As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 27, 2021.
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
LF Capital Acquisition Corp. II
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware | 6770 | 86-2195674 |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
1909 Woodall Rodgers Freeway
Suite 500
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 741-6105
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Scott Reed
President, Chief Executive Officer
LF Capital Acquisition Corp. II
1909 Woodall Rodgers Freeway
Suite 500
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 741-6105
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
Martin Nussbaum, Esq. Thomas Friedmann, Esq. Dechert LLP Three Bryant Park 1095 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10036 Tel: (212) 698-3500 | Jonathan Ko, Esq. Frank Lopez, Esq. Paul Hastings LLP 200 Park Avenue New York, New York 10166 Tel: (212) 318-6000 |
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:
As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box. o
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, 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 o | Accelerated filer o | Non-accelerated filer x | Smaller reporting company x |
| | | Emerging growth company x |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. o
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
Title of Each Class of Security Being Registered | | Amount Being Registered | | Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Security(1) | | Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(1) | | Amount of Registration Fee |
Units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, and one-half of one redeemable warrant(2) | | 25,875,000 Units | | $ | 10.00 | | | $ | 258,750,000 | | | $ | 23,986 | |
Shares of Class A common stock included as part of the units(3) | | 25,875,000 Shares | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | (4) |
Redeemable warrants included as part of the units(3) | | 12,937,500 Warrants | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | (4) |
Shares of Class A common stock underlying warrants | | 12,937,500 Shares | | $ | 11.50 | | | $ | 148,781,250 | | | | 13,792 | |
Total | | | | | | | | $ | 407,531,250 | | | $ | 37,778 | |
(1) | Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee. |
(2) | Includes 3,375,000 units, consisting of 3,375,000 shares of Class A common stock and 1,687,500 warrants, which may be issued upon exercise of a 45-day option granted to the underwriter to cover over-allotments, if any. |
(3) | Pursuant to Rule 416(a), there are also being registered an indeterminable number of additional securities as may be offered or issued to prevent dilution resulting from stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions. |
(4) | No fee pursuant to Rule 457(g). |
The registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment that specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED , 2021
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
$225,000,000
LF Capital Acquisition Corp. II
22,500,000 Units
LF Capital Acquisition Corp. II is a newly incorporated blank check company 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 or entities, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our, or an, “initial business combination.” We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of our Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, terms and limitations as described in this prospectus. The warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation, as described in this prospectus. We have also granted Jefferies LLC (the “underwriter”) a 45-day option from the date of this prospectus to purchase up to an additional 3,375,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of our Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. If we have not completed an initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (unless extended in connection with an Extension Election as described below or as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which would require the approval of the holders of at least 65% of all of our then outstanding common stock) (the “prescribed time frame”), we will redeem 100% of the public shares for cash, subject to applicable law and certain conditions as further described herein. If we seek stockholder approval to extend the initial 15-month period in which to complete our initial business combination to a later date, we will offer our public stockholders the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest will be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described under “Proposed Business — Limitation on Redemptions.” However, if we anticipate that we may be unable to complete our initial business combination within 15 months, we may, but are not obligated to, extend the period of time to complete a business combination up to six times by an additional period of one month each time (for a total of up to 21 months) (each such one-month extension of the prescribed time period, an “Extension Election”); provided that, at the beginning of each such Extension Election, our sponsor (as defined below) (or its designees) must deposit into the trust account funds equal to $0.033 per public share (including any shares issued in relation to the exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option), in each case, in exchange for a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note.
Our sponsor, Level Field Capital II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (which we refer to as our sponsor throughout this prospectus), the underwriter and certain funds and accounts managed by subsidiaries of BlackRock, Inc. (the “BlackRock Funds”) have committed to purchase an aggregate of 11,000,000 warrants (or 12,350,000 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $1.00 per warrant (approximately $11,000,000 in the aggregate, or $12,350,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. We refer to the BlackRock Funds collectively as our “anchor investor” throughout this prospectus. We refer to these warrants as the private placement warrants throughout this prospectus. Each private placement warrant is exercisable to purchase one whole share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. Our anchor investor has expressed to us an interest to purchase an aggregate of $11.25 million of public units in this offering. Because this expression of interest is not a binding agreement or commitment to purchase, our anchor investor may determine to purchase more, fewer or no units in the offering or the underwriter may determine to sell more, fewer or no units to our anchor investor. We can offer no assurance that our anchor investor will acquire any units in this offering or what amount of equity our anchor investor will retain, if any, upon the completion of our initial business combination.
Our sponsor currently owns an aggregate of 6,468,750 shares of our Class B common stock (up to 843,750 shares of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised). We refer to these shares of our Class B common stock as the founder shares throughout this prospectus. The shares of our Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holders thereof, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as provided herein. Our Class A common stock and the Class B common stock vote together on all matters. Notwithstanding the foregoing, prior to our initial business combination, only holders of shares of our Class B common stock will be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors.
Currently, there is no public market for our units, shares of our Class A common stock or warrants. We have applied to list our units on the Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “LFACU.” We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq. We expect that the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day), unless the underwriter informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our filing a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) containing an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering and issuing a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. After the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “LFAC” and “LFACW,” respectively.
We are an “emerging growth company” and a “smaller reporting company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 29 for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
| | Per Unit | | Total |
Public offering price | | $ | 10.00 | | | $ | 225,000,000 | |
Underwriting discounts and commissions(1) | | $ | 0.55 | | | $ | 12,375,000 | |
Proceeds, before expenses, to LF Capital Acquisition Corp. II | | $ | 9.45 | | | $ | 212,625,000 | |
(1) | Includes $0.35 per unit, or $7,875,000 (or $9,056,250 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) in the aggregate payable to the underwriter for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein. The deferred commissions will be released to the underwriter only upon completion of an initial business combination, as described in this prospectus. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Underwriting” beginning on page 144 for a description of underwriting compensation payable to the underwriter. |
Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $229,500,000, or $263,925,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.20 per unit in either case), will be deposited into a segregated U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and $2,000,000 will be available to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following the closing of this offering. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of (a) the completion of our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame or (ii) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (c) the redemption of all of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public stockholders.
The underwriter is offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. The underwriter expects to deliver the units to the purchasers on or about , 2021.
Jefferies
Table of Contents
We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information, and we take no responsibility for any other information others may give to you. We are not, and the underwriter is not, making an offer to sell securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.
SUMMARY
This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. As this is a summary, it does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making an investment decision. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing.
Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus, or the context otherwise requires, references to:
| ● | “we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to LF Capital Acquisition, Corp. II, a Delaware corporation; |
| ● | “public shares” are to shares of our Class A common stock sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market); |
| ● | “public stockholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial stockholders and management team to the extent our initial stockholders and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that each initial stockholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public stockholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares; |
| ● | “management” or our “management team” are to our executive officers and directors; |
| ● | “sponsor” are to Level Field Capital II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, an affiliate of certain of our executive officers and directors; |
| ● | “anchor investor” are to certain funds and accounts managed by subsidiaries of BlackRock, Inc.; |
| ● | “initial stockholders” are to holders of our founder shares prior to this offering; |
| ● | “common stock” are to our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock, collectively; |
| ● | “founder shares” are to shares of our Class B common stock initially issued to our sponsor in a private placement prior to this offering, and the shares of our Class A common stock that will be issued upon the automatic conversion thereof as provided herein (for the avoidance of doubt, such shares of our Class A common stock will not be “public shares”); |
| ● | “private placement warrants” are to the warrants to be issued to our sponsor, the underwriter and our anchor investor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering and upon conversion of working capital loans, if any; |
| ● | “equity-linked securities” are to any debt or equity securities of our company which are convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for shares of our Class A common stock issued in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt; and |
| ● | “specified future issuance” are to an issuance of a class of equity or equity-linked securities to specified purchasers, that we may determine to make in connection with financing our initial business combination. |
Each unit consists of one share of our Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant for each unit purchased. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus, and only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
Registered trademarks referred to in this prospectus are the property of their respective owners. Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriter will not exercise its over-allotment option.
Our Company
We are a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated in February 2021 as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not identified any potential business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target.
While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business industry, sector or geographical location, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our management and board to identify and acquire a business with a disruptive business model that may provide opportunities for attractive risk-adjusted returns in the financial technology or services, technology, digital asset or consumer sectors. We believe that our management team is well positioned to identify attractive risk-adjusted returns in the marketplace and that their contacts and transaction sources, ranging from industry executives, private owners, private equity funds, and investment bankers will enable us to pursue an attractive set of opportunities. Our management team believes that its ability to identify and implement value creation initiatives will remain central to its differentiated acquisition strategy.
Our management team’s objective is to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns and create value for our stockholders by applying a disciplined strategy of underwriting intrinsic worth and partnering with management to build long-term stockholder value. Our management team intends to apply a disciplined approach which will focus on (i) large addressable market opportunities; (ii) attractive business models with strong competitive advantages; (iii) businesses with significant opportunities for growth; and (iv) capable management teams looking for a value-added partner. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. Our management team has an in-depth understanding of high growth business opportunities where we believe technology is creating disruption, and the ability to leverage technology to increase stockholder value.
Our management team has extensive experience in identifying and executing attractive investments across a number of sectors, including financial technology (“fintech”), a sector that is a focus for us, which we believe presents an opportunity to take advantage of the intersection of technology, process improvements and business model innovations. In addition, our team has significant hands-on experience working with private companies in preparing for and executing an initial public offering and serving as active owners and directors post-public offering by working closely with these companies to continue their transformations and help create value in the public markets.
Our management team is led by Elias Farhat, Scott Reed and Alberto Bianchinotti and our board of directors is led by Baudouin Prot. Members of our management team and our board of directors led the successful combination of LF Capital Acquisition Corp., a blank check company formed for substantially similar purposes as our company (“LFAC I”), with Landsea Homes Incorporated, a California-based homebuilding company that designs and builds best-in-class homes and sustainable master-planned communities in some of the nation’s most desirable markets, (Nasdaq: LSEA) (“Landsea”), which closed in January 2021. In addition, members of our management team and our board of directors have been responsible for a wide range of notable transactions in the financial services industry around the world. These include our Non-Executive Chairman of the Board, Baudouin Prot, who, during his tenure as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas S.A., led the acquisition of Fortis in Belgium and BNL in Italy, creating the largest bank in Europe and the sixth largest worldwide. Mr. Prot is currently a member of the board of directors of a number of multinational companies, including Kering S.A., Finastra, Alstom, S.A. and Foncia Group S.A. Our Executive Chairman of the Board (Elias Farhat) led the acquisition of multiple asset management and private capital companies for Candriam, a New York Life-owned firm. Prior to Candriam, Mr. Farhat advised and co-invested with U.S. and European private equity groups in various industries. As the founder of BankCap Partners (a financial-services-oriented private equity firm), our President, Chief Executive Officer (Scott Reed) is an active, successful investor in growth-oriented businesses. These included investments in five different platforms that resulted in the successful completion of a going public transaction (either through an IPO or a private-to-public merger). Mr. Reed continues to be involved with a number of these companies (serving on six different public and private company boards), including Silvergate Capital (NYSE: SI), in which he was an early and significant shareholder and with respect to which he partnered with management to lead a high-growth strategy focused on the digital asset (crypto-currency) industry. Finally, our Chief Financial Officer (Alberto Bianchinotti) is the founder of AM Knight Financial Services, a CPA firm, and has experience working with companies in the life science, software and real estate industries. Mr. Bianchinotti is a Certified Public Accountant and consultant with expertise in the launching of numerous investment advisers and start-ups.
In June 2017, Mr. Reed, Mr. Farhat and Mr. Prot founded LFAC I, of which Mr. Reed served as President, Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Prot served as the Chairman of the Board and Mr. Reed and Mr. Farhat served as members of the board of directors. Mr. Bianchinotti served as the Chief Financial Officer of LFAC I from July 2020 through the completion of its business combination with Landsea. LFAC I completed its initial public offering in June 2018, in which it sold 15,525,000 units, each consisting of one share of LFAC I common stock and one warrant to purchase one share of LFAC I common stock, for an offering price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $155,525,000. LFAC I completed its business combination with Landsea in January 2021. Landsea’s common stock and warrants are traded on Nasdaq under the symbols “LSEA” and “LSEAW”, respectively.
Our board has extensive operating and investing experience in public and private companies across a number of sectors, including in the technology and consumer sectors, which are also sectors of focus for us, where we believe there are numerous attractive potential acquisition targets.
Robert Black has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Mr. Black serves as the Chairman of the board of directors of RTIC Outdoors, LLC, a direct-to-consumer retailer of outdoor gear, a position he has held since 2020. He also serves as an Executive Advisory Partner of Wind Point Partners, a private equity firm, a position he has held since 2013, and a Senior Advisor to Boston Consulting Group’s Global Consumer Practice, a position he has held since 2012. From 2006 to 2012, Mr. Black served in various leadership positions at Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB), including as its Group President from 2007 to 2012, its Chief Strategy Officer from 2006 to 2007 and its Chief Innovation Officer from 2006 to 2007. Prior to that, from 2004 to 2006, Mr. Black served as the President, Chief Operating Officer and a member of the board of directors of Sammons Enterprises, a privately held financial consumer oriented and service-based business. From 1994 to 2004, Mr. Black served in a number of leadership positions at Steelcase, Inc. (NYSE: SCS), including as President of Steelcase International and as a member of the Steelcase, Inc. Executive Committee. Prior to that, he also held senior positions at McKinsey & Company, Baxter International, Inc. and Hard Manufacturing Co., Inc. Since 2018, Mr. Black has served on the board of directors of Edgewell Personal Care Company (NYSE: EPC). Mr. Black also serves on the boards of directors of Pestell Nutrition, a leading distributor of minerals, feed ingredients and nutritional additives; Targeted PetCare Goup, a manufacturer of animal litter, bedding products and dental pet treats; Corsicana Bedding, one of the nation’s largest bedding producers; and DecoPac, Inc., the world’s largest supplier of cake decorations to professional cake decorators and bakeries in the world. Mr. Black has also previously served on the boards of directors of a number of public companies, including Annie’s, Inc. (formerly NYSE: BNNY) (from 2014 to 2015), North American Technologies Group, Inc. (from 2004 to 2005), Modernform Group Public Company Ltd. (in 2002) and Kimberly-Clark de Mexico (from 2008 to 2012).
James Hodge has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Mr. Hodge founded Arrowsmith, LLC, an investment management firm, in 1999 and has served as its President and Chief Investment Officer since its inception. From 1987 to 2016, Mr. Hodge served as the President and Chief Investment Officer of Permal Asset Management, an investment management firm. Mr. Hodge is a member of the advisory board of Alpha Japan Asset Advisors Ltd., an asset management company, and the board of directors of China Alpha Fund Management Ltd., an investment management firm. He also serves on the boards of directors for a number of investment funds, including China Alpha II Fund Ltd., China Alpha Master Fund Ltd., Hel Ved Master Fund, WF Asian Reconnaissance Fund Limited and WF Asian Smaller Companies Fund Limited.
Habib Kairouz has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Mr. Kairouz is a Managing Partner of Rho Capital Partners, a private equity and venture capital firm with a focus on technology investments, where he has been employed since 1993 and a position he has held since 1999. Mr. Kairouz is a member of the boards of directors of Kasisto, Inc., a software developer of conversational AI platforms for the financial services industry, Passport Labs, Inc., a software developer of parking payment and enforcement solutions, Snagajob, Inc. an online marketplace for hourly work, Pawlicy Advisor, Inc., a pet insurance market place, and Dashlane Inc., a provider of password management solutions. Mr. Kairouz also previously served on the boards of directors of a number of public companies, including iVillage (formerly Nasdaq: IVIL) (from 1997-2006), IntraLinks Holdings, Inc. (formerly NYSE: IL) (from 2001-2017), Everyday Health, Inc. (formerly NYSE: EVDY) (from 2003-2016) and ReachLocal, Inc. (formerly Nasdaq: RLOC) (from 2007-2016).
Jodi Shelton has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. In 1994, Ms. Shelton co-founded the Global Semiconductor Alliance, an industry organization that strives to prepare the semiconductor industry for paradigm shifts by aligning leadership from more than 250 companies in more than 25 countries, and has served as its Chief Executive Officer and as a member of its board of directors since its inception. Ms. Shelton also founded the Shelton Group, an integrated investor relations and public relations agency, in 1994 and has served as its Chief Executive Officer since its inception. From 1990 to 1994, Ms. Shelton served as the Director of Investment Relations at Cyrix Corporation, a manufacturer of computer processor solutions. Ms. Shelton has served on the board of advisors of Nanotronics Imaging, Inc., an emerging technology company using artificial intelligence and robotics to transform manufacturing, since April 2021 and has served on the board of directors of Curic, Inc., a start-up developing a patented smart-diaper technology, since June 2020. Ms. Shelton previously served as a member of the board of advisors of the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership and as a member of the boards of directors of Silicon Border Holding Company LLC, a commercial development along the western border of the United States and Mexico; Yellowstone Club Community Foundation; and Aurora Dallas, a public art installation and event that takes place in downtown Dallas.
