period for the securities to be registered. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriters Agreement
The Company granted the underwriter a 45-day option to purchase up to 5,775,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the IPO price less the underwriting discounts and commission.
On March 19, 2021, the Company paid an underwriting commission of $7,700,000.
The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of (i) $0.35 per Unit, or $13,475,000 in the aggregate, excluding any amounts raised pursuant to the option to purchase additional units, and (ii) $0.35 per Unit, or $15,496,250 in the aggregate pursuant to the option to purchase additional units. The deferred fee will be paid in cash from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Note 8 — Stockholders’ Equity
Class A common stock — The Company is authorized to issue 500,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of March 31, 2021, there were 3,436,719 shares of Class A common stock issued and outstanding, excluding 35,063,281 shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption.
Class B common stock — The Company is authorized to issue 50,000,000 shares of Class B common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class B common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. As of March 31, 2021, there were 11,068,750 shares of Class B common stock outstanding, of which an aggregate of up to 1,443,750 shares are subject to forfeiture to the Company by the Sponsor and Dan Hesse for no consideration to the extent that the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part, so that the initial stockholders will collectively own 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock after the IPO.
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 stockholders except as required by law.
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of the initial Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts sold in the IPO and related to the closing of the initial Business Combination, the ratio at which shares of Class B common stock shall convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon the completion of the IPO plus all shares of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial Business Combination (excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination and any private placement-equivalent warrants issued to the Sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of loans made to the Company). Holders of Founder Shares may also elect to convert their shares of Class B common stock into an equal number of shares of Class A common stock, subject to adjustment as provided above, at any time.
Note 9 — Income Taxes
The Company’s net deferred tax assets are as follows:
| | For the Year Ended March 31, 2021 | | | For the Year Ended March 31, 2020 | |
Deferred tax assets | | | | | | |
Start up costs | | | 5,099 | | | | — | |
Net Operating loss carryforward | | | 41,900 | | | | — | |
Total deferred tax assets | | | 46,999 | | | | — | |
Valuation Allowance | | | (46,999 | ) | | | — | |
Deferred tax assets, net of allowance | | | — | | | | — | |
As of March 31, 2021, the Company had $199,525 of U.S. federal net operating loss carryovers, which do not expire, available to offset future taxable income.
In assessing the realization of the deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion of all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which temporary differences representing net future deductible amounts become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. After consideration of all of the information available, management believes that significant uncertainty exists with respect to future realization of the deferred tax assets and has therefore established a full valuation allowance. For the year ended March 31, 2021, the valuation allowance increased by $46,999.
The income tax provision consists of the following:
| | For the Year Ended March 31, 2021 | | | For the Year Ended March 31, 2020 | |
Federal | | | | | | |
Current | | | — | | | | (217 | ) |
Deferred | | | (46,999 | ) | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
State and Local | | | | | | | | |
Current | | | — | | | | — | |
Deferred | | | — | | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Change in valuation allowance | | | 46,999 | | | | — | |
Income tax provision/ (benefit) | | | — | | | | (217 | ) |
A reconciliation of the federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate is as follows:
| | For the Year Ended March 31, 2021 | | | For the Year Ended March 31, 2020 | |
Statutory federal income tax rate | | | 21.0 | % | | | 21 | % |
State taxes, net of federal tax benefit | | | 0.0 | % | | | — | |
Change in fair value | | | (29.12 | )% | | | — | |
Permanent book/tax differences | | | 6.36 | % | | | — | |
Change in valuation allowance | | | 1.76 | % | | | — | |
Income tax provision | | | 0.0 | % | | | 21 | % |
Note 10 — Fair Value Measurements
The Company follows the guidance in ASC Topic 820 for its financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at each reporting period, and non-financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at least annually.
The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The following fair value hierarchy is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities:
| Level 1: | Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. An active market for an asset or liability is a market in which transactions for the asset or liability occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis. |
| Level 2: | Observable inputs other than Level 1 inputs. Examples of Level 2 inputs include quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active. |
| Level 3: | Unobservable inputs based on our assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. |
The following table presents information about the Company’s assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at March 31, 2021, and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:
Description | | Level | | For the Year Ended March 31, 2021 | |
Assets: | | | | | 385,000,632 | |
Cash and marketable securities held in Trust Account | | 1 | | | | |
| | | | | | |
Liabilities: | | | | | | |
Warrant Liability – Public Warrants | | 3 | | | 11,421,666 | |
Warrant Liability – Private Placement Warrants | | 3 | | | 6,556,334 | |
The Warrants were accounted for as liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40 and are measured at fair value at inception and on a recurring basis, with changes in fair value recorded in the statement of operations.
At issuance March 19, 2021 and March 31, 2021, the Warrant Liability for Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants were valued using a binomial lattice model, which is considered to be a Level 3 fair value measurement.
The binomial lattice model’s primary unobservable input utilized in determining the fair value of the Private Warrants is the expected volatility of the common stock. The expected volatility as of the IPO date was derived from observable public warrant pricing on comparable ‘blank-check’ companies without an identified target.
Following significant inputs:
| | At issuance | | | As of March 31, 2021 | |
Risk-free interest rate | | | 0.99 | % | | | 1.00 | % |
Trading days per year | | | | | | | | |
Expected volatility | | | 18.0 | % | | | 15.0 | % |
Exercise price | | $ | 11.50 | | | $ | 11.50 | |
Stock Price | | $ | 9.56 | | | $ | 9.71 | |
For the period ending March 31, 2021 there were no transfers into or out of the Level 3 classification. The following table provides a reconciliation of changes in fair value of the beginning and ending balances for the Company’s Level 3 assets and liabilities measured at fair value:
Fair value at March 31, 2020 | | $ | - | |
Initial value at March 19, 2021 | | $ | 21,687,666 | |
Change in fair value | | | (3,709,666 | ) |
Fair Value at March 31, 2021 | | $ | 17,978,000 | |
Note 11 — Derivative Warrant Liability
As of March 31, 2021, there were 12,833,333 and 7,366,667 shares of Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants outstanding, respectively. 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 completion of a Business Combination or (b) 12 months from the closing of the IPO; provided in each case that the Company has an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available.