Djemi Traboulsi has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Mr. Traboulsi serves as President of Capital E Advisors, Inc., Capital E Group’s US private equity and real estate research arm, a position he has held since 2005. Mr. Traboulsi served as a member of LFAC I’s board of directors from its inception through the completion of its business combination with Landsea in January 2021. From 1991 to 2001, Mr. Traboulsi served as the Managing Director of Kenmar Capital Advisors (formerly Kenmar Advisory Corp.), an alternative asset manager. Prior to 1991, Mr. Traboulsi held various M&A and corporate finance positions with Mabon, Nugent & Co., an international investment bank and brokerage firm.
The past performance of our management team, including with respect to LFAC I, is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of our management’s performance as indicative of our future performance.
Business Strategy
Our acquisition and value creation strategy will be to identify, acquire and, after our initial business combination, build a company with a disruptive business model that could benefit from a hands-on owner with extensive operational experience in the financial technology or services, technology, digital asset or consumer sectors that complements the experience of our management team and board of directors and can benefit from their extensive knowledge of these sectors. Our acquisition strategy will leverage our management team’s network of proprietary transaction sources where we believe a combination of the relationships, knowledge and experience of our management and board members could effect a positive transformation or augmentation of existing businesses or properties to improve their overall value proposition.
Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team and their affiliates have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships that we believe will serve as a useful source of acquisition opportunities. This network has been developed through our management team’s extensive experience in both investing in a wide variety of industries and business situations. We expect these networks will provide our management team with a robust flow of acquisition opportunities. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates may be sourced from various unaffiliated sources, which may include investment market participants, private equity groups, investment banking firms, consultants, accounting firms and large business enterprises. Upon completion of this offering, members of our management team will communicate with their networks of relationships to articulate the parameters for our search for a target company and a potential business combination and begin the process of pursuing and reviewing potentially interesting leads.
Acquisition Criteria
Consistent with our business strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We will use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We intend to acquire companies or assets that we believe:
| ● | can utilize the extensive networks and insights we have built in the financial technology or services, technology, digital asset or consumer sectors; |
| ● | are at an inflection point, such as requiring additional management expertise, are able to innovate through new operational techniques, or where we believe we can drive improved financial performance; |
| ● | exhibit unrecognized value or other characteristics, desirable returns on capital, and a need for capital to achieve the company’s growth strategy, that we believe have been incorrectly valued by the marketplace based on our analysis and due diligence review; |
| ● | offer an attractive risk-adjusted return for our stockholders. We will seek to acquire the target on terms and in a manner that leverages our management team’s experience in investing within the financial technology or services, technology, digital asset or consumer sectors. Potential upside from growth in the target business and an improved capital structure will be weighed against any identified downside risks; and |
| ● | is in good standing with any applicable regulatory authorities. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet some or all of the above criteria in our stockholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials that we would file with the SEC.
Initial Business Combination
The Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Our board of directors will make the determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, based upon its assessment of the target, including, but not limited to, the target’s assets, operating results, and prospects. In connection with our board of directors’ determination as to its opinion of the fair market value of the target business, our board of directors may, in its discretion, seek the analyses and advice of third parties on which the board may rely, including seeking to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) or an independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the fair market value of business combinations. Our stockholders may not be provided with a copy of such advice or opinion, nor will they be able to rely on such advice or opinion. We can offer no assurance our board of directors will seek such advice or opinion in connection with our initial business combination, or will be able to obtain such advice or opinion if desired. Additionally, pursuant to the Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
We may raise additional proceeds to complete an acquisition opportunity by issuing a class of equity or equity-linked securities. We refer to this potential future issuance, or a similar issuance to other specified purchasers, as a “specified future issuance” throughout this prospectus. The amount and other terms and conditions of any such specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof. We are not obligated to make any specified future issuance and may determine not to do so. This is not an offer for any specified future issuance. Pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions of our Class B common stock, any such specified future issuance would result in an adjustment to the conversion ratio such that our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees, if any, would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 20% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon completion of this offering plus all shares issued in the specified future issuance, unless the holders of a majority of the then-outstanding shares of our Class B common stock agreed to waive such adjustment with respect to the specified future issuance at the time thereof. We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B common stock at the time of any such specified future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. If such adjustment is not waived, the specified future issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B common stock, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A common stock. If such adjustment is waived, the specified future issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our common stock.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will comply with any applicable regulatory requirements and own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the prior owners of the target business, the target management team or stockholders, or for other reasons. However, we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires an interest in the target or assets sufficient for the post-transaction company not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in an 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, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test. If our initial business combination involves more than one target business, Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses, and we will treat the target businesses together as our initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review including, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information made available to us (including any relevant and applicable regulatory filings). We cannot currently ascertain the time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process. Any costs incurred with respect to prospective target businesses with which we do not ultimately complete an initial business combination will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with such persons, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Members of our management team and our independent directors will directly or indirectly own our common stock and/or private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our executive 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 executive officers and directors is included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration. Our executive officers and directors have neither individually identified or considered a target business nor have they had any discussions regarding possible target businesses among themselves or with the underwriter or other advisors. We have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction. We have not (nor have any of our agents or affiliates) been approached by any candidates (or representative of any candidates) with respect to a possible acquisition transaction with us. Additionally, we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any measure, directly or indirectly, to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate for us, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any such acquisition candidate. Notwithstanding the foregoing, our sponsor, executive officers and directors have affiliations with certain businesses that may be suitable target businesses for us. Such affiliations will not preclude us from pursuing a combination with such potential targets, and any affiliation will not (in and of itself) be viewed as being in contravention to any assurances provided in this paragraph.
Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. Each of our executive officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity or is subject to other contractual restrictions. Accordingly, if any of our executive officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which they have then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, then, subject to such executive officer’s or director’s fiduciary duties under Delaware law, they will need to honor their fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity before we can pursue such opportunity. If these other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. We do not expect, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our executive officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or executive officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in their capacity as a director or executive 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.
Corporate Information
Our executive offices are located at 1909 Woodall Rodgers Freeway, Suite 500, Dallas, Texas 75201, and our telephone number is (214) 740-6105.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700.0 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” will have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $250.0 million as of the prior June 30th and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100.0 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700.0 million as of the prior June 30th.
The Offering
In deciding whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of the members of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company and the fact that this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors.”
Securities offered | 22,500,000 units, at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of: ● one share of our Class A common stock; and ● one-half of one redeemable warrant. |
Proposed Nasdaq symbols | Units: “LFACU” Class A Common Stock: “LFAC” Warrants: “LFACW” |
Trading commencement and separation of shares of our Class A common stock and warrants | The units are expected to begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The shares of our Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless the underwriter informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. After the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or to separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into shares of our Class A common stock and warrants. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination. |
Separate trading of the Class A common stock and warrants is prohibited until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K | In no event will the Class A common stock and warrants be traded separately until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC containing an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option. |
Units: | |
Number outstanding before this offering | 0 |
Number outstanding after this offering | 22,500,000(1) |
Common stock: | |
Number outstanding before this offering | 6,468,750 shares of Class B common stock(2)(3) |
Number outstanding after this offering | 28,125,000 shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock(1)(2)(4) |
Warrants: | |
Number of private placement warrants to be sold in a private placement simultaneously with this offering | 11,000,000(1) |
Number of warrants to be outstanding after this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants | 22,250,000(1) |
Exercisability | Each whole warrant included in the units sold in this offering is exercisable to purchase one share of our Class A common stock. Only whole warrants are exercisable. We structured each unit to contain one-half of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable for one share of our Class A common stock, as compared to units issued by some other similar blank check companies which contain whole warrants exercisable for one whole share, in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination as compared to units that each contain a warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses. |
1 | Assumes no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option and the forfeiture by our sponsor of an aggregate of 843,750 founder shares. |
2 | Founder shares are currently classified as shares of our Class B common stock. These shares will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock upon the consummation of our initial business combination as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights” and in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. |
3 | Consists solely of founder shares outstanding as of the date of this prospectus and includes up to an aggregate of 843,750 shares that are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised. |
4 | Includes 22,500,000 public shares and 5,625,000 founder shares, assuming the underwriter does not exercise its 45-day over-allotment option. |
Exercise price | $11.50 per whole share, subject to adjustment as described herein. In addition, if (x) we issue additional shares of our Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the completion of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of our Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors) and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our sponsor or such affiliates prior to such issuance (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 10 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we complete our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described adjacent to “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described adjacent to “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. |
Exercise period | The warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; provided that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, holders will be permitted to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement as a result of (i) our failure to have an effective registration statement by the 60th business day after the completion of our initial business combination as described in the immediately following paragraph or (ii) a notice of redemption described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00.” If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. The registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part registers the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. We have agreed that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than twenty business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC and have declared effective a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or a new registration statement covering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of our Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the completion of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption, and 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. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available and we are unable to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. |
| The warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation; provided, however, that the private placement warrants held by the underwriter will not be exercisable more than five years from the commencement of sales in this offering in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8). On the exercise of any warrant, the warrant exercise price will be paid directly to us and not placed in the trust account. The private placement warrants purchased by the underwriter are deemed underwriter’s compensation by FINRA pursuant to Rule 5110 of the FINRA Manual. |
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 | Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants: ● in whole and not in part; ● at a price of $0.01 per warrant; ● upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, which we refer to as the “30-day redemption period”; and ● if, and only if, the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period 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, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities). We will not redeem the warrants as described above unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of our Class A common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. Any such exercise would not be on a “cashless” basis and would require the exercising warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised. |
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 | After the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants: ● 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 determined by reference to the table set forth under “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants” based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock (as defined below); and |
| ● if, and only if, the Reference Value (as defined above under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00”) equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities). The “fair market value” of our Class A common stock means the volume-weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock for the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in other blank check offerings. We will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10-day trading period described above ends. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature on a cashless basis for more than 0.361 shares of our Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment). No fractional shares of our Class A common stock will be issued upon redemption as described above. If, upon redemption, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number the number of shares of our Class A common stock to be issued to the holder. Please see the section entitled “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants” for additional information. |
Expression of interest | Our anchor investor has expressed to us an interest to purchase $11.25 million of public units in this offering, and we have agreed to direct the underwriter to sell to our anchor investor such number of public units. Because this expression of interest is not a binding agreement or commitment to purchase, our anchor investor may determine to purchase more, fewer or no units in the offering or the underwriter may determine to sell more, fewer or no units to our anchor investor. We can offer no assurance that our anchor investor will acquire any units in this offering or what amount of equity our anchor investor will retain, if any, upon the completion of our initial business combination. As a result of the founder shares and private placement warrants that our anchor investor may hold, it may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial business combination than other public stockholders. |
| Our anchor investor will not have any rights to the funds held in the trust account beyond the rights afforded to our public stockholders, as described herein. |
Founder shares | On March 5, 2021, our sponsor acquired 100 shares of the company’s common stock in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $250.00 per share. On March 15, 2021, we effected a 64,687.5-for-one forward stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock and reclassified those issued and outstanding shares into founder shares. On June 21, 2021, we effected an approximately 1.11-for-one forward stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock. On October 26, 2021, we effected an approximately one-for-1.11 reverse stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock. As of the date of this prospectus, the sponsor holds 6,468,750 founder shares (reflecting an aggregate capital contribution of approximately $0.004 per share, which includes 843,750 shares subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised). Prior to our sponsor’s initial investment of $25,000 in the company, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the aggregate number of founder shares issued. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering (assuming our sponsor does not purchase any units in this offering). In connection with the closing of the offering, our sponsor will transfer 20,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors at their original purchase price. In addition, at the closing of our initial business combination, our anchor investor will be entitled to purchase from our sponsor an aggregate of 12.5% of the number of founder shares outstanding upon the final closing of this offering, at a purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a stock capitalization or a share surrender or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to the shares of our Class B common stock immediately prior to the completion of this offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial stockholders (and their permitted transferees), on an as-converted basis, at 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of our Class A common stock upon the completion of this offering. Up to 843,750 founder shares will be subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised, so that our initial stockholders will maintain ownership of 20% of our common stock after this offering. The founder shares are identical to the shares of our Class A common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, except that: ● only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination and holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason; ● the founder shares are shares of Class B common stock that will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holders thereof, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described herein; |
| ● the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; ● our sponsor and each of our executive officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive (i) 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; (ii) their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (a) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame or (b) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of an initial business combination. Our initial stockholders have agreed to vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased by them during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 8,437,501, or 37.5%, or 1,406,251, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the overallotment option is not exercised), of the 22,500,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised); ● the founder shares will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights” and in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation; and ● the founder shares are entitled to registration rights. |
Transfer restrictions on founder shares | Our initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 180 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property (except to certain permitted transferees or under certain circumstances, as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial stockholders with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the “lock-up.” |
Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights | The founder shares are designated as shares of our Class B common stock and will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holders thereof, at a ratio such that the number of shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of shares of our common stock issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering, plus (ii) the sum of (a) the total number of shares of our common stock issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities (as defined herein) or deemed issued by the company in connection with or in relation to the completion of our initial business combination, excluding (1) any shares of our Class A common stock or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into shares of our Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in our initial business combination, and (2) any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor or any of its affiliates upon conversion of working capital loans. In no event will shares of our Class B common stock convert into shares of our Class A common stock at a rate of less than one to one. Holders of our founder shares may elect to convert their shares at any time prior to our initial business combination at the option of the holders thereof. |
Voting and appointment of directors | Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, only holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended by approval of holders of the majority of our Class B common stock then outstanding. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote. |
Private placement warrants | Our sponsor, the underwriter and our anchor investor have committed, pursuant to written agreements, to purchase an aggregate of 11,000,000 warrants (or 12,350,000 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per whole warrant (approximately $11,000,000 in the aggregate, or $12,350,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Among the private placement warrants, 7,000,000 warrants (or 8,181,250 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by our sponsor, 1,125,000 warrants (or 1,293,750 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by the underwriter and 2,875,000 warrants will be purchased by our anchor investor. The private placement warrants are identical to the public warrants, except for (i) the transfer restrictions with respect to the former that are described in the paragraph below and (ii) the registration rights with respect to the former that are described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Registration Rights.” In addition, the private placement warrants held by the underwriter will not be exercisable more than five years from the commencement of sales in this offering in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8). The private placement warrants (including the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except as described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). |
Proceeds to be held in trust account | The Nasdaq rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants must be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $229,500,000, or $263,925,000, if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full, ($10.20 per unit in either case) will be placed into a U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. The proceeds to be placed in the trust account will include $7,875,000 (or $9,056,250 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of (a) the completion of our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame; (b) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame or (ii) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (c) the redemption of all of our public shares if we do not complete our business combination within the prescribed time frame, subject to applicable law. Public stockholders who redeem their shares of our Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote described in clause (b) in the preceding sentence will not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, with respect to such shares of our Class A common stock so redeemed. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public stockholders. |
Anticipated expenses and funding sources | Except as described above with respect to the payment of taxes, unless and until we complete our initial business combination, no proceeds held in the trust account will be available for our use. The proceeds held in the trust account, if invested, will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Assuming an interest rate of 0.1% per year, we estimate the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $229,500 per year; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, we may pay our expenses only from: ● the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account, which will be approximately $1,450,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $550,000 in expenses relating to this offering; ● with respect to our taxes, any interest earned on the funds held in the trust account; and ● any loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or their affiliates or other third parties; provided that they are under no obligation to loan or advance funds or invest in us and that any such loans will not have any claim on the proceeds held in the trust account unless such proceeds are released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. |
Conditions to completing our initial business combination | The Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. The fair market value of our initial business combination will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation, a valuation based on trading multiples of comparable public businesses or a valuation based on the financial metrics of M&A transactions of comparable businesses. In connection with our board of directors’ determination as to its opinion of the fair market value of the target business, our board of directors may, in its discretion, seek the analyses and advice of third parties on which the board may rely, including seeking to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the fair market value of business combinations. Our stockholders may not be provided with a copy of such advice or opinion, nor will they be able to rely on such advice or opinion. There can be no assurance our board of directors will seek such advice or opinion in connection with our initial business combination, or will be able to obtain such advice or opinion if desired. Additionally, pursuant to the Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. We anticipate structuring our initial business combination either (i) in such a way so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will comply with any applicable regulations and own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses or (ii) in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires an interest in the target sufficient for the post-transaction company not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in an initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of Class A common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of Class A common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of Class A common stock subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, that portion of such business or businesses that is so owned or acquired will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test; provided that, in the event that our initial business combination involves more than one target business, Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions, and we will treat the target businesses together as an initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable. |
Permitted purchases of public shares and public warrants by our affiliates | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, where otherwise permissible under applicable laws, rules and regulations. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. If our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller, or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M (“Regulation M”) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act. However, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, then the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act, to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. See “Proposed Business — Permitted Purchases of Our Securities” for a description of how our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of an initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of an initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the completion of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A common stock or warrants may be reduced, and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange. |
Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination | We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.20 per public share (to be increased by $0.033 per public share for each Extension Election (if any)). The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriter. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our sponsor and each of our executive officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares held by them and any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering in connection with the completion of our initial business combination or otherwise. |
Manner of conducting redemptions | We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve an initial business combination or (ii) without a stockholder vote by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements. Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval, while direct mergers with our company in which we do not survive and any transactions in which we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require stockholder approval. We currently intend to conduct redemptions in connection with a stockholder vote unless stockholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement and we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other legal reasons. |
| If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation: ● conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and ● file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act to purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act. In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event (a) the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus (b) 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 such initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. |
| If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will: ● conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and ● file proxy materials with the SEC. If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of an initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Shares held by our initial stockholders will count towards this quorum, and they have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased by them during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 8,437,501, or 37.5%, or 1,406,251, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the overallotment option is not exercised), of the 22,500,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction (assuming all outstanding shares are voted) in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised). We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote will be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, may make it more likely that we will complete our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed initial business combination. We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve an initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. We believe that this will allow our transfer agent to efficiently process any redemptions without the need for further communication or action from the redeeming public stockholders, which could delay redemptions and result in additional administrative cost. If the proposed initial business combination is not completed and we continue to search for a target company, we will promptly return any certificates delivered, or shares tendered electronically, by our public stockholders who elected to redeem their shares. |
| Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). However, a greater net tangible asset or cash requirement may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. Furthermore, although we will not redeem shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to fall below $5,000,001, we do not have a maximum redemption threshold based on the percentage of shares sold in this offering, as many blank check companies do. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of our Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption 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 such initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of our Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. The $5,000,001 of net tangible assets is calculated after accounting for payment of any deferred underwriting fees and commissions. |
Limitation on redemption rights of stockholders holding 15% or more of the shares sold in this offering if we hold stockholder vote | Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares of Class A common stock included in the units sold in this offering without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described above will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares of Class A common stock included in the units sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against a business combination if such holder’s shares were not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 15% of the shares of Class A common stock included in the units sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those stockholders that hold more than 15% of the shares of Class A common stock included in the units sold in this offering) for or against our initial business combination. Our sponsor and each of our directors and executive officers have, pursuant to a letter agreement entered into with us, waived their right to have any founder shares or public shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination. Unless any of our other affiliates acquires founder shares through a permitted transfer from our sponsor, and thereby becomes subject to the letter agreement, no such affiliate is subject to this waiver. However, to the extent any such affiliate acquires public shares in this offering or thereafter through open market purchases, it would be a public stockholder and subject to the 15% limitation in connection with any such redemption right. |
Redemption rights in connection with proposed amendments to our certificate of incorporation | Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain charter provisions. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that any of its provisions (other than amendments relating to the appointment and removal of directors, which require the approval by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock) related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), or applicable stock exchange rules. Our initial stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our common stock upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Our sponsor and each of our executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, or with respect to any other material provisions 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, including interest (which interest will be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described under “Proposed Business — Limitation on Redemptions.” For example, our board of directors may propose such an amendment if it determines that additional time is necessary to complete our initial business combination. In such event, we will conduct a proxy solicitation and distribute proxy materials pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act seeking stockholder approval of such proposal and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon stockholder approval of such amendment. This redemption right will apply in the event of the approval of any such amendment, whether proposed by our sponsor, any executive officer, director or director nominee, or any other person. 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 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. |
Release of funds in trust account on closing of our initial business combination | Upon the completion of our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the funds held in the trust account will be released to us. We will use these funds to pay amounts due to any public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Proposed Business — Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination,” to pay the underwriter its deferred underwriting commissions, to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination and to pay other expenses associated with our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital. |
Redemption of public shares and distribution and liquidation if no initial business combination | Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we will have only 15 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination (unless extended in connection with an Extension Election as described below or as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which would require the approval of the holders of at least 65% of all of our then outstanding common stock). However, if we anticipate that we may be unable to complete our initial business combination within 15 months, we may, but are not obligated to, extend the period of time to complete a business combination up to six times by an additional period of one month each time (for a total of up to 21 months); provided that, at the beginning of each such Extension Election, our sponsor (or its designees) must deposit into the trust account funds equal to $0.033 per public share (including any shares issued in relation to the exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option), in each case, in exchange for a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note. Our sponsor and its affiliates or designees are not obligated to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination. If we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, 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. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. |
| Our sponsor and each of our executive officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if our initial stockholders acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. The underwriter has agreed to waive its rights to its deferred underwriting commission held in the trust account in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame and subsequently liquidate and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the trust account that will be available to fund the redemption of our public shares. |
Limited payments to insiders | There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made by us to our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. However, the following payments will be made to our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination: ● Repayment of an aggregate of up to $600,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor; ● Payment to an affiliate of our sponsor of $15,000 per month, for up to 15 months, for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support; ● Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating, negotiating and completing an initial business combination; and ● Repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the terms of which have not been determined nor have any written agreements been executed with respect thereto. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. Any such payments will be made either (i) prior to our initial business combination using proceeds of this offering held outside the trust account or from loans made to us by our sponsor or (ii) in connection with or after the completion of our initial business combination. |
| Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or their affiliates. |
Audit Committee | We have established an audit committee, which is composed entirely of independent directors to monitor compliance with the terms described above and the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to promptly take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise to cause compliance with the terms of this offering. For more information, see the section of this prospectus entitled “Management — Committees of the Board of Directors — Audit Committee.” |
Conflicts of interest | Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present business combination opportunities to such entity or is subject to other contractual restrictions. Accordingly, in the future, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which they have then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, they will honor their fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under applicable law. We do not expect, however, that any fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in their capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue. In addition, our sponsor, executive officers and directors may participate in the formation of, or become an executive officer or director of, any other blank check company prior to consummation of our initial business combination. As a result, our sponsor, executive officers or directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other blank check company with which they may become involved. However, we do not believe that any potential conflicts of this nature would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. |
Indemnity | Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent public accountants) for services rendered or products sold to us, or by a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (i) $10.20 per public share or (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account if less than $10.20 per share as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay our taxes. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account, nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations, and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. None of our officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses. |
Risks
We are a newly incorporated company that has conducted no operations and has generated no revenues. Until we complete our initial business combination, we will have no operations and will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. This offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. For additional information concerning how Rule 419 blank check offerings differ from this offering, please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business — Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.” You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors.”
Summary of Risk Factors
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our units. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment:
| ● | We are a recently incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective. |
| ● | Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.” |
| ● | Past performance by our management team, or their respective affiliates, including with respect to LFAC I and the other businesses referred to herein, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us. |
| ● | 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. |
| ● | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote. |
| ● | 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 an initial business combination. |
| ● | The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target. |
| ● | The recent coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic and the impact of related business shutdowns on business and debt and equity markets could have a material adverse effect on our search for a business combination and any target business with which we ultimately complete a business combination. |
| ● | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A common stock. |
| ● | 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. |
| ● | You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in many other blank check companies. |
| ● | If we are do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless. |
| ● | If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 15 months, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless. |
| ● | The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of shares of our Class A common stock. |
| ● | We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view. |
| ● | Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses, thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. |
| ● | Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests. |
| ● | We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest. |
| ● | Since our sponsor, executive officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination. |
| ● | Our initial stockholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support. |
| ● | The other risks and uncertainties discussed in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. |
Summary Financial Data
The following table summarizes the relevant financial data for our business and should be read with our financial statements, which are included in this prospectus. We have not had any significant operations to date, so only balance sheet data are presented.
| | September 30, 2021 |
Balance Sheet Data: | | | | |
Working capital (deficiency) | | $ | (444,482 | ) |
Total assets | | $ | 488,904 | |
Total liabilities | | $ | 476,592 | |
Value of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption | | $ | — | |
Stockholder’s equity | | $ | 12,312 | |
If no business combination is completed within the prescribed time frame, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares. Our sponsor and each of our executive officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our units. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Relating to Our Business
We are a recently incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a recently incorporated company with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through this offering. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
As of September 30, 2021, we had $32,110 in cash and a working capital deficiency of $444,482. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Our plans to raise capital and to complete our initial business combination may not be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this prospectus do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to consummate this offering or our inability to continue as a going concern. Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report included an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern as of March 5, 2021 and was based on similar facts and circumstances previously described as of September 30, 2021.
Past performance by our management team, or their respective affiliates, including with respect to LFAC I and the other businesses referred to herein, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us or in the future performance of any business that we may acquire.
Information regarding past performance of our management team, or their respective affiliates, including with respect to LFAC I, is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience and performance of our management team, their affiliates, or the other companies referred to herein is not a guarantee either: (1) that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (2) of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may complete. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team, their affiliates, or the performance of the other companies referred to herein as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward.
Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination if such an initial business combination would not require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements. For instance, if we were seeking to acquire a target business where the consideration we were paying in the transaction was all cash, we would not be required to seek stockholder approval to complete such a transaction. Except as required by law or stock exchange requirements, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow stockholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek stockholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our public shares do not approve of that initial business combination. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business — Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Our initial stockholders will own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our outstanding shares of our Class A common stock immediately following the completion of this offering. Our initial stockholders and members of our management team also may from time to time purchase our Class A common stock prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that, if we seek stockholder approval of an initial business combination, such initial business combination will be approved if we receive the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares voted at such meeting, including the founder shares. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, our sponsor and each of our executive officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any shares purchased during or after this offering, in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 8,437,501, or 37.5%, or 1,406,251, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the overallotment option is not exercised), of the 22,500,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised). Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial stockholders and each member of our management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite stockholder approval for such initial business combination.
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 our initial business combination.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of one or more target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on our initial business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote. 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 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 our 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 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for additional third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriter will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions.
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
The requirement that we complete an 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 as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
We may not be able to complete an 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 only receive $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we must complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (unless extended in connection with an Extension Election as described below or as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which would require the approval of the holders of at least 65% of all of our then outstanding common stock). However, if we anticipate that we may be unable to complete our initial business combination within 15 months, we may, but are not obligated to, extend the period of time to complete a business combination up to six times by an additional period of one month each time (for a total of up to 21 months); provided that, at the beginning of each such Extension Election, our sponsor (or its designees) must deposit into the trust account funds equal to $0.033 per public share (including any shares issued in relation to the exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option), in each case, in exchange for a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note. Our sponsor and its affiliates or designees are not obligated to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete an initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete an initial business combination may be negatively affected by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. If we have not completed an initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, 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 only receive $10.20 per share, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.20 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors below.
Our sponsor may decide not to extend the term we have to consummate our initial business combination, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, and the warrants will expire worthless.
We will have until 15 months from the closing of this offering to consummate our initial business combination (unless extended in connection with an Extension Election as described below or as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which would require the approval of the holders of at least 65% of all of our then outstanding common stock). However, if we anticipate that we may be unable to complete our initial business combination within 15 months, we may, but are not obligated to, extend the period of time to complete a business combination up to six times by an additional period of one month each time (for a total of up to 21 months); provided that, at the beginning of each such Extension Election, our sponsor (or its designees) must deposit into the trust account funds equal to $0.033 per public share (including any shares issued in relation to the exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option), in each case, in exchange for a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note. Our sponsor and its affiliates or designees are not obligated to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within the applicable time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, 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 event, the warrants will expire worthless.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of related business shutdowns on business and debt and equity markets could have a material adverse effect on our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately complete a business combination.
In December 2019, COVID-19 was reported to have surfaced, which has and is continuing to spread throughout the world, including the United States and Europe. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a global health crisis and widespread business shutdowns that adversely affected economies and financial markets worldwide and the conduct of commerce generally. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may limit the number of potential target businesses we can consider for our initial business combination and may have had, or continue to have, a material adverse effect on any potential target business with which we complete an initial business combination. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete an initial business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and complete a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination is highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the emergence of new coronavirus strains, the severity and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the actions necessary to contain the COVID-19 pandemic or treat its impact. If the disruptions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic or other matters of global concern continue for an extended period of time, it would have a material adverse effect on our ability to complete an initial business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately complete an initial business combination.
In addition, our ability to complete a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing, and the COVID-19 pandemic and other related events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise adequate financing.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, where otherwise permissible under applicable laws, rules and regulations, although they are under no obligation to do so. However, other than as expressly stated herein, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions.
Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of any such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of an initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of an initial business combination, or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. See “Proposed Business — Permitted Purchases of Our Securities” for a description of how our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A common stock or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain 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 documents 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 with which holders must comply 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”) either (a) to tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve an initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or (b) to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business — Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination — Tendering Stock Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights.”
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. 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 earlier to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of our Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (a) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame or (b) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. Public stockholders who redeem shares of our Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence will not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, with respect to such shares of our Class A common stock so redeemed. In addition, if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame 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 longer than 15 months from the closing of this offering before they receive funds from our trust account. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
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 have applied to have our units listed on Nasdaq and we expect that our units will be listed on Nasdaq on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. Following the date the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants become eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants will be separately listed on Nasdaq. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the Nasdaq listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. Generally, we must maintain an average global market capitalization and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 400 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, our stock price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and we would be required to have a minimum of 400 round lot holders of our securities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
| ● | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
| ● | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| ● | a determination that our Class A 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 preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because we expect that our units and eventually our Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq, our units, Class A common stock and warrants will be covered securities. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies (other than the State of Idaho), certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and may use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not be covered securities, and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities, including in connection with our initial business combination.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been identified, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the U.S. securities laws. However, because we intend to have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the successful completion of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and to file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we expect to be exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if this offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination. For a more detailed comparison of our offering to offerings that comply with Rule 419, please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business — Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.”
An investment in this offering may result in uncertain or adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.
An investment in this offering may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there are no authorities that directly address instruments similar to the units we are issuing in this offering, their treatment for U.S. federal income tax purposes is uncertain, and the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of a unit between the share of Class A common stock and the one-half of one redeemable warrant included in each unit could be challenged by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) or the courts. In addition, if we are determined to be a personal holding company for U.S. federal income tax purposes, our taxable income would be subjected to an additional 20% federal income tax, which would reduce the net after-tax amount of interest income earned on the funds placed in our trust account. Furthermore, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of a cashless exercise of warrants included in the units we are issuing in this offering is unclear under current law. Finally, it is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to our shares suspend the running of a U.S. holder’s holding period for purposes of determining whether (i) any gain or loss realized by such holder on the sale or exchange of Class A common stock is long-term capital gain or loss; (ii) any dividends we pay would be considered “qualified dividends” for U.S. federal income tax purposes; and (iii) any dividend we pay would be eligible for the corporate dividends-received deduction. See the section entitled “United States Federal Income Tax Considerations” for a summary of the principal U.S. federal income tax consequences of an investment in our securities. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences when purchasing, holding or disposing of our securities.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will 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 shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do, and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain sizable target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of such target businesses.
Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a stockholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Either of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.20 per share upon our liquidation. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors below.
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 net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 15 months, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 15 months, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that, upon the closing of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account, together with funds available from loans from our sponsor, will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 15 months. However, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we may use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for or evaluation of a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent or merger agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.20 per share upon our liquidation. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors below
If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search for a business combination, to pay our taxes and to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, only approximately $1,450,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $550,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, unless funded by the proceeds of loans available from our sponsor or its affiliates, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $550,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. The amount held in the trust account will not be affected as a result of such an increase or decrease. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. None of our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.20 per share on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.20 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors below.
Subsequent to the completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our stock price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will surface all material issues that may be present inside a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following an initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to bring a successful private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to an initial business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination.
In recent months, the market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed in ways adverse to us and our management team. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. These trends may continue into the future.
The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete 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 and/or accept less favorable terms. Furthermore, 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, after completion of any initial business combination, our directors and officers could be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to such 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 $10.20 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 auditors), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waive 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. Even if they do execute such agreements, they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third-party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Making such a request of potential target businesses may make our acquisition proposal less attractive to them and, to the extent prospective target businesses refuse to execute such a waiver, it may limit the field of potential target businesses that we may 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 in which management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not completed our business combination within the prescribed time frame, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the ten years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.20 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to a letter agreement, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent auditors) 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 the lesser of (i) $10.20 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account (if less than $10.20 per share) due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay our taxes, if any. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party or prospective target business that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.
Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. 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. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.20 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 executive officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account (if less than $10.20 per share) due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay our taxes, if any, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations.
While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.20 per share. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of the company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our executive officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our executive officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we complete an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our executive officers and directors may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our executive 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 executive 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 executive 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 $10.20 per share.
The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. 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 issued securities having annual interest rates below zero percent 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 do not to complete our initial business combination or make certain amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our public stockholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income, net of taxes paid or payable (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 $10.20 per share.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy or insolvency court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
| ● | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
| ● | restrictions on the issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. |
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
| ● | registration as an investment company; |
| ● | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| ● | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale.
We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor. We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in U.S. “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. This offering is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (a) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame or (b) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent our completing an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public stockholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
If we have not completed an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, our public stockholders may be forced to wait longer than 15 months before redemption from our trust account.
If we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of the interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of public stockholders from the trust account will be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind-up, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public stockholders as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the DGCL. In that case, investors may be forced to wait longer than 15 months from the closing of this offering before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless we complete our initial business combination prior thereto and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their shares of our Class A common stock. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public stockholders be entitled to distributions if we do not complete our initial business combination.
Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. In the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the funds distributed to our public stockholders from our trust account in connection with the redemption of our public shares 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 (1) such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or (2) 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 15th month from the closing of this offering (or longer to the extent there is any applicable 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 will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after the completion of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our stockholders to elect directors.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the completion of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.
Holders of our Class A common stock will not be entitled to vote on any appointment of directors we hold prior to our initial business combination.
Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. Accordingly, you may not have any say in the management of our company prior to the completion of an initial business combination.
We have included the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act in the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. However, this registration statement or another registration statement covering such shares of our Class A common stock may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless.
We have included the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act in the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Because the warrants are not exercisable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, we do not currently intend to update the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or file a new registration statement covering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants until after our initial business combination has been consummated. Under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed to use our commercially reasonable efforts to file a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or a new registration statement under the Securities Act covering such shares and maintain a current prospectus relating to the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, in which case the number of shares of our Class A common stock that you will receive upon cashless exercise will be based on a formula subject to a maximum number of shares equal to 0.361 shares of our Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment). However, no such warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder (unless an exemption from state registration is available). Notwithstanding the above, if the shares of our Class A common stock are, at the time of any exercise of a warrant, not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act. In the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will be required to use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws and there is no exemption available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant, and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the shares of our Class A common stock included in the units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the warrants included as part of units sold in this offering. In such an instance, our sponsor and its transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to sell the shares of common stock underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying shares of common stock. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying shares of our Class A common stock for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
Our ability to require holders of our warrants to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis after we call the warrants for redemption or if there is no effective registration statement covering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants will cause holders to receive fewer shares of our Class A common stock upon their exercise of the warrants than they would have received had they been able to pay the exercise price of their warrants in cash.
If we call the warrants for redemption, we will have the option, in our sole discretion, to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis in the circumstances described in “Description of Securities — Warrants — Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00.” If we choose to require holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis or if holders elect to do so when there is no effective registration statement, the number of shares of our Class A common stock received by a holder upon exercise will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised their warrant for cash. For example, if the holder is exercising 875 warrants at $11.50 per share through a cashless exercise when the shares of our Class A common stock have a fair market value of $17.50 per share when there is no effective registration statement, then upon the cashless exercise, the holder will receive 300 shares of our Class A common stock. The holder would have received 875 shares of our Class A common stock if the exercise price was paid in cash. This will have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company because the warrant holder will hold a smaller number of shares of our Class A common stock upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold.
The warrants may become exercisable and redeemable for a security other than the shares of our Class A common stock, and you will not have any information regarding such other security at this time.
In certain situations, including if we are not the surviving entity in our initial business combination, the warrants may become exercisable for a security other than the shares of our Class A common stock. As a result, if the surviving company redeems your warrants for securities pursuant to the warrant agreement, you may receive a security in a company of which you do not have information at this time. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, the surviving company will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to register the issuance of the security underlying the warrants within twenty business days of the closing of an initial business combination.
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of shares of our Class A common stock.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be entered into prior to the closing of this offering, 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 at the time of our initial business combination, holders of our private placement warrants and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the private placement warrants and the shares of our 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. Assuming the founder shares convert on a one-for-one basis and no warrants are issued upon conversion of working capital loans, an aggregate of up to 5,625,000 shares of Class A common stock and up to 11,000,000 warrants (or up to 6,468,750 shares of Class A common stock and up to 12,350,000 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) are subject to registration under these agreements. 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 securities owned by our initial stockholders or holders of working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered for resale.
Because we are not limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry or sector and we have not 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.
Although we expect to focus our search for a target business in the financial technology or services, technology, digital asset or consumer sectors, we may seek to complete a business combination with an operating company in any industry or sector. However, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet identified 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 revenues or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain stockholders or warrant holders 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 unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under the securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to an initial business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
Additional Risks Related to Our Business
We may seek acquisition opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s area of expertise if a business combination candidate is presented to us, and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in this offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this prospectus regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain stockholders or warrant holders following our business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares or warrants. 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 and our strategy will be to identify, acquire and build a company in our target investment area, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses and our strategy will be to identify, acquire and build a company in our target investment area, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have attributes consistent with these general criteria and guidelines. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may seek acquisition opportunities with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenues or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include volatile revenues or earnings and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our executive officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors, and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that such 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. Consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, 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 stockholders from a financial point of view. If we obtain no such opinion, our stockholders will have to rely on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
We may engage the underwriter or one or more of its affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering, which may include acting as financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. The underwriter is entitled to receive deferred commissions that will be released from the trust only upon completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause the underwriter to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after this offering, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
We may engage the underwriter or one or more of its affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering, 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 underwriter or its 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 underwriter or its affiliates and no fees or other compensation for such services will be paid to the underwriter or its affiliates prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of this prospectus, unless such payment would not be deemed underwriter’s compensation in connection with this offering. The underwriter is also entitled to receive deferred commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. The fact that the underwriter or its affiliates’ financial interests are tied to the completion of an initial business combination may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and completion of an initial business combination.
We may issue additional shares of our Class A common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of our Class A common stock upon the conversion of our Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will authorize the issuance of up to 100,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 10,000,000 shares of our Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 77,500,000 and 4,375,000 (assuming, in each case, that the underwriter has not exercised its over-allotment option) authorized but unissued shares of our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock, respectively, available for issuance. These amounts do not take into account the shares of our Class A common stock reserved for issuance upon exercise of any outstanding warrants or the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of our Class B common stock. Immediately after the completion of this offering, there will be no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding. Shares of our Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holders thereof, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein, including under certain circumstances in which we issue shares of our Class A common stock or equity-linked securities related to our initial business combination.
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of our Class A common stock or shares of preferred stock to complete our initial business combination (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 our Class A common stock to redeem the warrants as described under “Description of Securities — Warrants — Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00” or upon conversion of our Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that prior to or in connection with our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination or on any other proposal presented to stockholders prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote. The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:
| ● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering; |
| ● | may subordinate the rights of holders of our Class A common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A common stock; |
| ● | could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our Class A common stock are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and |
| ● | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants. |
We could waste resources researching acquisitions that we do not complete, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that our 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 as well as substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs we have 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 not complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons, including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We depend upon our executive officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations depend upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends upon the continued service of our executive officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential initial business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our ability to effect our initial business combination successfully and to operate successfully thereafter will depend 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 financial results of our post-combination business.
Our ability to effect our initial business combination will depend upon the efforts of our key personnel. We cannot presently ascertain the role of our key personnel in the target business. Although some of our key personnel may join the target business in senior management, director or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the incumbent management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
In addition, the officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a target business’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and financial results of our post-combination business. The roles 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, some members of the management of an acquisition candidate may not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and financial results 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 provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and, as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a business combination is advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with the company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with an initial business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of an initial business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of an initial business combination. Such negotiations could also make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to their fiduciary duties under Delaware law. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company, which could, in turn, negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management will be limited due to a lack of time, resources and 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 financial results of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain stockholders or warrant holders following an initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares or warrants. Such stockholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value, unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to an initial business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses, thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers and directors is engaged in several other business endeavors for which they may be entitled to substantial compensation. Our executive officers and directors are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. In particular, certain of our officers and directors 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 or board members for other entities. If our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Management — Officers and Directors.”
Certain of our executive officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including other blank check companies, and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of this offering and until we complete our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Certain of our executive officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such executive officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under applicable law, or is subject to other contractual restrictions. In addition, our sponsor and our directors and executive officers, or their affiliates, may in the future become affiliated with other blank check companies that may have acquisition objectives that are similar to ours. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor, and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Delaware law. However, we do not expect that any potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in their 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.
For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see the sections of this prospectus entitled “Management — Officers and Directors,” “Management — Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, executive officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or executive officers, although we do not currently have an intention to do so. We do not have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us, including the formation or participation in one or more other blank check companies. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
The personal and financial interests of our directors and executive officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and executive officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our stockholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Delaware law, and we or our stockholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our stockholders’ rights. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders, which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, executive officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest.” Our sponsor and our directors and executive officers, or their affiliates may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no substantive discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination as set forth in the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business — Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our 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 our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of an initial business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Since our sponsor, executive officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On March 5, 2021, our sponsor acquired 100 shares of the company’s common stock in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $250.00 per share. On March 15, 2021, we effected a 64,687.5-for-one forward stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock and reclassified those issued and outstanding shares into founder shares. On June 21, 2021, we effected an approximately 1.11-for-one forward stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock. On October 26, 2021, we effected an approximately one-for-1.11 reverse stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock. As of the date of this prospectus, the sponsor holds 6,468,750 founder shares (reflecting an aggregate capital contribution of approximately $0.004 per share, which includes 843,750 shares subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised). Prior to our sponsor’s initial investment of $25,000 in the company, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering. In connection with the closing of the offering, our sponsor will transfer 20,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors at their original purchase price. In addition, at the closing of our initial business combination, our anchor investor will be entitled to purchase from our sponsor an aggregate of 12.5% of the number of founder shares outstanding upon the final closing of this offering, at a purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor, the underwriter and our anchor investor have committed to purchase an aggregate of 11,000,000 (or 12,350,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, for a purchase price of approximately $11,000,000 (or approximately $12,350,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $1.00 per whole warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete a business combination. Among the private placement warrants, 7,000,000 warrants (or 8,181,250 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by our sponsor, 1,125,000 warrants (or 1,293,750 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by the underwriter and 2,875,000 warrants will be purchased by our anchor investor. Our initial stockholders have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination and (B) not to redeem any founder shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination. In addition, we may obtain loans from our sponsor, affiliates of our sponsor or an officer or director. The personal and financial interests of our executive officers and directors may influence them in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and operating the business following our initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as we near the 15-month anniversary of the closing of this offering nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination, and we may pay our sponsor, executive officers, directors and any of their respective affiliates’ fees and expenses in connection with identifying, investigating and completing an initial business transaction.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete our initial business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following this offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We and our executive officers have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
| ● | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| ● | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| ● | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand; |
| ● | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
| ● | our inability to pay dividends on our Class A common stock; |
| ● | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes; |
| ● | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| ● | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; |
| ● | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and |
| ● | other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to depend on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and financial condition and results.
Of the net proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants up to $229,500,000 (or $263,925,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be available to complete our business combination and pay related fees and expenses (which includes up to approximately $7,875,000 or up to approximately $9,056,250 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full, for the payment of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account and the estimated expenses of this offering). We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments, 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. 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:
| ● | depend upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or |
| ● | depend upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
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 financial condition and results.
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 financial condition and results of operations. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination.
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 attractive as we anticipated, if at all.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. Upon the loss of control of a target business, new management may not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company complies with any applicable regulations and owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires an interest in the target sufficient for the post-transaction company not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our 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 an initial business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of our Class A common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of our Class A common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of our Class A common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s stock than we initially acquired. This may increase the likelihood that our management will not maintain control of the target business. We cannot provide any 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 do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold will make it possible for us to complete an initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets, after the payment of the deferred underwriting fees, to be less than $5,000,001 (such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and elect to redeem 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, elect to enter into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, executive officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of our Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption 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 such initial business combination or redeem any shares, all shares of our Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we may search instead for an alternate business combination.
Except as otherwise described herein, the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of at least 65% of the outstanding shares of our common stock, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support.
Except as otherwise described herein, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of the outstanding shares of our common stock entitled to vote thereon, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of the outstanding shares of our common stock entitled to vote thereon. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. Our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees, if any, who will collectively beneficially own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our Class A common stock upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our stockholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Our sponsor and each of our executive officers and directors have agreed that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of our Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our sponsor and each of our executive officers and directors. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, executive officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or other governing instruments, including our warrant agreement, in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination but that our stockholders or warrant holders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreement. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds, changed industry focus and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Except as otherwise provided herein, amending our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require the approval of holders of at least 65% of the outstanding shares of our common stock, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least a majority of the warrants. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require us to provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, if such amendment is approved. We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with any such vote upon approval of such amendment. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or other governing instruments, extend the deadline to complete an initial business combination or change our industry focus in order to effectuate our initial business combination.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders, which, in certain circumstances, may be less than $10.20 per share, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet identified any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. The current economic environment may make it difficult for companies to obtain acquisition financing. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds held in the trust account that are available for distribution to public stockholders and not previously released to us to pay our taxes on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our initial stockholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon the closing of this offering, our initial stockholders will own, on an as-converted basis, shares representing 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our Class A common stock (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase any units in this offering or if our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of our Class A common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Neither our initial stockholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our executive officers or directors, has any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this prospectus. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by our initial stockholders, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of our initial business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election, and our initial stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, only holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
Our sponsor contributed an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per founder share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of shares of our Class A common stock.
The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the share of our Class A common stock and none to the one-half of a warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our sponsor acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon the closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public stockholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 111.4% (or $11.14 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $(1.14) and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of our founder shares result in the issuance of shares of our Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the founder shares at the time of our initial business combination and would be exacerbated to the extent that public stockholders seek redemptions from the trust for their public shares. In addition, because of the anti-dilution rights of the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A common stock.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of warrants with the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement will provide that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity, mistake (including to conform the warrant agreement to the description thereof herein) or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding warrants to effect any other amendments thereto. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the warrants with such consent is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
Our warrant agreement will designate the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our warrant agreement will provide that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts of the United States of America have exclusive jurisdiction. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope of the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in this context, a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (in this context, an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.
This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
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 Reference Value equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities). Please see “Description of Securities — Warrants — Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00.” If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the outstanding warrants as described above could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so; (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants; or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the Market Value of your warrants.
In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant if, among other things, the Reference Value equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities). In such a case, the holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of shares of our Class A common stock determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A common stock. Please see “Description of Securities — Warrants — Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00.” The value received upon exercise of the warrants (1) may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had exercised their warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (2) may not compensate the holders for the value of the warrants.
Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of the shares of our Class A common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We will be issuing warrants to purchase approximately 11,250,000 shares of our Class A common stock (or up to approximately 12,937,500 shares of our Class A common stock if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing in a private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of 11,000,000 (or up to 12,350,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) shares of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. Our initial stockholders currently own 6,468,750 founder shares. The founder shares will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our sponsor makes any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. Our public warrants are also redeemable by us for shares of our Class A common stock as described in “Description of Securities — Warrants — Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00.”
To the extent we issue shares of our Class A common stock for any reason, including to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of our Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants and conversion rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our Class A common stock and reduce the value of the shares of our Class A common stock issued to complete an initial 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 public warrants, except for (i) the transfer restrictions with respect to the former that are described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants” and (ii) the registration rights with respect to the former that are described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Registration Rights.” In addition, the private placement warrants held by the underwriter will not be exercisable more than five years from the commencement of sales in this offering in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8).
Because each unit contains one-half of one warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.
Each unit contains one-half of one warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole units will trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of shares of our Class A common stock to be issued to the warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one common share and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if it included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to complete an initial business combination.
Unlike many blank check companies, if (i) we issue additional common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the completion of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per share of our Class A common stock; (ii) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds and interest thereon available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions); and (iii) the Market Value is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to complete an initial business combination with a target business.