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of a Business Combination, the Company will use its best 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 Public Warrants. The Company will use its best 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 of the Public Warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. The Public Warrants will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units being sold in the IPO, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the warrants included in the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions.
Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis and be non-redeemable 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. The Private Placement Warrants are not subject to redemption.
The Company may redeem the Public Warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00:
| ● | 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, |
| ● | if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the Class A common stock for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (the “Reference Value”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities). |
If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may exercise its redemption rights 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
| ● | in whole and not in part; |
| ● | at a price of $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 of Class A common stock |
if, and only if, Reference Value is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities), the private placement warrants are also concurrently exercised on a cashless basis at the same price (equal to a number of Class A common stock) as the outstanding public warrants, as described above. The “fair market value” of our Class A common stock for the above purpose shall mean the volume-weighted average price of the Class A common stock as reported during the ten trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. The Company will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the ten-trading day period described above ends. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.365 shares of Class A common stock per whole warrant (subject to adjustment)
In addition, if (x) the Company issue additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of an initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the board of directors and, (i) in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or any of its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance, and (ii) to the extent that such issuance is made to the Sponsor or any of its 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 the Company) by the 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 an initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of an initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates an initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis”, as described in the warrant agreement.
The exercise price and number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuance 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 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 warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.
Note 12 — Subsequent Events
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statement was issued. The Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statement.
On April 30, 2021, upon the expiration of the underwriters’ 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 5,775,000 units to cover over-allotments in the Initial Public Offering and the underwriters not exercising the over-allotment option, 1,443,750 shares of Class B common stock were forfeited by the Sponsor and Dan Hesse in order for the Sponsor, Dan Hesse and the Independent Directors to maintain ownership of 20.0% of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of the Company (excluding private units held by the Sponsor). Such forfeited shares were cancelled by the Company.
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
None.
Item 9.A. Controls and Procedures.
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in company reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
As required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of March 31, 2021. Based upon that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, solely due to the Company’s reclassification of the Company’s Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as March 31, 2021.
Management’s Report on Internal Controls over Financial Reporting
This Annual Report does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies.
Correction of an Error in Previously Furnished Financial Statements
On April 12, 2021, the Staff of the SEC issued a statement entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies.” In the statement, the SEC Staff, among other things, highlighted potential accounting implications of certain terms that are common in warrants issued in connection with the initial public offerings of special purpose acquisition companies such as the Company. As a result of the Staff statement and in light of evolving views as to certain provisions commonly included in warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies, the Company re-evaluated the accounting for the Public Warrants and the Private Placement Warrants (collectively, “Warrants”) under ASC 815-40, Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity, and concluded that they do not meet the criteria to be classified in stockholders’ equity. Since the Warrants meet the definition of a derivative under ASC 815-40, the Company has reclassified the Warrants as liabilities on the balance sheet at fair value, with subsequent changes in their respective fair values recognized in the statement of operations at each reporting date.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal year that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. However, as described above, management did implement changes in internal control over financial reporting during the first quarter of fiscal year 2022 designed to remediate a material weakness solely related to the presentation of the Company’s warrants as equity instead of liability in connection with the SEC Staff Statement. We plan to enhance our processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements to better evaluate and understand the nuances of the complex accounting standards that apply to our financial statements. Our plans at this time include providing enhanced access to accounting literature, research materials and documents and increased communication among our personnel and third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications. The elements of our remediation plan can only be accomplished over time, and we can offer no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.
Item 9.B. Other Information.
None.
PART III.
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
Our current directors and executive officer are as follows:
Name | | Age | | Title |
Dan Hesse | | 67 | | Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors |
John Spirtos | | 55 | | Chief Executive Officer and President |
Greg Callman | | 44 | | Energy Chief Investment Officer |
Stephan Feilhauer | | 38 | | Chief Financial Officer |
Gautham Srinivas | | 41 | | Chief Legal Counsel and Company Secretary |
Lawrence Handen | | 54 | | Director |
David Roseman | | 55 | | Director |
Virginia Breen | | 56 | | Director |
James Avery | | 64 | | Director |
Gregory Gilmore | | 58 | | Director |
Diarmuid B. O’Connell | | 57 | | Director |
Dan Hesse has served as the Executive Chairman of the Board since March 16, 2021. He most recently served as the Chief Executive Officer of Sprint (NYSE: S) from December 2007 to August 2014. During his tenure as CEO, the American Customer Satisfaction Index recognized Sprint as the most improved U.S. company in overall customer satisfaction across all 43 industries, and JD Power recognized Sprint 20 times for excellence in customer service. Sprint, at #3, was the only telecom company on Newsweek’s list of America’s 25 Greenest Companies, and Corporate Responsibility magazine awarded Mr. Hesse its Lifetime Achievement Award. Sprint’s improved performance is further demonstrated by Sprint’s #1 ranking among all S&P 500 companies for Total Shareholder Return, assuming reinvested dividends, during Mr. Hesse’s last two full calendar years as CEO. Prior to Sprint, Mr. Hesse was the Chairman and CEO of Embarq Corporation, a $6 billion-in-revenue telecommunications services company. Mr. Hesse spent 23 years at AT&T and rose to President and CEO of AT&T Wireless Services, at the time the United States’ largest wireless carrier. He received a BA from the University of Notre Dame, an MBA from Cornell University and an MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since 2016, Mr. Hesse has served on the boards of directors of PNC (NYSE: PNC), where he chairs the Technology Subcommittee, and Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM), where he chairs the Environmental, Social and Governance Committee. We believe Mr. Hesse’s accomplishments and reputation in the communications and technology industries will bring meaningful insight and help enable access to potential Business Combination targets.