The nominal purchase price paid by our sponsor for the founder shares may significantly dilute the implied value of your public shares in the event we complete an initial business combination. In addition, the value of the sponsor’s founder shares will be significantly greater than the amount our sponsor paid to purchase such shares in the event we complete an initial business combination, even if the business combination causes the trading price of our Class A common stock to materially decline.
We are offering our units to the public at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, and the amount in our trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share (to be increased by $0.033 per public share for each Extension Election (if any)). However, because the sponsor paid only a nominal purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share for the founder shares, the value of your public shares may be significantly diluted as a result of the automatic conversion of our sponsor’s founder shares into shares of Class A common stock upon our completion of an initial business combination.
The following table shows the public stockholders’ and our sponsor’s and our anchor investor’s investment per share and how these compare to the implied value of one share of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination. The following table assumes that (i) our valuation is $229,500,000 (which is the amount we would have in the trust account for our initial business combination assuming the underwriter’s overallotment option is not exercised), (ii) no interest is earned on the funds held in the trust account, (iii) no public shares are redeemed in connection with our initial business combination and (iv) all founder shares are held by our initial stockholders and our anchor investor upon completion of our initial business combination, and does not take into account other potential impacts on our valuation at the time of the initial business combination such as (i) the value of our public and private placement warrants, (ii) the trading price of our shares of Class A common stock, (iii) the initial business combination transaction costs (including payment of $7,875,000 of deferred underwriting commissions), (iv) any equity issued or cash paid to the target’s sellers, (v) any equity issued to other third party investors, or (vi) the target’s business itself.
Class A common stock held by public stockholders | | | | | | | 22,500,000 shares | |
Class B common stock held by our sponsor and our anchor investor | | | | | | | 5,625,000 shares | |
Total shares of common stock | | | | | | | 28,125,000 shares | |
Total funds in trust at the initial business combination | | | | | | $ | 229,500,000 | |
Public stockholders’ investment per share of Class A common stock (1) | | | | | | $ | 10. 20 | |
Our sponsor’s and our anchor investor’s investment per share of Class B common stock (2) | | | | | | $ | 0.004 | |
Implied value per share of Class A common stock upon the initial business combination (3) | | | | | | $ | 8.16 | |
(1) Although the public stockholders’ investment is in both the public shares and the public warrants, for purposes of this table the full investment amount is ascribed to the public shares only.
(2) Our sponsor’s, the underwriter’s and our anchor investor’s total investment in the equity of the company, inclusive of the founder shares and their $11,000,000 investment in the private placement warrants, is $11,025,000. For purposes of this table, the full investment amount is ascribed to the founder shares only.
(3) All founder shares held by our sponsor and our anchor investor would automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock upon completion of our initial business combination.
Based on these assumptions, each share of Class A common stock would have an implied value of $8.16 per share upon completion of our initial business combination, representing a 20% decrease from the initial implied value of $10.20 per public share. Although the implied value of $8.16 per share of Class A common stock upon completion of our initial business combination would represent a dilution to our public stockholders, this would represent a significant increase in value for our sponsor and our anchor investor relative to the price it paid for each founder share. At $8.16 per share of Class A common stock, the 5,625,000 shares of Class A common stock that the sponsor and our anchor investor would own upon completion of our initial business combination (after automatic conversion of their 5,625,000 founder shares) would have an aggregate implied value of $45,900,000. As a result, even if the trading price of our Class A common stock significantly declines, the value of the founder shares held by our sponsor and our anchor investor will be significantly greater than the amount our sponsor paid to purchase such shares. In addition, our sponsor and our anchor investor could potentially recoup their entire investment in our company even if the trading price of our shares of Class A common stock after the initial business combination is as low as $1.96 per share. As a result, our sponsor and our anchor investor are likely to earn a substantial profit on their investment in us upon disposition of their shares of Class A common stock even if the trading price of our shares of Class A common stock declines after we complete our initial business combination. Our sponsor and our anchor investor may therefore be economically incentivized to complete an initial business combination with a riskier, weaker-performing or less-established target business than would be the case if they had paid the same per share price for the founder shares as our public stockholders paid for their public shares.
This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the founder shares result in the issuance of shares of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the founder shares at the time of our initial business combination and would become exacerbated to the extent that public stockholders seek redemptions from the trust for their public shares. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our shares of Class A common stock.
The determination of the offering price of our units and the size of this offering is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.
Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriter. In determining the size of this offering, management held customary organizational meetings with the underwriter, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriter believed it reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of this offering, prices and terms of the units, including the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants underlying the units, include:
| ● | the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies; |
| ● | prior offerings of those companies; |
| ● | our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values; |
| ● | a review of debt-to-equity ratios in leveraged transactions; |
| ● | an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies; |
| ● | general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and |
| ● | other factors as were deemed relevant. |
Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.
There is currently no market for our securities and an active trading market for our securities may not develop or be maintained, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
There is currently no market for our securities. Stockholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following this offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential initial business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be maintained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless an active trading market develops and is maintained.
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 target historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure. 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 (“GAAP”), or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”), depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (U.S.) (“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.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act. 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 $700.0 million as of any June 30th before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31st. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a financial accounting 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 that is held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $250.0 million as of the prior June 30th and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100.0 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700.0 million as of the prior June 30th.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an initial business combination.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 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 the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target company with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such initial business combination.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our Class A common stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred stock, and the fact that prior to the completion of our initial business combination only holders of shares of our Class B common stock, which have been issued to our initial stockholders, are entitled to vote on the appointment of our directors, which may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain a provision requiring that, if a person other than the company (a “Third-Party Offeror”) makes a tender or exchange offer to the holders of our common stock that would result in (x) such Third-Party Offeror and certain of its affiliates or associates owning more than 50% of the voting power of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock and (y) for the avoidance of doubt, such tender or exchange offer would result in a change-in-control, such Third-Party Offeror must also make a tender or exchange offer for the same proportion of our warrants then outstanding. Until any such Third-Party Offeror complies with this provision, (i) any shares of our common stock acquired by the Third-Party Offeror upon completion of such a tender or exchange offer shall have no voting power on any matter submitted to a stockholder vote and (ii) we shall not declare or pay any dividend or make any other distribution with respect to any shares of our common stock, other than a dividend or distribution in the form of rights to receive cash, other property or shares of capital stock of the company that is exercisable solely upon receipt, if we request, of a written certification that the holder of such rights has complied with the provision described above.
We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, that (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee to us or our stockholders; (iii) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws; or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware, except any claim (A) as to which the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, or (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. If an action is brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, a court may determine that this provision is unenforceable, and to the extent it is enforceable, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that (a) the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction; Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder, and (b) unless we agree otherwise in writing, any action arising under the Securities Act will be brought only in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. We note, however, that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce this provision and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for state and federal courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any shares of our capital stock will 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 of the forum provisions is filed in a court other than a court located within the State of Delaware (in this context, 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 (in this context, 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.
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.
Since only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors, upon the listing of our shares on Nasdaq, Nasdaq may consider us to be a ‘controlled company’ within the meaning of the Nasdaq rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.
After completion of this offering, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. As a result, Nasdaq may consider us to be a ‘controlled company’ within the meaning of Nasdaq’s corporate governance standards. Under Nasdaq’s corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a ‘controlled company’ and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
| ● | we have a board that includes a majority of ‘independent directors,” as defined under the Nasdaq rules; |
| ● | we have a compensation committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and |
| ● | we have a nominating and corporate governance committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities. |
We do not intend to utilize these exemptions and intend to comply with Nasdaq’s corporate governance requirements, subject to applicable phase-in rules. However, if we determine in the future to utilize some or all of these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of Nasdaq’s corporate governance requirements.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such an initial business combination, and if we effect such an initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we pursue a target a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
| ● | higher costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets; |
| ● | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| ● | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| ● | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
| ● | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| ● | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| ● | local or regional economic policies and market conditions; |
| ● | longer payment cycles and challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| ● | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| ● | underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems; |
| ● | unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; |
| ● | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
| ● | cultural and language differences; |
| ● | crime, strikes, riots, social unrest, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars; |
| ● | deterioration of political relations with the United States; and |
| ● | government appropriations 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 an initial business combination, or, if we do complete such a combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this prospectus may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “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. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about:
| ● | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
| ● | competition for acquisition targets; |
| ● | our ability to complete our initial business combination; |
| ● | our expectations around the performance of the prospective target business or businesses; |
| ● | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
| ● | our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination, as a result of which they would then receive expense reimbursements; |
| ● | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
| ● | our ability to complete an initial business combination despite the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| ● | our pool of prospective target businesses in the financial technology or services, technology, digital asset or consumer sectors and the effects on those industries of broader economic trends, including the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; |
| ● | political and economic uncertainty; |
| ● | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential acquisition opportunities; |
| ● | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
| ● | the lack of a market for our securities; |
| ● | the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; |
| ● | the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; or |
| ● | our financial performance following this offering. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. We can offer no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
USE OF PROCEEDS
We are offering 22,500,000 units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit. We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering together with the funds we will receive from the sale of the private placement warrants will be used as set forth in the following table.
| | Without Over- Allotment Option | | Over-Allotment Option Fully Exercised |
Gross proceeds | | | | | | | | |
Gross proceeds from units offered to public(1) | | $ | 225,000,000 | | | $ | 258,750,000 | |
Gross proceeds from private placement warrants offered in the private placement | | | 11,000,000 | | | | 12,350,000 | |
Total gross proceeds | | $ | 236,000,000 | | | $ | 271,100,000 | |
Offering expenses(2) | | | | | | | | |
Underwriting commissions (2% of gross proceeds from units offered to public, excluding deferred portion)(3) | | $ | 4,500,000 | | | $ | 5,175,000 | |
Legal fees and expenses | | | 300,000 | | | | 300,000 | |
Accounting fees and expenses | | | 42,500 | | | | 42,500 | |
SEC/FINRA Expenses | | | 91,968 | | | | 91,968 | |
Travel and road show | | | 3,000 | | | | 3,000 | |
Nasdaq listing and filing fees | | | 75,000 | | | | 75,000 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Printing and engraving expenses | | | 30,000 | | | | 30,000 | |
Miscellaneous | | | 7,532 | | | | 7,532 | |
Total offering expenses (excluding underwriting commissions) | | $ | 550,000 | | | $ | 550,000 | |
Proceeds after offering expenses | | $ | 230,950,000 | | | $ | 265,375,000 | |
Held in trust account(3) | | $ | 229,500,000 | | | $ | 263,925,000 | |
% of public offering size | | | 102 | % | | | 102 | % |
Not held in trust account after offering expenses | | $ | 1,450,000 | | | $ | 1,450,000 | |
The following table shows the use of the approximately $1,450,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account.(4)(5)
| | Amount | | % of Total |
Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel, and other expenses in connection with any business combination(6) | | $ | 350,000 | | | $ | 24.14 | % |
Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations | | | 150,000 | | | | 10.34 | % |
Payment for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support ($15,000 per month for up to 15 months) | | | 225,000 | | | | 15.52 | % |
Directors and officers insurance | | | 450,000 | | | | 31.03 | % |
Nasdaq continued listing fees | | | 58,000 | | | | 4.00 | % |
Reserve for liquidation | | | 100,000 | | | | 6.90 | % |
Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses (including franchise taxes net of anticipated interest income) | | | 117,000 | | | | 8.07 | % |
Total | | $ | 1,450,000 | | | | 100.00 | % |
| (1) | Includes amounts payable to public stockholders who properly redeem their shares in connection with our successful completion of our initial business combination. |
| (2) | A portion of the offering expenses will be paid from the proceeds of a loan from our sponsor of up to $600,000 as described in this prospectus. As of September 30, 2021, we had borrowed $425,000 under the promissory note with our sponsor. This amount will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $550,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) and amounts not to be held in the trust account. In the event that offering expenses are less than set forth in this table, any such amounts will be used for post-closing working capital expenses. In the event that the offering expenses are more than as set forth in this table, we may fund such excess with funds not held in the trust account. |
| (3) | The underwriter has agreed to defer underwriting commissions equal to 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering. Upon completion of our initial business combination, $7,875,000, which constitutes the underwriter’s deferred commissions (or $9,056,250 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be paid to the underwriter from the funds held in the trust account, see “Underwriting.” The remaining funds, less amounts released to the trustee to pay redeeming stockholders, will be released to us and can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial business combination occurs or for general corporate purposes, including payment of principal or interest on indebtedness incurred in connection with our initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other companies or for working capital. The underwriter will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions. |
| (4) | These expenses are estimates only. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring our initial business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify a business combination target in a specific industry subject to specific regulations, we may incur additional expenses associated with legal due diligence and the engagement of special legal counsel. In addition, our staffing needs may vary and as a result, we may engage a number of consultants to assist with legal and financial due diligence. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would not be available for our expenses. The amount in the table above does not include interest available to us from the trust account. The proceeds held in the trust account will only be invested in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Assuming an interest rate of 0.1% per year, we estimate the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $229,500 per year; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. |
| (5) | Assumes no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option. If the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full, $1,450,000 of net proceeds will not be held in the trust account. |
| (6) | Includes estimated amounts that may also be used in connection with our initial business combination to fund a “no shop” provision and commitment fees for financing. |
Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $229,500,000 (or $263,925,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), including $7,875,000 (or $9,056,250 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions, will be placed in a U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee and $2,000,000 will be used to pay expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following this offering. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account will not be released until the earliest to occur of: (a) the completion of our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame or (ii) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (c) the redemption of all of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, subject to applicable law. Based on current interest rates, we do not expect that the interest income earned on the trust account (if any), will be sufficient to pay our income and franchise taxes.
The net proceeds held in the trust account may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we ultimately complete our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination, we may apply the balance of the cash released from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination.
We believe that amounts not held in trust, together with funds available to us from loans from our sponsor, will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. This belief is based on the fact that while we may begin preliminary due diligence of a target business in connection with an indication of interest, we would seek to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective acquisition, only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of a business combination. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. If we are required to seek additional capital, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or their affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us.
Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we have agreed to pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $600,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of September 30, 2021, we had borrowed $425,000 under the promissory note with our sponsor. This loan is non-interest bearing, unsecured and is due at the earlier of March 31, 2022 or the closing of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the $550,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting fees) and amounts not held in the trust account.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
If we seek 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 their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act. However, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
Our anchor investor has expressed to us an interest to purchase $11.25 million of public units in this offering, and we have agreed to direct the underwriter to sell to our anchor investor such number of public units. Because this expression of interest is not a binding agreement or commitment to purchase, our anchor investor may determine to purchase more, fewer or no units in the offering or the underwriter may determine to sell more, fewer or no units to our anchor investor. We can offer no assurance that our anchor investor will acquire any units in this offering or what amount of equity our anchor investor will retain, if any, upon the completion of our initial business combination. As a result of the founder shares and private placement warrants that our anchor investor may hold, it may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial business combination than other public stockholders.
We may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules), and the agreement for our initial business combination may require as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights so that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement or any net worth or cash requirements, we would not proceed with the redemption of our public shares or such initial business combination, and instead may search for an alternate business combination.
A public stockholder will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (a) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame or (b) with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, subject to applicable law and as further described herein and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed business combination. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.
Our sponsor and each of our executive officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, our initial stockholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if our sponsor or any of our officers, directors or affiliates acquires public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
DIVIDEND POLICY
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. 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 of directors. If we increase the size of this offering, we will effect a stock capitalization or other appropriate mechanism immediately prior to the completion of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the completion of this offering. 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.
DILUTION
The difference between the public offering price per share of our Class A common stock, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering pursuant to this prospectus or the private placement warrants, and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of warrants, including the private placement warrants, which would cause the actual dilution to the public stockholders to be higher, particularly where a cashless exercise is utilized. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of shares of our Class A common stock which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of outstanding shares of our Class A common stock.
At September 30, 2021, our net tangible book deficit was $444,482, or approximately $(0.08) (or $(0.07) per share if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) per share of common stock. After giving effect to the sale of 22,500,000 shares of Class A common stock included in the units we are offering by this prospectus (or 25,875,000 shares of Class A common stock if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), the sale of the private placement warrants and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at September 30, 2021 would have been $(6,412,688), or approximately $(1.14) per share (or $(7,593,398) or $(1.17) per share if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of 22,500,000 shares of our Class A common stock that may be redeemed for cash (or 25,875,000 shares of our Class A common stock if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) of $(1.06) per share (or $(1.10) if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) to our initial stockholders as of the date of this prospectus and an immediate dilution to our public stockholders from this offering of $10.00 per share, or 100% to our public stockholders not exercising their redemption rights. Total dilution to public stockholders from this offering will be $11.14 per share (or 111.4%). The immediate dilution to new investors if the underwriter exercises its over-allotment option in full would be $11.17 per share (or 11.17%).