John Spirtos has served as our Chief Executive Officer since February 23, 2021. He is a Senior Advisor at Macquarie Capital and leads investing efforts in communication and technology infrastructure investing. Prior to joining Macquarie Capital in June 2018, Mr. Spirtos held several leadership positions at General Electric (NYSE: GE), including Senior Managing Director at GE Ventures overseeing the new business creation function for GE. Prior to that, Mr. Spirtos served as Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Corporate Development at iconectiv, which is the communications database division of LM Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC); CEO of GridPoint Inc., a privately held provider of IoT networking and energy management services; EVP of Comverse Technology (NASDAQ: CMVT), a global provider of real-time billing and rating solutions to telecoms and utilities, SVP of Corporate Development at NeuStar, Inc. (NYSE: NSR), a global provider of database management services; and President of Broadwing Communications (NASDAQ: BWNG), a national provider of communications services now owned by Lumen Technologies (previously CenturyTel, Inc.). Mr. Spirtos received a BS from University of California, a JD from Southwestern University and an MBA and LLM from Georgetown University.
Greg Callman has served as our Energy Chief Investment Officer since March 16, 2021. He is a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Energy Technology at Macquarie Capital. Mr. Callman leads infrastructure development and corporate equity investments across categories such as grid scale energy storage, distributed energy, fleet electrification and residential energy. He brings 20 years of international experience as an operating executive, investor, consultant and public servant. Mr. Callman joined Macquarie Capital from Tesla, where he led the growth of the company’s energy business and charging infrastructure programs in the US, Europe, and Australia/New Zealand. His team was responsible for landmark projects that include commercial and residential virtual power plants, standalone and PV-paired grid scale storage, and a global network of high-power EV charging. Prior to Tesla, Mr. Callman served at the US Department of Energy, both with ARPA-E and the Recovery Act Team, where he focused on the commercialization of new and disruptive technologies. Mr. Callman holds an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and was an interdisciplinary Echols Scholar at the University of Virginia, focused on biochemistry and evolutionary biology.
Stephan Feilhauer has served as our Chief Financial Officer since February 23, 2021. He is a Managing Director in Macquarie Capital’s Principal Finance Group, where he leads the investing efforts into growth stage companies at the intersection of technology with infrastructure, industrials and clean energy. He has 14 years of experience as an investor and researcher in the US, Europe and Asia. Mr. Feilhauer joined Macquarie Capital from Deutsche Bank’s principal investing, structured credit and corporate M&A teams in New York and Singapore. He began his career with Goldman Sachs in London, in the then newly-created ESG and thematic equity research team. He holds a BSc from the University of London (University College London and London School of Economics) and an engineering Master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, during the completion of which he also consulted for the World Bank. He serves on the board of trustees of the German School Brooklyn.
Gautham Srinivas has served as our Company Secretary since January 20, 2021 and Chief Legal Counsel since February 23, 2021. He is a Managing Director in Macquarie Capital’s Principal Finance Group, where he serves as a senior counsel in New York. He has 18 years of global experience at leading law firms and financial institutions in Sydney, London and New York. Mr. Srinivas previously worked in Macquarie Capital’s Sydney office and served on the boards of various Macquarie group companies and portfolio companies throughout the Asia Pacific region. Mr. Srinivas has experience in principal investments across the capital structure and in various sectors, including infrastructure, telecommunications, transportation, energy and real estate. Mr. Srinivas holds a Masters of Corporate Law from the University of Cambridge and is licensed to practice law in New South Wales (Australia), England and New York State.
Lawrence Handen has served as a member of the Board since November 18, 2019. He is Senior Managing Director in Macquarie Capital’s Principal Finance Group, where he serves as the Global Head of Technology and Growth Equity Investing. He has more than 30 years of experience as an investor, operator and consultant. Throughout his career, Mr. Handen has been involved as a principal investor in more than 125 equity investments and acquisitions, served on the board of directors of more than 30 companies throughout the Americas and Australia and has advised over 100 other companies in various capacities. He currently serves on the board of AC Holdco, Inc. He joined Macquarie Capital from Insight Venture Partners, a leading technology-focused private equity and venture capital firm, where he served as Managing Director. Prior to Insight, Mr. Handen was a General Partner at UBS Capital where he led the firm’s Software, Internet & Services Group. Previously, he was a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting. While at PwC, Mr. Handen led a practice specializing in corporate-wide growth and recovery solutions for companies in the technology, information, communications and entertainment industries. Mr. Handen received a BA in Economics and Political Science from Bucknell University and an MBA in Finance from NYU’s Stern School of Business. We believe Mr. Handen’s extensive experience in the areas of finance, strategy and investing, particularly in the technology sector, makes him a valuable addition to the Board.
David Roseman has served as a member of the Board since March 16, 2021. He is currently the Chairman of Macquarie Capital’s Infrastructure and Energy Group, a team of over 250 professionals operating in all infrastructure, energy and utilities subsectors across the globe. Mr. Roseman was previously Macquarie Capital’s Head of the Infrastructure, Renewables and Utilities group for seven years. He joined Macquarie’s Project and Structured Finance Group in 1992. Prior to joining Macquarie, Mr. Roseman worked in the Banking and Finance Group at law firm Mallesons. Mr. Roseman previously served as Solicitor of the Supreme Court — New South Wales, Australia. He received a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) and Law at Monash University (Australia). We believe Mr. Roseman’s accomplishments and reputation in the infrastructure and energy industries makes him a valuable addition to the Board.