The following table illustrates the dilution to the public stockholders on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units or the private placement warrants:
| | Without Over-allotment | | With Over-allotment |
Public offering price | | $ | 10.00 | | | $ | 10.00 | |
Net tangible book deficit before this offering | | | (0.08 | ) | | | (0.07 | ) |
Increase attributable to public stockholders | | | (1.06 | ) | | | (1.10 | ) |
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants | | | (1.14 | ) | | | (1.17 | ) |
Dilution to public stockholders | | $ | 11.14 | | | $ | 11.17 | |
Percentage of dilution to public stockholders | | | 111.4 | % | | | 111.7 | % |
For purposes of presentation, we have reduced our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option) by $229,500,000 because holders of up to 100.0% of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account as set forth in our tender offer or proxy materials (initially anticipated to be the aggregate amount held in trust two days prior to the commencement of our tender offer or stockholders meeting, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares.
The following table sets forth information with respect to our initial stockholders and the public stockholders:
| | Shares Purchased | | Total Consideration | | Average Price |
| | Number | | Percentage | | Amount | | Percentage | | Per Share |
Initial Stockholders(1) | | | 5,625,000 | | | | 20.0 | % | | $ | 25,000 | | | | 0.0001 | % | | $ | 0.004 | |
Public Stockholders | | | 22,500,000 | | | | 80.0 | % | | | 225,000,000 | | | | 99.9999 | % | | | 10.00 | |
| | | 28,125,000 | | | | 100.0 | % | | $ | 225,025,000 | | | | 100.0 | % | | | | |
| (1) | Assumes no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of an aggregate of 843,750 shares of our Class B common stock held by our sponsor. |
The pro forma net tangible book value per share after the offering is calculated as follows:
| | Without Over-allotment | | With Over-allotment |
Numerator: | | | | | | | | |
Net tangible book deficit before this offering | | $ | (444,482 | ) | | $ | (444,482 | ) |
Net proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement warrants(1) | | | 230,950,000 | | | | 265,375,000 | |
Plus: Offering costs paid in advance, excluded from tangible book value | | | 456,794 | | | | 456,794 | |
Less: Deferred underwriting commissions | | | (7,875,000 | ) | | | (9,056,250 | ) |
Less: Proceeds held in trust subject to redemption(2) | | | (229,500,000 | ) | | | (263,925,000 | ) |
| | $ | (6,412,688 | ) | | $ | (7,593,938 | ) |
Denominator: | | | | | | | | |
Class B common stock outstanding prior to this offering | | | 6,468,750 | | | | 6,468,750 | |
Class B common stock forfeited if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised | | | (843,750 | ) | | | — | |
Class A common stock included in the units offered | | | 22,500,000 | | | | 25,875,000 | |
Less: Common stock subject to redemption | | | (22,500,000 | ) | | | (25,875,000 | ) |
| | | 5,625,000 | | | | 6,468,750 | |
(1) | Expenses applied against gross proceeds include offering expenses of $550,000 and underwriting fees of $4,500,000 or $5,175,000 if the underwriter exercises its over-allotment option (excluding deferred underwriting fees). See “Use of Proceeds.” |
(2) | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. In the event of any such purchases of our shares prior to the completion of our initial business combination, the number of shares of our Class A common stock subject to redemption will be reduced by the amount of any such purchases, increasing the pro forma net tangible book value per share. See “Proposed Business — Permitted Purchases of Our Securities.” |
CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our capitalization at September 30, 2021, and as adjusted to give effect to the sale of our units in this offering and the private placement warrants and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities:
| | September 30, 2021 |
| | Actual | | As Adjusted |
Notes payable to related party(1) | | $ | 425,000 | | | $ | — | |
Deferred underwriting commissions(2) | | | — | | | | 7,875,000 | |
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value authorized and issued, subject to possible redemption; no shares and 22,500,000 shares, respectively(3) | | | — | | | | 229,500,000 | |
Stockholder’s Equity (Deficit): | | | | | | | | |
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized (actual and as adjusted); no shares issued and outstanding (actual and as adjusted) | | | — | | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Convertible Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value, 10,000,000 shares authorized (actual and as adjusted); 6,468,750 shares issued and outstanding (actual); 5,625,000 shares issued and outstanding (as adjusted)(4) | | | 647 | | | | 563 | |
Additional paid-in capital(5) | | | 24,353 | | | | — | |
Accumulated deficit | | | (13,853 | ) | | | (6,413,251 | ) |
Total stockholder’s equity (deficit) | | $ | 11,147 | | | $ | (6,412,688 | ) |
Total capitalization | | $ | 436,147 | | | $ | 230,962,312 | |
(1) | Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $600,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of September 30, 2021, we had borrowed $425,000 under the promissory note with our sponsor. |
| |
(2) | Deferred underwriting commissions “As Adjusted” reflects the $7,875,000 payable to the underwriter as deferred underwriting commission to be placed in a trust account as described herein. |
| |
(3) | Upon the completion of our initial business combination, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for a cash per-share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations discussed herein. While redemptions cannot cause our net tangible assets to fall below $5,000,001, all Class A shares are redeemable and classified as such on the balance sheet until such date that a redemption event takes place. |
| |
(4) | Actual share amount is prior to any forfeiture of founder shares by our sponsor and as adjusted amount assumes no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option. |
| |
(5) | The “as adjusted” additional paid-in capital calculation is adjusted to zero, with the off-setting balance recorded to accumulated deficit since additional paid-in capital cannot be less than zero. |
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not identified any business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions directly or indirectly, with respect to identifying any business combination target. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placements of the private placement warrants, our capital stock, debt or a combination of cash, stock and debt.
The issuance of additional shares of our stock in a business combination:
| ● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in our Class B common stock resulted in the issuance of our Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of our Class B common stock; |
| ● | may subordinate the rights of holders of our Class A common stock if shares of preferred stock are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A common stock; |
| ● | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of our Class A common stock 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; and |
| ● | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Class A common stock and/or warrants. |
Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant debt to banks or other lenders or owners of a target, it could result in:
| ● | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| ● | acceleration of our obligations to repay indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| ● | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand; |
| ● | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
| ● | our inability to pay dividends on our Class A common stock; |
| ● | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes; |
| ● | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| ● | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; |
| ● | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and |
| ● | other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, as of September 30, 2021, we had $32,110 in cash and deferred offering costs of approximately $456,794, and a working capital deficit of $444,482. Further, we expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for this offering. Following this offering, we will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after this offering. There has been no significant change in our financial or trading position, and no material adverse change has occurred since the date of our audited financial statements. After this offering, we expect to incur increased expenses as a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. We expect our expenses to increase substantially after the closing of this offering.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to the completion of this offering through a capital contribution from our sponsor of $25,000 in exchange for the issuance of the founder shares and a loan to us of up to $600,000 by our sponsor under an unsecured promissory note. We estimate that the net proceeds from (i) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $550,000, underwriting commissions of $4,500,000 ($5,175,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) (excluding deferred underwriting commissions of $7,875,000 (or $9,056,250 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full)), and (ii) the sale of the private placement warrants for a purchase price of $11,000,000 (or $12,350,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be $230,950,000 (or $263,925,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full). Of this amount, $229,500,000 (or $263,925,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be held in the trust account, which includes $7,875,000 (or $9,056,250 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions. The remaining approximately $1,450,000 will not be held in the trust account.
In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $550,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to hold outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $550,000, the amount of funds we intend to hold outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (less any taxes payable and deferred underwriting commissions) to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest income (if any) to pay our taxes, if any. We estimate our annual franchise tax obligations, based on the number of shares of our common stock authorized and outstanding after the completion of this offering, to be $200,000, which is the maximum amount of annual franchise taxes payable by us as a Delaware corporation. We may pay this amount from funds held outside of the trust account or from interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and released to us for this purpose. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. Based on assumed interest rates, we expect that the interest income earned on the amount in the trust account will be sufficient to pay our annual income and franchise taxes. To the extent that our capital stock or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us approximately $1,450,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, as well as certain funds from loans from our sponsor. We will use these funds primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a business combination.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business prior to our initial business combination, other than funds available from loans from our sponsor. However, if our estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined, and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $350,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses associated with structuring, negotiating and documenting successful business combinations; $150,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $225,000 for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support; $450,000 for directors and officers insurance; $58,000 for Nasdaq continued listing fees; $100,000 for liquidation reserves; and approximately $117,000 for working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves (including franchise taxes net of anticipated interest income).
These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses. In addition, we could use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust to pay commitment fees for financing, fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business or as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies 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, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision would be determined based on the terms of the specific business combination and the amount of our available funds at the time. Our forfeiture of such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise) could result in our not having sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, prospective target businesses.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial business combination either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such initial business combination, which may include a specified future issuance. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In addition, following our initial business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.
Controls and Procedures
We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer an emerging growth company would we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement. Prior to the closing of this offering, we have not completed an assessment, nor have our auditors tested our systems, of our internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine to be necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Many small and mid-sized target businesses we may consider for our initial business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:
| ● | staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties; |
| ● | reconciliation of accounts; |
| ● | proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate; |
| ● | evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions; |
| ● | documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and |
| ● | documentation of accounting policies and procedures. |
Because it will take time, management involvement and perhaps outside resources to determine what internal control improvements are necessary for us to meet regulatory requirements and market expectations for our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expense in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.
Once our management’s report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent auditors to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The independent auditors may identify additional issues concerning a target business’s internal controls while performing their audit of internal control over financial reporting.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
The net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be invested in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
Related Party Transactions
On March 5, 2021, our sponsor acquired 100 shares of the company’s common stock in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $250.00 per share. On March 15, 2021, we effected a 64,687.5-for-one forward stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock and reclassified those issued and outstanding shares into founder shares. On June 21, 2021, we effected an approximately 1.11-for-one forward stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock. On October 26, 2021, we effected an approximately one-for-1.11 reverse stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock. As of the date of this prospectus, the sponsor holds 6,468,750 founder shares (reflecting an aggregate capital contribution of approximately $0.004 per share, which includes 843,750 shares subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised). The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon completion of this offering. The per share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the aggregate number of founder shares issued. In connection with the closing of the offering, our sponsor will transfer 20,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors at their original purchase price. In addition, at the closing of our initial business combination, our anchor investor will be entitled to purchase from our sponsor an aggregate of 12.5% of the number of founder shares outstanding upon the final closing of this offering, at a purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering we will effect a stock capitalization or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the completion of this offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial stockholders at 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the completion of this offering.
Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we have agreed to pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf, such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and will determine which fees and expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on payments that may be made to our sponsor, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates.
Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $600,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of September 30, 2021, we had borrowed $425,000 under the promissory note with our sponsor. This loan is non-interest bearing, unsecured and is due at the earlier of March 31, 2022 or the closing of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the $550,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting fees) and amounts not to be held in the trust account.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor, as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
Our sponsor, the underwriter, and our anchor investor have committed to purchase an aggregate of 11,000,000 warrants (or 12,350,000 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $1.00 per warrant (approximately $11,000,000 in the aggregate, or $12,350,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Among the private placement warrants, 7,000,000 warrants (or 8,181,250 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by our sponsor, 1,125,000 warrants (or 1,293,750 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by the underwriter and 2,875,000 warrants will be purchased by our anchor investor. Each private placement warrant is exercisable for one share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. The private placement warrants are identical to the public warrants except for (i) the transfer restrictions with respect to the former that are described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants” and (ii) the registration rights with respect to the former that are described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Registration Rights.” In addition, the private placement warrants held by the underwriter will not be exercisable more than five years from the commencement of sales in this offering in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8).
Our anchor investor has expressed to us an interest to purchase $11.25 million of public units in this offering, and we have agreed to direct the underwriter to sell to our anchor investor such number of public units. Because this expression of interest is not a binding agreement or commitment to purchase, our anchor investor may determine to purchase more, fewer or no units in the offering or the underwriter may determine to sell more, fewer or no units to our anchor investor. We can offer no assurance that our anchor investor will acquire any units in this offering or what amount of equity our anchor investor will retain, if any, upon the completion of our initial business combination. As a result of the founder shares and private placement warrants that our anchor investor may hold, it may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial business combination than other public stockholders.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement we will enter into with our initial stockholders on or prior to the closing of this offering, we may be required to register certain securities for sale under the Securities Act. These holders, and holders of warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans, if any, are entitled under the registration rights agreement to make up to three demands that we register certain of our securities held by them for sale under the Securities Act and to have the securities covered thereby registered for resale pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders have the right to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. However, the registration rights agreement will provide that we will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until the securities covered thereby are released from their lock-up restrictions, as described herein. We will bear the costs and expenses of filing any such registration statements. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Results
As of September 30, 2021, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data are included in this prospectus, as we have not conducted any operations to date.
JOBS Act
On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis); and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of this offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.
PROPOSED BUSINESS
We are a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated in February 2021 as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not identified any potential business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any potential business combination target.
While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business industry, sector or geographical location, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our management and board to identify and acquire a business with a disruptive business model that may provide opportunities for attractive risk-adjusted returns in the financial technology or services, technology, digital asset or consumer sectors. We believe that our management team is well positioned to identify attractive risk-adjusted returns in the marketplace and that their contacts and transaction sources, ranging from industry executives, private owners, private equity funds, and investment bankers will enable us to pursue an attractive set of opportunities. Our management team believes that its ability to identify and implement value creation initiatives will remain central to its differentiated acquisition strategy.
Our management team’s objective is to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns and create value for our stockholders by applying a disciplined strategy of underwriting intrinsic worth and partnering with management to build long-term stockholder value. Our management team intends to apply a disciplined approach which will focus on (i) large addressable market opportunities; (ii) attractive business models with strong competitive advantages; (iii) businesses with significant opportunities for growth; and (iv) capable management teams looking for a value-added partner. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. Our management team has an in-depth understanding of high growth business opportunities where we believe technology is creating disruption, and the ability to leverage technology to increase stockholder value.
Our management team has extensive experience in identifying and executing attractive investments across a number of sectors, including fintech, a sector that is a focus for us, which we believe presents an opportunity to take advantage of the intersection of technology, process improvements and business model innovations. In addition, our team has significant hands-on experience working with private companies in preparing for and executing an initial public offering and serving as active owners and directors post-public offering by working closely with these companies to continue their transformations and help create value in the public markets.
Our management team is led by Elias Farhat, Scott Reed and Alberto Bianchinotti and our board of directors is led by Baudouin Prot. Members of our management team and our board of directors led the successful combination of LFAC I, a blank check company formed for substantially similar purposes as our company, with Landsea, a California-based homebuilding company that designs and builds best-in-class homes and sustainable master-planned communities in some of the nation’s most desirable markets, which closed in January 2021. In addition, members of our management team and our board of directors have been responsible for a wide range of notable transactions in the financial services industry around the world. These include our Non-Executive Chairman of the Board, Baudouin Prot, who, during his tenure as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas S.A., led the acquisition of Fortis in Belgium and BNL in Italy, creating the largest bank in Europe and the sixth largest worldwide. Mr. Prot is currently a member of the board of directors of a number of multinational companies, including Kering S.A., Finastra, Alstom, S.A. and Foncia Group S.A. Our Executive Chairman of the Board (Elias Farhat) led the acquisition of multiple asset management and private capital companies for Candriam, a New York Life-owned firm. Prior to Candriam, Mr. Farhat advised and co-invested with U.S. and European private equity groups in various industries. As the founder of BankCap Partners (a financial-services-oriented private equity firm), our President, Chief Executive Officer (Scott Reed) is an active, successful investor in growth-oriented businesses. These included investments in five different platforms that resulted in the successful completion of a going public transaction (either through an IPO or a private-to-public merger). Mr. Reed continues to be involved with a number of these companies (serving on six different public and private company boards), including Silvergate Capital (NYSE: SI), in which he was an early and significant shareholder and with respect to which he partnered with management to lead a high-growth strategy focused on the digital asset (crypto-currency) industry. Finally, our Chief Financial Officer (Alberto Bianchinotti) is the founder of AM Knight Financial Services, a CPA firm, and has experience working with companies in the life science, software and real estate industries. Mr. Bianchinotti is a Certified Public Accountant and consultant with expertise in the launching of numerous investment advisers and start-ups.
In June 2017, Mr. Reed, Mr. Farhat and Mr. Prot founded LFAC I, of which Mr. Reed served as President, Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Prot served as the Chairman of the Board and Mr. Reed and Mr. Farhat served as members of the board of directors. Mr. Bianchinotti served as the Chief Financial Officer of LFAC I from July 2020 through the completion of its business combination with Landsea. LFAC I completed its initial public offering in June 2018, in which it sold 15,525,000 units, each consisting of one share of LFAC I common stock and one warrant to purchase one share of LFAC I common stock, for an offering price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $155,525,000. LFAC I completed its business combination with Landsea in January 2021. Landsea’s common stock and warrants are traded on Nasdaq under the symbols “LSEA” and “LSEAW”, respectively.