Virginia Breen has served as a member of the Board since March 16, 2021. She has 25 years of experience as an investor and board member in institutional private and public equity. She began her career at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (now Credit Suisse/First Boston) in investment banking in 1986 and moved to their venture capital affiliate, The Sprout Group, in 1988. Ms. Breen serves on the board of directors at the Neuberger Berman Fund Complex, Jones Lang LaSalle Income Property Trust and Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: PCTY). Ms. Breen also serves on the board of managers of the UBS A&Q Fund Complex and as a trustee for the Calamos Fund Complex. Ms. Breen holds an MBA with highest honors from Columbia University and an AB in Computer Science from Harvard College. We believe Ms. Breen is well qualified to serve on the Board because of her extensive professional experience advising boards of directors of public and private companies.
James Avery has served as a member of the Board since March 16, 2021. He currently serves as a director on the Western Electricity Coordinating Council. Mr. Avery was most recently the Chief Development Officer for San Diego Gas & Electric, a regulated subsidiary of Sempra Energy, a Fortune 500 energy services holding company whose family of companies provide electricity, natural gas and value-added energy related products and services. Prior to joining San Diego Gas & Electric, Mr. Avery was a consultant with R.J. Rudden Associates, chief executive officer of the electric and gas operations at Citizens Utilities Company, and Chairman of the California Transmission Planning Group. Mr. Avery’s board select positions include CleanTech San Diego, the California Power Exchange, the Vermont Electric Power Company, and RJ Rudden Associates. Mr. Avery is a graduate of the Executive Management Program at Dartmouth College and he holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Manhattan College. We believe Mr. Avery is well qualified to serve on the Board because of his extensive professional experience in the energy sector.
Gregory Gilmore has served as a member of the Board since March 16, 2021. He has over 30 years of experience in sales, consulting, and operations management. Mr. Gilmore is chief executive officer of Planview and has been the driving force behind the company’s growth for the past 20 years. Under Mr. Gilmore’s leadership, Planview pioneered the work and resource management category for enterprise software, grew the total addressable market from $300 million to $5 billion in just two years. Mr. Gilmore previously held leadership positions at Ernst & Young, Texas Instruments, James Martin & Co, and ABT. He is active in business and charity communities, having served as chairman of the board at Regents School of Austin and on the boards of the Hillview Christian Ministries and Foundation for the Homeless. Mr. Gilmore has a bachelor’s degree in business analysis from Texas A&M University. We believe Mr. Gilmore is well qualified to serve on the Board because of his extensive professional experience advising boards of directors of public and private companies.
Diarmuid B. O’Connell has served as a member of the Board since March 16, 2021. He previously served as Vice President of Corporate and Business Development at Tesla, Inc. Over the course of an 11-year tenure at Tesla, Mr. O’Connell was the second longest tenured member of the governing executive staff and was responsible for a wide range of strategic functions, projects and deals. Prior to joining Tesla, Mr. O’Connell joined the U.S. Department of State in late 2001 under the then leadership of Colin Powell, where he served as Chief of Staff for Political Military Affairs in support of the U.S. military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and other operational theaters, defense trade controls and post-conflict small arms reduction and demining. Earlier in his career, Mr. O’Connell served as a strategy consultant for Accenture and as a marketing executive at McCann Worldwide and Young & Rubicam. He was a co-founder of a distance learning start-up, Real Time Learning, in 1999. Mr. O’Connell continues his involvement in next generation mobility, energy transition and sustainability projects and currently serves on the boards of Dana Corp. (NYSE: DAN), Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB),The Mobility House GmbH and Volvo Car Group. Mr. O’Connell also consults to a number of global energy and mobility projects in the U.S. and in Europe, including large scale battery manufacturing, battery recycling, long duration energy storage, electric aviation and automotive retail with a focus on new ownership models. Mr. O’Connell holds a BA from Dartmouth College in History and Government, an MA in Foreign Policy from the University of Virginia in Political Economy and Soviet Foreign Policy and an MBA from Kellogg Graduate School of Management. We believe Mr. O'Connell is well qualified to serve on the Board because of his extensive experience advising boards of directors of public and private companies and his extensive professional experience in the energy sector.
Director Independence
The rules of Nasdaq require that a majority of our Board be independent within one year of our Initial Public Offering. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person that, in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, has no relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. We have four “independent directors” as defined in Nasdaq rules and applicable SEC rules. The Board has determined that each of James Avery, Virginia Breen, Gregory Gilmore and Diarmuid B. O'Connell is an independent director under applicable SEC and Nasdaq rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
The Board consists of seven members. Prior to consummation of our initial Business Combination, holders of our Class B common stock will have the right to elect all of our directors and remove members of the Board for any reason. Holders of our Public Shares will not have the right to vote on the election of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended if approved by holders of a majority of at least 90% of the outstanding shares of our common stock voting at a stockholder meeting. Approval of our initial Business Combination will require the affirmative vote of a majority of the Board, which must include a majority of our independent directors and the approval of the investment committee. Subject to any other special rights applicable to the stockholders, prior to our initial Business Combination, any vacancies on the Board may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors present and voting at the meeting of the Board that includes any directors representing our Sponsor then on the Board, or by holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock.
Our officers are elected by the Board and serve at the discretion of the Board, rather than for specific terms of office. The Board is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our bylaws as it deems appropriate. Our bylaws provide that our officers may consist of a Chief Executive Officer, a President, a Chief Financial Officer, Vice Presidents, a Secretary, Assistant Secretaries, a Treasurer, Assistant Treasurers and such other offices as may be determined by the Board (including interim officers as it deems appropriate).
Committees of the Board of Directors
The Board has four standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee, a nominating and corporate governance committee and an investment committee. Each of the audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee are composed solely of independent directors. Each committee operates under a charter that was approved by the Board and has the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee is available on our website.