Our board has extensive operating and investing experience in public and private companies across a number of sectors, including in the technology and consumer sectors, which are also sectors of focus for us, where we believe there are numerous attractive potential acquisition targets.
Robert Black has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Mr. Black serves as the Chairman of the board of directors of RTIC Outdoors, LLC, a direct-to-consumer retailer of outdoor gear, a position he has held since 2020. He also serves as an Executive Advisory Partner of Wind Point Partners, a private equity firm, a position he has held since 2013, and a Senior Advisor to Boston Consulting Group’s Global Consumer Practice, a position he has held since 2012. From 2006 to 2012, Mr. Black served in various leadership positions at Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB), including as its Group President from 2007 to 2012, its Chief Strategy Officer from 2006 to 2007 and its Chief Innovation Officer from 2006 to 2007. Prior to that, from 2004 to 2006, Mr. Black served as the President, Chief Operating Officer and a member of the board of directors of Sammons Enterprises, a privately held financial consumer oriented and service-based business. From 1994 to 2004, Mr. Black served in a number of leadership positions at Steelcase, Inc. (NYSE: SCS), including as President of Steelcase International and as a member of the Steelcase, Inc. Executive Committee. Prior to that, he also held senior positions at McKinsey & Company, Baxter International, Inc. and Hard Manufacturing Co., Inc. Since 2018, Mr. Black has served on the board of directors of Edgewell Personal Care Company (NYSE: EPC). Mr. Black also serves on the boards of directors of Pestell Nutrition, a leading distributor of minerals, feed ingredients and nutritional additives; Targeted PetCare Goup, a manufacturer of animal litter, bedding products and dental pet treats; Corsicana Bedding, one of the nation’s largest bedding producers; and DecoPac, Inc., the world’s largest supplier of cake decorations to professional cake decorators and bakeries in the world. Mr. Black has also previously served on the boards of directors of a number of public companies, including Annie’s, Inc. (formerly NYSE: BNNY) (from 2014 to 2015), North American Technologies Group, Inc. (from 2004 to 2005), Modernform Group Public Company Ltd. (in 2002) and Kimberly-Clark de Mexico (from 2008 to 2012).
James Hodge has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Mr. Hodge founded Arrowsmith, LLC, an investment management firm, in 1999 and has served as its President and Chief Investment Officer since its inception. From 1987 to 2016, Mr. Hodge served as the President and Chief Investment Officer of Permal Asset Management, an investment management firm. Mr. Hodge is a member of the advisory board of Alpha Japan Asset Advisors Ltd., an asset management company, and the board of directors of China Alpha Fund Management Ltd., an investment management firm. He also serves on the boards of directors for a number of investment funds, including China Alpha II Fund Ltd., China Alpha Master Fund Ltd., Hel Ved Master Fund, WF Asian Reconnaissance Fund Limited and WF Asian Smaller Companies Fund Limited.
Habib Kairouz has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Mr. Kairouz is a Managing Partner of Rho Capital Partners, a private equity and venture capital firm with a focus on technology investments, where he has been employed since 1993 and a position he has held since 1999. Mr. Kairouz is a member of the boards of directors of Kasisto, Inc., a software developer of conversational AI platforms for the financial services industry, Passport Labs, Inc., a software developer of parking payment and enforcement solutions, Snagajob, Inc. an online marketplace for hourly work, Pawlicy Advisor, Inc., a pet insurance market place, and Dashlane Inc., a provider of password management solutions. Mr. Kairouz also previously served on the boards of directors of a number of public companies, including iVillage (formerly Nasdaq: IVIL) (from 1997-2006), IntraLinks Holdings, Inc. (formerly NYSE: IL) (from 2001-2017), Everyday Health, Inc. (formerly NYSE: EVDY) (from 2003-2016) and ReachLocal, Inc. (formerly Nasdaq: RLOC) (from 2007-2016).
Jodi Shelton has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. In 1994, Ms. Shelton co-founded the Global Semiconductor Alliance, an industry organization that strives to prepare the semiconductor industry for paradigm shifts by aligning leadership from more than 250 companies in more than 25 countries, and has served as its Chief Executive Officer and as a member of its board of directors since its inception. Ms. Shelton also founded the Shelton Group, an integrated investor relations and public relations agency, in 1994 and has served as its Chief Executive Officer since its inception. From 1990 to 1994, Ms. Shelton served as the Director of Investment Relations at Cyrix Corporation, a manufacturer of computer processor solutions. Ms. Shelton has served on the board of advisors of Nanotronics Imaging, Inc., an emerging technology company using artificial intelligence and robotics to transform manufacturing, since April 2021 and has served on the board of directors of Curic, Inc., a start-up developing a patented smart-diaper technology, since June 2020. Ms. Shelton previously served as a member of the board of advisors of the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership and as a member of the boards of directors of Silicon Border Holding Company LLC, a commercial development along the western border of the United States and Mexico; Yellowstone Club Community Foundation; and Aurora Dallas, a public art installation and event that takes place in downtown Dallas.
Djemi Traboulsi has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Mr. Traboulsi serves as President of Capital E Advisors, Inc., Capital E Group’s US private equity and real estate research arm, a position he has held since 2005. Mr. Traboulsi served as a member of LFAC I’s board of directors from its inception through the completion of its business combination with Landsea in January 2021. From 1991 to 2001, Mr. Traboulsi served as the Managing Director of Kenmar Capital Advisors (formerly Kenmar Advisory Corp.), an alternative asset manager. Prior to 1991, Mr. Traboulsi held various M&A and corporate finance positions with Mabon, Nugent & Co., an international investment bank and brokerage firm.
The past performance of our management team, including with respect to LFAC I, is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of our management’s performance as indicative of our future performance.
Business Strategy
Our acquisition and value creation strategy will be to identify, acquire and, after our initial business combination, build a company with a disruptive business model that could benefit from a hands-on owner with extensive operational experience in the financial technology or services, technology, digital asset or consumer sectors that complements the experience of our management team and board of directors and can benefit from their extensive knowledge of these sectors. Our acquisition strategy will leverage our management team’s network of proprietary transaction sources where we believe a combination of the relationships, knowledge and experience of our management and board members could effect a positive transformation or augmentation of existing businesses or properties to improve their overall value proposition.
Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team and their affiliates have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships that we believe will serve as a useful source of acquisition opportunities. This network has been developed through our management team’s extensive experience in both investing in a wide variety of industries and business situations. We expect these networks will provide our management team with a robust flow of acquisition opportunities. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates may be sourced from various unaffiliated sources, which may include investment market participants, private equity groups, investment banking firms, consultants, accounting firms and large business enterprises. Upon completion of this offering, members of our management team will communicate with their networks of relationships to articulate the parameters for our search for a target company and a potential business combination and begin the process of pursuing and reviewing potentially interesting leads.
Acquisition Criteria
Consistent with our business strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We will use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We intend to acquire companies or assets that we believe:
| ● | can utilize the extensive networks and insights we have built in the financial technology or services, technology, digital asset or consumer sectors; |
| ● | are at an inflection point, such as requiring additional management expertise, are able to innovate through new operational techniques, or where we believe we can drive improved financial performance; |
| ● | exhibit unrecognized value or other characteristics, desirable returns on capital, and a need for capital to achieve the company’s growth strategy, that we believe have been incorrectly valued by the marketplace based on our analysis and due diligence review; |
| ● | offer an attractive risk-adjusted return for our stockholders. We will seek to acquire the target on terms and in a manner that leverages our management team’s experience in investing within the financial technology or services, technology, digital asset or consumer sectors. Potential upside from growth in the target business and an improved capital structure will be weighed against any identified downside risks; and |
| ● | is in good standing with any applicable regulatory authorities. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet some or all of the above criteria in our stockholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials that we would file with the SEC.
Initial Business Combination
The Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Our board of directors will make the determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, based upon its assessment of the target, including, but not limited to, the target’s assets, operating results, and prospects. In connection with our board of directors’ determination as to its opinion of the fair market value of the target business, our board of directors may, in its discretion, seek the analyses and advice of third parties on which the board may rely, including seeking to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the fair market value of business combinations. Our stockholders may not be provided with a copy of such advice or opinion, nor will they be able to rely on such advice or opinion. We can offer no assurance our board of directors will seek such advice or opinion in connection with our initial business combination, or will be able to obtain such advice or opinion if desired. Additionally, pursuant to the Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
We may raise additional proceeds to complete an acquisition opportunity by making a specified future issuance. The amount and other terms and conditions of any such specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof. We are not obligated to make any specified future issuance and may determine not to do so. This is not an offer for any specified future issuance. Pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions of our Class B common stock, any such specified future issuance would result in an adjustment to the conversion ratio such that our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees, if any, would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 20% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon completion of this offering plus all shares issued in the specified future issuance, unless the holders of a majority of the then-outstanding shares of our Class B common stock agreed to waive such adjustment with respect to the specified future issuance at the time thereof. We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B common stock at the time of any such specified future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. If such adjustment is not waived, the specified future issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B common stock, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A common stock. If such adjustment is waived, the specified future issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our common stock.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will comply with any applicable regulatory requirements and own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the prior owners of the target business, the target management team or stockholders, or for other reasons. However, we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires an interest in the target or assets sufficient for the post-transaction company not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in an 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, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test. If our initial business combination involves more than one target business, Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses, and we will treat the target businesses together as our initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review including, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information made available to us (including any relevant and applicable regulatory filings). We cannot currently ascertain the time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process. Any costs incurred with respect to prospective target businesses with which we do not ultimately complete an initial business combination will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with such persons, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Members of our management team and our independent directors will directly or indirectly own our common stock and/or private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our executive 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 executive officers and directors is included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration. Our executive officers and directors have neither individually identified or considered a target business nor have they had any discussions regarding possible target businesses among themselves or with the underwriter or other advisors. We have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction. We have not (nor have any of our agents or affiliates) been approached by any candidates (or representative of any candidates) with respect to a possible acquisition transaction with us. Additionally, we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any measure, directly or indirectly, to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate for us, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any such acquisition candidate. Notwithstanding the foregoing, our sponsor, executive officers and directors have affiliations with certain businesses that may be suitable target businesses for us. Such affiliations will not preclude us from pursuing a combination with such potential targets, and any affiliation will not (in and of itself) be viewed as being in contravention to any assurances provided in this paragraph.
Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. Each of our executive officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity or is subject to other contractual restrictions. Accordingly, if any of our executive officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which they have then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, then, subject to such executive officer’s or director’s fiduciary duties under Delaware law, they will need to honor their fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity before we can pursue such opportunity. If these other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. We do not expect, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our executive officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or executive officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in their capacity as a director or executive 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.
Our Management Team
We believe our directors’ and management team’s operating and transaction experience and relationships with companies will provide us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships around the world. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring and financing businesses, our management team’s relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of our management team in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Management” for a more complete description of our management team’s experience.
Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock, shares or other equity interests in the target business for our Class A common stock (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our Class A common stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. We believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting fees and commissions, that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.
Furthermore, after a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriter’s ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital, an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
Although we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds will make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek stockholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the 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 non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of the shares of our Class A common stock that are held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700.0 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
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 that is held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $250.0 million as of the prior June 30th and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100.0 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700.0 million as of the prior June 30th.
Financial Position
With funds available for a business combination from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants initially in the amount of $221,625,000, after payment of the estimated expenses of this offering and $7,875,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or $254,868,750 after payment of up to $9,056,250 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third-party financing and we can offer no assurance it will be available to us.
Effecting our Initial Business Combination
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering, the private placements of the private placement warrants, our equity, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A common stock, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration. Our executive officers and directors have neither individually identified or considered a target business nor have they had any discussions regarding possible target businesses among themselves or with the underwriter or other advisors. We have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction. We have not (nor have any of our agents or affiliates) been approached by any candidates (or representative of any candidates) with respect to a possible acquisition transaction with us. Additionally, we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any measure, directly or indirectly, to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate for us, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any such acquisition candidate. Notwithstanding the foregoing, our sponsor, executive officers and directors have affiliations with certain businesses that may be suitable target businesses for us. Such affiliations will not preclude us from pursuing a combination with such potential targets, and any affiliation will not (in and of itself) be viewed as being in contravention to any assurances provided in this paragraph.
We may need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account, or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of an initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. There are no prohibitions on our ability to issue securities or incur debt in connection with our initial business combination. We are not currently a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities, the incurrence of debt or otherwise.
Sources of Target Businesses
During the process of identifying acquisition targets, we intend to leverage our sponsor’s and our management team’s industry experiences, proven deal sourcing capabilities and broad and deep network of relationships in numerous industries, including executives and management teams, private equity groups and other institutional investors, large business enterprises, lenders, investment bankers and other investment market participants, restructuring advisers, consultants, attorneys and accountants, which we believe should provide us with a number of business combination opportunities. We expect that the collective experience, capability and network of our sponsor, our directors and officers, combined with their individual and collective reputations in the investment community, will help to create prospective business combination opportunities.
In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates may be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and private investment funds. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read this prospectus and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our executive officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates of which they become aware through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions.
We also expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our executive officers and directors. Although we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation by the company prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). None of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated acquisition of such target by us. Some of our executive officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an acquisition candidate.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors or from making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, executive officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm, that such an initial business combination is fair to our stockholders from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Certain of our executive officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including entities that are affiliates of our sponsor, pursuant to which such executive officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity or is subject to other contractual restrictions. Accordingly, if any of our executive officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which they have then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, they will honor their fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Delaware law. See “Management — Conflicts of Interest.”
Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination
Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of our assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting fees and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into our initial business combination. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation or value of comparable businesses. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the fair market value of business combinations. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
In any case, we will only complete an initial business combination in which we own or acquire 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquire a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If we own or acquire less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses, the portion of such business or businesses that are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of fair market value test. There is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review, including among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other and other information made available to us. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of our initial business combination transaction.
We cannot currently ascertain the time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process. Any costs incurred with respect to prospective target businesses with which we do not ultimately complete an initial business combination will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination. The company will not pay any consulting fees to members of our management team, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial business combination.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
| ● | subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination, and |
| ● | cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services. |
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following a business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.
Type of Transaction | | Whether Stockholder Approval is Required |
Purchase of assets | | No |
Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company | | No |
Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company | | No |
Merger of the company with a target | | Yes |
Under the Nasdaq rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
| ● | we issue shares of our Class A common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our Class A common stock then outstanding; |
| ● | any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by the Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding common shares or voting power of 5% or more; or |
| ● | the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
Permitted Purchases of Our Securities
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. If such persons engage in such transactions, they will not make any purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M.
Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act. However, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to (i) vote such shares in favor of an initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of an initial business combination or (ii) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A common stock or public warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, executive officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, executive officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders (in the case of our Class A common stock) following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, executive officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such stockholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination but only if such shares have not already been voted at the stockholder meeting related to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, executive officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to purchase shares from based on the negotiated price and number of shares and any other factors that they may deem relevant, and will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M and the other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, executive officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.
Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.20 per public share (to be increased by $0.033 per public share for each Extension Election (if any)). The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting fees we will pay to the underwriter. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our sponsor and each of our executive officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity.
Limitation on Redemptions
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). However, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of our Class A common stock that are validly tendered 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 such initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of our Class A common stock tendered for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve an initial business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or whether we were deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require a tender offer rather than seeking stockholder approval under SEC rules). Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our shares of outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require stockholder approval. We currently intend to conduct redemptions in connection with a stockholder vote unless stockholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement and we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other legal reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with the Nasdaq rules.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
| ● | conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and |
| ● | file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about an initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares which are not purchased by our sponsor, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination.
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
| ● | conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and |
| ● | file proxy materials with the SEC. |
In the event that we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of our initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of our initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders will count towards this quorum and, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, our sponsor and each of our executive officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 8,437,501, or 37.5%, or 1,406,251, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the overallotment option is not exercised), of the 22,500,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, may make it more likely that we will complete our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a stockholder on the record date for the stockholder meeting held to approve the proposed transaction. In addition, our sponsor and each of our executive officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with (i) the completion of a business combination and (ii) a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of our Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption 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 such initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of our Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination if We Seek Stockholder Approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to the Excess Shares. We believe this restriction will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares of Class A common stock included in the units sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares of Class A common stock included in the units sold in this offering without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will not restrict our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
Tendering Stock Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights
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 (if any) to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials, as applicable, mailed to such holders, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option, in each case up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote to approve an initial business combination. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate the applicable delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the vote on an initial business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures historically used by some blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, some blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the stockholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise their redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for them to deliver their certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which they could monitor the price of the company’s stock in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, they could sell their shares in the open market before actually delivering their shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming stockholder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or the date of the stockholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable, unless otherwise agreed to by us. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public stockholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until 15 months from the closing of this offering (unless extended as provided herein).