Audit Committee
The members of our audit committee are Virginia Breen, Gregory Gilmore and Diarmuid B. O’Connell. Virginia Breen serves as the chair of the audit committee. Under Nasdaq listing standards, we are required to have a majority of independent members within 90 days of listing and a three member audit committee which is entirely independent within one year from the date of the listing and we intend to comply with such requirements within the applicable time period.
We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the purpose and principal functions of the audit committee, including:
| ● | assisting Board oversight of (1) the integrity of our financial statements, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) our independent auditor’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent auditors; |
| ● | the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent auditors and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
| ● | pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; |
| ● | reviewing and discussing with the independent auditors all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence; |
| ● | setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent auditors; |
| ● | setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
| ● | obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent auditors describing (1) the independent auditor’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues; |
| ● | meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent auditor, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”; |
| ● | reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and |
| ● | reviewing with management, the independent auditors, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. |
Compensation Committee
The members of our compensation committee are James Avery, and Diarmuid B. O’Connell. James Avery serves as chair of the compensation committee. Under Nasdaq listing standards, we are required to have a majority of independent members within 90 days of listing and a two-member compensation committee which is entirely independent within one year from the date of the listing and we intend to comply with such requirements within the applicable time period.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the purpose and responsibility of the compensation committee, including:
| ● | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation; |
| ● | reviewing and making recommendations to the Board with respect to the compensation, and any incentive-compensation and equity-based plans that are subject to Board approval of all of our other officers; |
| ● | reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; |
| ● | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
| ● | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
| ● | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees; |
| ● | producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
| ● | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, independent legal counsel or other adviser and is directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
The members of our nominating and corporate governance committee are Gregory Gilmore, James Avery and Virginia Breen. Gregory Gilmore serves the chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee. Under Nasdaq listing standards, we are required to have a majority of independent members within 90 days of listing and a three member nominating and corporate governance committee which is entirely independent within one year from the date of the listing and we intend to comply with such requirements within the applicable time period.
We have adopted a nominating and corporate governance committee charter, which details the purpose and responsibilities of the nominating and corporate governance committee, including:
| ● | identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors, consistent with criteria approved by the Board, and recommending to the Board candidates for nomination for election at the annual meeting of stockholders or to fill vacancies on the Board; |
| ● | developing and recommending to the Board and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines; |
| ● | coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the Board, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the Company; and |
| ● | reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary. |
The charter also provides that the nominating and corporate governance committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of, and terminate, any search firm to be used to identify director candidates, and is directly responsible for approving the search firm’s fees and other retention terms.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the Board considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders. Prior to our initial Business Combination, holders of our Public Shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to the Board.
Investment Committee
We have established an investment committee of the Board. The members of our investment committee are Dan Hesse, Lawrence Handen and David Roseman. Mr. Handen and Mr. Roseman serve as chair and co-chair of the committee, respectively. The consent of each member of the investment committee is required for a potential transaction to be submitted for consideration by the full Board.
We have adopted an investment committee charter, which details the purpose and responsibilities of the investment committee, including:
| ● | reviewing and approving potential Business Combination opportunities and transactions; |
| ● | overseeing commercial, financial, legal, regulatory, compliance, and technical due diligence to be performed by the Company; and |
| ● | recommending to the Board potential Business Combination opportunities and transactions that have been approved by the committee. |
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our officers currently serves, and in the past year have not served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more officers serving on our Board.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a code of ethics and business conduct (our “Code of Ethics”) applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our form of our Code of Ethics as an exhibit to this annual report. We have also posted a copy of our Code of Ethics and the charters of the audit committee, compensation committee, nominating and corporate governance committee and investment committee on our website www.techenergytransition.com. Our website and the information contained on, or that can be accessed through, the website is not deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and is not considered part of, this Annual Report. You are able to review these documents 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.
Conflicts of Interest
Our management team is responsible for the management of our affairs. As described above and below, each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties to one or more other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a Business Combination opportunity to such entities. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a Business Combination opportunity which is suitable for one or more entities to which he or she has fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties, he or she will honor these obligations and duties to present such Business Combination opportunity to such entities first, and only present it to us if such entities reject the opportunity and he or she determines to present the opportunity to us. 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.
Specifically, John Spirtos, Greg Callman, Stephan Feilhauer, Gautham Srinivas, Lawrence Handen, and David Roseman are currently associated with Macquarie and will not be independent of Macquarie (although there is no assurance that any of them will remain associated with Macquarie). As a result, each of John Spirtos, Greg Callman, Stephan Feilhauer, Gautham Srinivas, Lawrence Handen, and David Roseman has, and in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties, in addition to his obligations and duties as members of our management team, including as a result of his association with Macquarie, which could result in potential conflicts of interest. Additionally, all Macquarie personnel are subject to firm-wide policies and procedures regarding confidential and proprietary information, information barriers, private investments, outside business activities and personal trading.
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties of our officers or directors, or Macquarie, or policies applicable to Macquarie, will materially affect our ability to complete our initial Business Combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides 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 the Company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Since the consent of Macquarie Capital which is affiliated to our Sponsor, is required for approval of our initial Business Combination, any such conflict of interest could prevent us from consummating our initial Business Combination.
Our Sponsor, officers and directors may become involved with subsequent special purpose acquisition companies similar to the Company. Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
| ● | None of our officers or directors is required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities (including the activities or Macquarie and other Macquarie Accounts). |
| ● | In the course of their other business activities, our officers and directors may become aware of investment and business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. |
| ● | Our Sponsor and each of our officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any Public Shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our initial Business Combination. Additionally, our Sponsor and each of our officers and directors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares held by them if we fail to consummate our initial Business Combination within 24 months after the closing of the Initial Public Offering or during any Extension Period. However, if our initial stockholders or any of our officers, directors or affiliates acquire Public Shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if we fail to consummate our initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame. If we do not complete our initial Business Combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants held in the Trust Account will be used to fund the redemption of our Public Shares, and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. |
| ● | With certain limited exceptions, the Founder Shares will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our initial stockholders until the earlier of: (1) one year after the completion of our initial Business Combination; and (2) subsequent to our initial Business Combination, (x) the date on which we consummate a liquidation, merger, stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our Public Stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property and (y) 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 dividends, 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. With certain limited exceptions, the Private Placement Warrants and the shares of common stock underlying such warrants, will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our Sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial Business Combination. Since our Sponsor, officers and directors may directly or indirectly own common stock and warrants, our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial Business Combination. |
| ● | Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular Business Combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial Business Combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether to proceed with a particular Business Combination. |
| ● | Our key personnel may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular Business Combination if the retention or resignation of any such key personnel was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial Business Combination. |
The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.
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 the corporation and its stockholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation. |
Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our officers and directors have similar legal obligations and duties relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. Furthermore, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provide a that the doctrine of corporate opportunity will not apply with respect to any of our officers or directors in circumstances where the application of the doctrine would conflict with any fiduciary duties or contractual obligations they may have, and there will not be any expectancy that any of our directors or officers will offer any such corporate opportunity of which he or she may become aware to us. Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may present a conflict of interest:
Name of Individual | | Entity Name | | Entity’s Business | | Affiliation |
Dan Hesse | | PNC | | Financial Company | | Director |
| | Akamai | | Internet Company | | Director |
| | | | | | |
John Spirtos | | Macquarie Group(1) Logical Buildings, Inc | | Investment Company Energy Management Technology Provider | | Senior Advisor Director |
| | | | | | |
Greg Callman | | Macquarie Group(1) In-Charge Energy, Inc | | Investment Company Energy Services Company | | Senior Managing Director Director |
| | Calibrant Energy | | Distributed Energy Company | | Director |
| | | | | | |
Stephan Feilhauer | | Macquarie Group(1) | | Investment Company | | Managing Director |
| | Business Keeper GmbH | | Software Company | | Director |
| | | | | | |
Gautham Srinivas | | Macquarie Group(1) | | Investment Company | | Managing Director |
| | | | | | |
Lawrence Handen | | Macquarie Group(1) | | Investment Company | | Senior Managing Director |
| | | | | | |
David Roseman | | Macquarie Group(1) | | Investment Company | | Chairman of the Infrastructure and Energy Group |
| | | | | | |
Virginia Breen | | Paylocity JLLIPT NB Private Equity Partners(2) Calamos Fund Complex UBS A&Q Funds(2) | | Software Company REIT Investment Company Investment Fund Investment Fund | | Director Director Director Director Director |
| | | | | | |
Gregory Gilmore | | Planview Inc. | | Software Company | | Chief Executive Officer |
| | | | | | |
Diarmuid B. O’Connell | | Albemarle Corp. Dana, Inc. The Mobility House GmbH Volvo Car Group | | Chemical Manufacturing Company Manufacturing Company Energy Services Company Automotive Company | | Director
Director Director Director |
| (1) | Includes Macquarie Group and its affiliates. |
| (2) | Includes certain of its funds and other affiliates, including its portfolio companies. |
Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a Business Combination opportunity which is suitable for one or more entities to which he or she has fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties, he or she will honor these obligations and duties to present such Business Combination opportunity to such entities first, and only present it to us if such entities reject the opportunity and he or she determines to present the opportunity to us. 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.
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties of our officers or directors, or Macquarie, or policies applicable to Macquarie, will materially affect our ability to complete our initial Business Combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides 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 the Company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial Business Combination with a company that is affiliated with Macquarie, our Sponsor, officers or directors, nor are we prohibited from doing so with a business that is or is affiliated with any Macquarie Account. In the event we seek to complete our initial Business Combination with a business that is affiliated with Macquarie, our Sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm, that such initial Business Combination is fair to the Company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
In addition, our Sponsor or any of its affiliates (including Macquarie and other Macquarie Accounts) may make additional investments in the Company in connection with the initial Business Combination through a specified future issuance or otherwise, although our Sponsor and its affiliates have no obligation or current intention to do so. If our Sponsor or any of its affiliates elects to make additional investments, such proposed investments could influence our Sponsor’s motivation to complete an initial Business Combination.
In the event that we submit our initial Business Combination to our Public Stockholders for a vote, our Sponsor and each of our officers and directors have agreed to vote any Founder Shares and any Public Shares held by them in favor of our initial Business Combination.
Item 11. Executive Compensation.
None of our officers or directors have received any compensation for services rendered to us. Prior to the closing of the Initial Public Offering, our sponsor transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors at their original purchase price. Our Sponsor, officers, directors and their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable Business Combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our Sponsor, officers, directors or our or any of their respective affiliates.
After the completion of our initial Business Combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other compensation from the combined company. All compensation will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed Business Combination. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time such materials are distributed, 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 officers after the completion of our initial Business Combination will be determined by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors.
We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business, and we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial Business Combination should be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential Business Combination.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
The following table sets forth information available to us at June 14, 2021 with respect to our common stock held 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; 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 shares of common stock beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the Private Placement Warrants as these are not exercisable within 60 days of June 14, 2021.
| | Class A Common Stock | | | Class B Common Stock(1) | |
| | Beneficially Owned | | | Approximate Percentage of Class Issued and Outstanding Ordinary Shares | | | Beneficially Owned | | | Approximate Percentage of Class Issued and Outstanding Ordinary Shares | |
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner (2) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Tech and Energy Transition Sponsor LLC (our sponsor)(3) | | | — | | | | — | | | | 8,562,500 | | | | 90.0 | % |
MIHI LLC | | | — | | | | — | | | | 8,562,500 | | | | 90.0 | % |
Dan Hesse | | | — | | | | — | | | | 962,500 | | | | 10 | % |
John Spirtos | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | |
Greg Callman | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | |
Stephan Feilhauer | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | |
Gautham Srinivas | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | |
Lawrence Handen | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | |
David Roseman | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | |
Virginia Breen | | | — | | | | — | | | | 25,000 | | | | * | |
James Avery | | | — | | | | — | | | | 25,000 | | | | * | |
Gregory Gilmore | | | — | | | | — | | | | 25,000 | | | | * | |
Diarmuid B. O’Connell | | | — | | | | — | | | | 25,000 | | | | * | |
All directors and officers as a group (11 individuals) | | | — | | | | — | | | | 1,062,500 | | | | 11.0 | % |
Adage Capital Partners, L.P.(4) | | | 2,100,000 | | | | 5.45 | % | | | | | | | | |
Linden Advisors LP(5) | | | 2,000,000 | | | | 5.20 | % | | | | | | | | |
Millennium Group Management LLC(6) | | | 2,350,000 | | | | 6.10 | % | | | | | | | | |
Sculptor Capital LP(7) | | | 2,250,000 | | | | 5.84 | % | | | | | | | | |
| (1) | Class B common stock will convert into Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, as described in the section entitled “Description of Securities” in our prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4) (File No. 333-253444). |
| (2) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o Tech and Energy Transition Corporation, 125 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019. |
| (3) | Tech and Energy Transition Sponsor LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of MIHI, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Macquarie Group. Each of MIHI and Macquarie Group. may be deemed to beneficially own the shares held by our sponsor by virtue of their direct and indirect ownership, respectively, over Tech and Energy Transition Sponsor LLC . Each of MIHI and Macquarie Group. disclaims beneficial ownership of any such shares except to the extent of their respective pecuniary interest therein. The business address of Tech and Energy Transition Sponsor LLC is 125 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019. |
| (4) | According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on March 29, 2021, each of Adage Capital Partners, L.P., Adage Capital Partners GP, L.L.C., Adage Capital Advisors, L.L.C. and Robert Atchinson share voting and dispositive power with regard to 2,100,000 shares of Class A common stock of the Company and the business address of each is 200 Clarendon Street, 52nd Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02116. |
| (5) | According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on March 25, 2021, each of Linden Advisors LP and Siu Min Wong share voting and dispositive power with regard to 2,000,000 shares of Class A common stock of the Company. The business address for each is 590 Madison Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, New York 10022. |
| (6) | According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on March 24, 2021, each of Millennium Group Management LLC, Millennium Management LLC and Israel A. Englander share voting and dispositive power with regard to 2,350,000 shares of Class A common stock of the Company and the business address of each is 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022. |
| (7) | According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on March 23, 2021, each of Sculptor Capital Management, Inc., Sculptor Capital Holding II LLC, Sculptor Capital Holding Corp., Sculptor Capital II LP and Sculptor Capital LP share voting and dispositive power with regard to 2,250,000 shares of Class A common stock of the Company and the business address of each is 9 West 57th Street, New York, New York 10019. |
Our initial stockholders beneficially own approximately 20.0% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares and have the right to elect all of our directors prior to our initial Business Combination as a result of holding all of the Founder Shares. Holders of our Public Shares will not have the right to appoint any directors to the Board prior to our initial Business Combination. In addition, because of their 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 memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions.
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
Founder Shares
On December 4, 2017, the Company issued 100 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, for an aggregate consideration of $25,000. As of December 31, 2020, March 31, 2020 and March 31, 2019, the Company recorded a stock subscription receivable of $25,000. The proceeds were received on January 11, 2021.
On January 22, 2021, the Company (i) effectuated a recapitalization, and as a result, the Sponsor held 9,056,250 shares of our Class B common stock, (ii) issued to Dan Hesse 1,006,250 shares of our Class B common stock in exchange for an initial investment of $2,467 and (iii) filed an amended and restated certificate of incorporation to change its par value of its Class A and B common stock from $0.01 to $0.0001. As of January 22, 2021, there were 10,062,500 Founder Shares outstanding.
On March 16, 2021, the Company effectuated an 11-for-10 stock split of the Class B common stock, resulting in an aggregate outstanding amount of 11,068,750 shares of the Class B common stock, of which the Sponsor holds 9,861,875 shares, Dan Hesse holds 1,106,875 shares and each of the independent directors of the Company holds 25,000 shares.
On April 30, 2021, upon the expiration of the underwriters’ 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 5,775,000 units to cover over-allotments in the Initial Public Offering and the underwriters not exercising the over-allotment option, 1,443,750 shares of Class B common stock were forfeited by the Sponsor and Dan Hesse in order for the Sponsor, Dan Hesse and the Independent Directors to maintain ownership of 20.0% of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of the Company (excluding private units held by the Sponsor). Such forfeited shares were cancelled by the Company.
The Founder Shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, at the time of the Company’s initial Business Combination and are subject to certain transfer restrictions.
Holders of Founder Shares may also elect to convert their shares of Class B common stock into an equal number of shares of Class A common stock, subject to adjustment, at any time. The initial stockholders have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination or (B) subsequent to the initial 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 the initial 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.
Holders of Founder Shares may also elect to convert their shares of Class B common stock into an equal number of shares of Class A common stock, subject to adjustment, at any time. The initial stockholders have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination or (B) subsequent to the initial 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 the initial 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.
Private Placement Warrants
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 7,366,667 Private Placement Warrants at a purchase price of $1.50 per Private Unit, generating gross proceeds to the Company of $11,050,000.50. The Private Placement Warrants (and the underlying securities) are identical to the Units sold as part of the Units in the Initial Public Offering.
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the warrants included in the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions.
Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants are exercisable on a cashless basis and 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 are redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.
If we do not complete an Initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or during any Extension Period, the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants 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.
Registration Rights
The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, if any, are entitled to registration rights (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion of such shares to shares of Class A common stock) pursuant to a registration rights agreement. These holders are entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until the termination of the applicable lock-up period for the securities to be registered. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Related Party Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the warrants included in the Private Placement Warrants.
Promissory Note – Related Party
On December 16, 2020, the Sponsor made available to the Company, under a promissory note, up to $950,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of the Initial Public Offering. The promissory note was non-interest bearing and due on the earlier of September 30, 2021 or the completion of the Initial Public Offering. The Promissory Note funds borrowed of $275,000 were repaid upon the consummation of the Initial Public Offering on March 19, 2021.
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.
Fees for professional services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm for the last two fiscal years include:
| | | For the Year ended March 31, 2021 | | | | For the Year ended March 31, 2020 | |
Audit Fees(1) | | $ | 59,500 | | | $ | — | |
Audit-Related Fees(2) | | $ | — | | | $ | — | |
Tax Fees(3) | | $ | — | | | $ | — | |
All Other Fees(4) | | $ | | | | $ | — | |
Total | | $ | 59,500 | | | $ | — | |
| (1) | Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by our independent registered public accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings. |
| (2) | Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related fees consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our year-end financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultation concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. |
| (3) | Tax Fees. Tax fees consist of fees billed for professional services relating to tax compliance, tax planning and tax advice. |
| (4) | All Other Fees. All other fees consist of fees billed for all other services including permitted due diligence services related potential Business Combination. |
Policy on Board Pre-Approval of Audit and Permissible Non-Audit Services of the Independent Auditors
The audit committee is responsible for appointing, setting compensation and overseeing the work of the independent auditors. In recognition of this responsibility, the audit committee shall review and, in its sole discretion, pre-approve all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors as provided under the audit committee charter.
PART IV.
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.
| (a) | The following documents are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K: Financial Statements: See “Item 8. Index to Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” herein. |
| (b) | Exhibits: The exhibits listed in the accompanying index to exhibits are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. |
No. | | Description of Exhibit |
3.1(1) | | Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company. |
4.1(1) | | Warrant Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Company. |
4.2* | | Description of the Company’s securities. |
10.1(1) | | Warrants Subscription Agreement between the Company and the Sponsor. |
10.2(1) | | Investment Management Trust Account Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Company. |
10.3(1) | | Registration Rights Agreement among the Company, the Sponsor and certain other security holders named therein. |
10.4(1) | | Letter Agreement among the Company, the Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors. |
10.5(1) | | An Indemnity Agreement, dated March 16, 2021, between the Company and Dan Hesse. |
10.6(1) | | An Indemnity Agreement, dated March 16, 2021, between the Company and David Roseman. |
10.7(1) | | An Indemnity Agreement, dated March 16, 2021, between the Company and Gautham Srinivas. |
10.8(1) | | An Indemnity Agreement, dated March 16, 2021, between the Company and Stephan Feilhauer. |
10.9(1) | | An Indemnity Agreement, dated March 16, 2021, between the Company and Lawrence Handen. |
10.10(1) | | An Indemnity Agreement, dated March 16, 2021, between the Company and John Spirtos. |
10.11(1) | | An Indemnity Agreement, dated March 16, 2021, between the Company and Greg Callman. |
10.12(1) | | An Indemnity Agreement, dated March 16, 2021, between the Company and Virginia Breen. |
10.13(1) | | An Indemnity Agreement, dated March 16, 2021, between the Company and James Avery. |
10.14(1) | | An Indemnity Agreement, dated March 16, 2021, between the Company and Diarmuid O’Connell. |
10.15(1) | | An Indemnity Agreement, dated March 16, 2021, between the Company and Gregory Gilmore. |
31.1* | | Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Securities Exchange Act Rules 13a-14(a) and 15(d)-14(a), as adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
31.2* | | Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Securities Exchange Act Rules 13a-14(a) and 15(d)-14(a), as adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
32.1** | | Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
32.2** | | Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
101.INS* | | XBRL Instance Document. |
101.SCH* | | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document. |
101.CAL* | | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document. |
101.DEF* | | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document. |
101.LAB* | | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document. |
101.PRE* | | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document. |
| (1) | Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on March 19, 2021. |
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary.
None.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| | Tech and Energy Transition Corporation |
Date: July 1, 2021 | | |
| | |
| | /s/ John Spirtos |
| | By: | John Spirtos |
| | Chief Executive Officer and President |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
/s/ John Spirtos | |
Name: | John Spirtos | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer and President (Principal Executive Officer) | |
Date: | July 1, 2021 | |
| |
/s/ Stephan Feilhauer | |
Name: | Stephan Feilhauer | |
Title: | Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) | |
Date: | July 1, 2021 | |
| |
/s/ Dan Hesse | |
Name: | Dan Hesse | |
Title: | Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director | |
Date: | July 1, 2021 | |
| |
/s/ Lawrence Handen | |
Name: | Lawrence Handen | |
Title: | Director | |
Date: | July 1, 2021 | |
| |
/s/ David Roseman | |
Name: | David Roseman | |
Title: | Director | |
Date: | July 1, 2021 | |
| |
/s/ Virginia Breen | |
Name: | Virginia Breen | |
Title: | Director | |
Date: | July 1, 2021 | |
/s/ James Avery | |
Name: | James Avery | |
Title: | Director | |
Date: | July 1, 2021 | |
| |
/s/ Gregory Gilmore | |
Name: | Gregory Gilmore | |
Title: | Director | |
Date: | July 1, 2021 | |
| |
/s/ Diarmuid B. O’Connell | |
Name: | Diarmuid B. O’Connell | |
Title: | Director | |
Date: | July 1, 2021 | |