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if No Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we will have only 15 months from the closing of this offering (unless extended as provided herein) to complete our initial business combination (unless extended in connection with an Extension Election as described below or as a result of an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which would require the approval of the holders of at least 65% of all of our then outstanding common stock). However, if we anticipate that we may be unable to complete our initial business combination within 15 months, we may, but are not obligated to, extend the period of time to complete a business combination up to six times by an additional period of one month each time (for a total of up to 21 months); provided that, at the beginning of each such Extension Election, our sponsor (or its designees) must deposit into the trust account funds equal to $0.033 per public share (including any shares issued in relation to the exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option), in each case, in exchange for a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note. Our sponsor and its affiliates or designees are not obligated to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination. If we do not complete an initial business combination within such prescribed time frame, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, 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. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
Our sponsor and each of our executive officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if our initial stockholders acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
Our sponsor and each of our executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, or with respect to any other material provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public 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 including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement, we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time. This redemption right shall apply in the event of the approval of any such amendment, whether proposed by our sponsor, any executive officer, director or director nominee, or any other person.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $1,450,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account plus up to $100,000 of funds from the trust account available to us to pay dissolution expenses, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay franchise and income taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.20. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.20. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest and claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. The underwriter will not execute an agreement with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.
In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent auditors) 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 the lesser of (i) $10.20 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.20 per share, 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 our taxes, if any, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims 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. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.20 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 executive officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.20 per share, 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 our taxes, if any, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, and we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.20 per public share.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to approximately $1,450,000 from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. Such liability, however, will not be greater than the amount of funds from our trust account received by any such stockholder. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $550,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $550,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution.
Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, 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. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following our 15th month. Therefore, we do not intend to comply with these procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.
Because we would not 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 subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account. As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the trust account is remote. Further, our sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below (i) $10.20 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest withdrawn to pay taxes and will not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
If we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.20 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, subject to applicable law; (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (a) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame or (b) with respect to the rights of holders of our Class A common stock and any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of our initial business combination. Public stockholders who redeem their shares of our Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, with respect to such shares of our Class A common stock so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with an initial business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote.
Comparison of Redemption or Purchase Prices in Connection with our Initial Business Combination and if We Do Not Complete our Initial Business Combination
The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
| | Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination | | Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by Us or our Affiliates | | Redemptions if We Do Not Complete an Initial Business Combination |
Calculation of redemption price | | Redemptions at the time of our initial business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a stockholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a stockholder vote. In either case, our public stockholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share (to be increased by $0.033 per public share for each Extension Election (if any))), including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place, if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination. | | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit to the prices that our initial stockholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may pay in these transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. | | If we do not complete our business combination within the prescribed time frame, we will redeem all public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount, then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share (to be increased by $0.033 per public share for each Extension Election (if any))), including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. |
Impact to remaining stockholders | | The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining stockholders, who will bear the burden of the deferred underwriting commissions and any taxes payable. | | If the permitted purchases described above are made there would be no impact to our remaining stockholders because the purchase price would not be paid by us. | | The redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our initial stockholders, who will be our only remaining stockholders after such redemptions. |
Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419
The following table compares the terms of this offering to the terms of an offering by a blank check company subject to the provisions of Rule 419. This comparison assumes that the gross proceeds, underwriting commissions and underwriting expenses of our offering would be identical to those of an offering undertaken by a company subject to Rule 419, and that the underwriter will not exercise its over-allotment option. None of the provisions of Rule 419 apply to our offering.
| | Terms of our Offering | | Terms under a Rule 419 Offering |
Escrow of offering proceeds | | $229,500,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. | | Approximately $199,462,500 of the offering proceeds, representing the gross proceeds of this offering, would be required to be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account. |
| | | | |
Investment of net proceeds | | $229,500,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in trust will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. | | Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States. |
| | | | |
Receipt of interest on escrowed funds | | Interest income (if any) on proceeds from the trust account to be paid to stockholders is reduced by (i) any taxes paid or payable, and (ii) in the event of our liquidation for failure to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, up to $100,000 of net interest that may be released to us should we have no or insufficient working capital to fund the costs and expenses of our dissolution and liquidation. | | Interest income on funds in escrow account would be held for the sole benefit of investors, unless and only after the funds held in escrow were released to us in connection with our completion of a business combination. |
| | Terms of our Offering | | Terms under a Rule 419 Offering |
Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business | | Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of our assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting commissions held in trust and any taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into an initial business combination. Nasdaq rules also provide that our initial business combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in the trust account (less any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest earned) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If our securities are not listed on Nasdaq after this offering, we would not be required to satisfy the 80% requirement. However, we intend to satisfy the 80% request even if our securities are not listed on Nasdaq at the time our initial business combination. | | The fair value or net assets of a target business must represent at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds. |
| | | | |
Trading of securities issued | | The units are expected to begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The shares of our Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless the underwriter informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, an additional Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the over-allotment option. The units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination. | | No trading of the units or the underlying shares of our Class A common stock and warrants would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account. |
| | Terms of our Offering | | Terms under a Rule 419 Offering |
Exercise of the warrants | | The warrants cannot be exercised until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. | | The warrants could be exercised prior to the completion of a business combination, but securities received and cash paid in connection with the exercise would be deposited in the escrow or trust account. |
| | | | |
Election to remain an investor | | We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by law to hold a stockholder vote. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. If we are not required by law and do not otherwise decide to hold a stockholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. If, however, we hold a stockholder vote, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of an initial business combination. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. | | A prospectus containing information pertaining to the business combination required by the SEC would be sent to each investor. Each investor would be given the opportunity to notify the company in writing, within a period of no less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of a post-effective amendment to the company’s registration statement, to decide if it elects to remain a stockholder of the company or require the return of its investment. If the company has not received the notification by the end of the 45th business day, funds and interest or dividends, if any, held in the trust or escrow account are automatically returned to the stockholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all funds on deposit in the escrow account must be returned to all of the investors and none of the securities are issued. |
| | Terms of our Offering | | Terms under a Rule 419 Offering |
Business combination deadline | | If we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, 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. | | If an acquisition has not been completed within 18 months after the effective date of the company’s registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account are returned to investors. |
| | Terms of our Offering | | Terms under a Rule 419 Offering |
Release of funds | | Except for the withdrawal of interest income (if any) to pay our taxes, if any, none of the funds held in trust will be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, subject to applicable law; or (iii) the redemption of our public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that (a) would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame or (b) with respect to the rights of holders of our Class A common stock and any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. | | The proceeds held in the escrow account are not released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. |
| | | | |
Limitation on redemption rights of stockholders holding 15% or more of the shares sold in this offering if we hold a stockholder vote | | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to Excess Shares (an aggregate of 15% or more of the shares sold in this offering). Our public stockholders’ inability to redeem Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and they could suffer a material loss on their investment in us if they sell Excess Shares in open market transactions | | Some blank check companies provide no restrictions on the ability of stockholders to redeem shares based on the number of shares held by such stockholders in connection with an initial business combination. |
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, other public companies and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than we do. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating and completing an initial business combination.
Facilities
Our executive offices are located at 1909 Woodall Rodgers Freeway, Suite 500, Dallas, TX 75201, and our telephone number is (214) 741-6105. Our executive offices are provided to us by an affiliate of our sponsor. Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we have agreed to pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have three executive officers and no employees. 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 will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of our initial business combination process. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We will register our units, Class A common stock and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential acquisition candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with the requirements outlined above, or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential acquisition candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
Prior to the date of this prospectus, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we will be subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the completion of our initial business combination.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the 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 non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the Market Value of the shares of our Class A common stock that are held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700.0 million as of the prior June 30th and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
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 that is held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $250.0 million as of the prior June 30th and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100.0 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700.0 million as of the prior June 30th.
Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such, and we and the members of our management team have not been subject to any such proceeding in the twelve months preceding the date of this prospectus.
MANAGEMENT
Officers and Directors
Upon completion of this offering, our officers and directors will be as follows:
Name | | Age | | Position |
Elias Farhat | | 55 | | Executive Chairman of the Board |
Baudouin Prot | | 70 | | Non-Executive Chairman of the Board |
Scott Reed | | 51 | | President, Chief Executive Officer and Director |
Alberto Bianchinotti | | 44 | | Chief Financial Officer |
Robert Black | | 62 | | Director |
James Hodge | | 69 | | Director |
Habib Kairouz | | 55 | | Director |
Jodi Shelton | | 56 | | Director |
Djemi Traboulsi | | 54 | | Director |
Elias Farhat has served as our Executive Chairman of the Board since March 2021 and as a member of our board of directors since February 2021. Mr. Farhat is the former Chief Strategy Officer for Candriam, an asset management company with over $175 billion under management. He served in that role from 2016 to 2021. Mr. Farhat was also member of Candriam’s Group Strategic Committee and its Executive Committee and served as a member of its board of directors. From 2003 to 2016, Mr. Farhat was a Partner of Capital E Advisors, Inc., a private equity and real estate firm, and held several board and advisory positions at portfolio companies affiliated with Capital E. Mr. Farhat founded Velocity Advisors, Inc, a private equity advisory firm that sourced and structured transactions on behalf of institutional investors, and served as its Managing Partner from 2002 to 2016. From 1990 to 2002, Mr. Farhat served in various management consultancy positions at Bain & Company, including as a Vice President and Partner from 1998 to 2002. At Bain, Mr. Farhat advised boards, CEOs and senior management of Fortune 1000 companies as well as several private equity funds on a broad range of strategic, operational, financial and organizational issues. Mr. Farhat led Bain’s Private Equity Group activities in the Southern United States and was involved in its Investment Committee. Mr. Farhat currently serves as a member of the boards of directors of Lakeside Capital Advisors, L.P., a private equity firm, and Landsea. Mr. Farhat also previously served as a member of the boards of directors of Huron Inc., a manufacturing company, CBI Laboratories, Inc., a cosmetics company, and LFAC I from its inception through the completion of its business combination with Landsea in January 2021. Mr. Farhat is a graduate of Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (ESSEC) in Paris. Mr. Farhat’s extensive experience in business and investing in and advising companies qualifies him to serve on our board of directors.
Baudouin Prot has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021 and was appointed Non-Executive Chairman of the Board in March 2021. Mr. Prot is a Senior Advisor to Boston Consulting Group, a position he has held since 2015. From 1996 to 2014, Mr. Prot served in various leadership positions at BNP Paribas S.A., including (i) as its Chairman from 2011 to 2014 and as a member of its board of directors from 2000 to 2011 before being appointed as its Chairman; (ii) as its Chief Executive Officer and President from 2003 to 2011; and (iii) as its Chief Operating Officer from 1996 to 2003. Between 2003 and 2014, the French bank tripled its shareholders’ equity (from €28.3B to €89.4B), doubled revenues (from €18B to €39B) and doubled headcount (from 89,000 to 188,000 employees). During his tenure as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BNP Paribas, Mr. Prot implemented a successful expansion strategy in the United States via its U.S.-based subsidiary, BancWest, including a: (i) $1.2 billion acquisition of Community First Bankshares, Inc.; (ii) $1.36 billion acquisition of Commercial Federal Corporation; and (iii) $245 million acquisition of USDB Bancorp. Prior to his time at BNP, Mr. Prot served as an inspecteur des finances at the French Ministry of Finance from 1976 to 1980. Mr. Prot serves on the boards of directors of Kering S.A., a group of luxury brands, Foncia Group S.A., a provider of real estate management services, Finastra, a financial technology company, and Alstom, S.A., a world leader in rolling stock. Mr. Prot previously served as a member of the boards of directors of Veolia Environment, S.A., a provider of resource management solutions, and Lafarge S.A., a supplier of construction materials. Mr. Prot also previously served as Chairman of the Association Francaise des Banques and as the Chairman and a member of the board of directors of LFAC I from its inception through the completion of its business combination with Landsea in January 2021. Mr. Prot was named “Financier of the Year” by Les Echos in 2006 and 2009 and received the Foreign Policy Association award (USA) for “Corporate Social Responsibility” in 2007. Mr. Prot was named “Strategist of the Year” by the financial daily newspaper La Tribune in 2009 and, in 2010, the Institutional Investor magazine named Mr. Prot “Best European Banking CEO.” Mr. Prot has also been named Officer of the Legion of Honor and Officer of the National Order of Merit by the French Republic. Mr. Prot is a graduate of the École Nationale d’Administration and earned his master of business administration from HEC Paris. Mr. Prot’s extensive experience in financial institutions and successful acquisitions qualifies him to serve on our board of directors.
Scott Reed has served our President, Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Mr. Reed is the co-founder of BankCap Partners, a private equity firm that focuses on investments in the U.S. commercial banking space, and has served as a Partner and Director of BankCap Partners since 2005. Prior to founding BankCap Partners, Mr. Reed served from 2002 to 2004 as the Senior Vice President, Director of Corporate Strategy and Planning of Carreker Corporation, a financial technology company based in Dallas. From 2000 to 2002, Mr. Reed was an investment banker in the Financial Institutions Group at Bear Stearns and, from 1997 to 2000, Mr. Reed worked as a consultant at Bain & Company. Mr. Reed began his career as a derivatives trader at Swiss Bank Corporation (formerly O’Connor) from 1992 to 1995. Mr. Reed earned his bachelor’s degrees in commerce and history from the University of Virginia and his master of business administration from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College, where he was an Edward Tuck Scholar. Mr. Reed is a member of the board of directors of InBankshares, Corp., Silvergate Capital Corporation, Vista Bancshares (as well as the boards of directors of each of the three institutions’ underlying commercial banks), Nobul Corporation and Uncommon Giving and previously served as a member of the board of directors of Xenith Bankshares and the board of directors of its underlying commercial bank. Mr. Reed is also a member of Landsea’s board of directors and served as LFAC I’s President and as a member of its board of directors from its inception through the completion of its business combination with Landsea in January 2021, and served as Chief Executive Officer of LFAC I from July 2020 through the completion of its business combination with Landsea in January 2021. Mr. Reed’s extensive experience in the financial services and strategic consulting industries qualifies him to serve on our board of directors.
Alberto Bianchinotti has served as our Chief Financial Officer since March 2021. Mr. Bianchinotti is the owner of AM Knight Financial Services, a CPA firm that he founded in 2013, and has experience working with new businesses in the life sciences, software and real estate industries. Mr. Bianchinotti is a Certified Public Accountant and consultant with an expertise in the launching of investment advisers and start-ups. He has served as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Merlin Biomed Private Equity Advisors, a crossover private equity fund, since 2007. Prior to that, Mr. Bianchinotti was a Financial Analyst and Controller at Merlin Biomed Investment Advisors from 2004 to 2007 and a Financial Services Audit Supervisor at Anchin, Block and Anchin LLP from 1999 to 2004. Mr. Bianchinotti served as the Chief Financial Officer of LFAC I from July 2020 through the completion of its business combination with Landsea in January 2021. He also assisted in the oversight of the finances and operations of LFAC I from December 2017 through July 2020 through his firm, AM Knight Financial Services. Mr. Bianchinotti earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Binghamton University and a certification in financial planning from New York University.
Robert Black has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Mr. Black serves as the Chairman of the board of directors of RTIC Outdoors, LLC, a direct-to-consumer retailer of outdoor gear, a position he has held since 2020. He also serves as an Executive Advisory Partner of Wind Point Partners, a private equity firm, a position he has held since 2013, and a Senior Advisor to Boston Consulting Group’s Global Consumer Practice, a position he has held since 2012. From 2006 to 2012, Mr. Black served in various leadership positions at Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB), including as its Group President from 2007 to 2012, its Chief Strategy Officer from 2006 to 2007 and its Chief Innovation Officer from 2006 to 2007. Prior to that, from 2004 to 2006, Mr. Black served as the President, Chief Operating Officer and a member of the board of directors of Sammons Enterprises, a privately held financial consumer oriented and service-based business. From 1994 to 2004, Mr. Black served in a number of leadership positions at Steelcase, Inc. (NYSE: SCS), including as President of Steelcase International and as a member of the Steelcase, Inc. Executive Committee. Prior to that, he also held senior positions at McKinsey & Company, Baxter International, Inc. and Hard Manufacturing Co., Inc. Since 2018, Mr. Black has served on the board of directors of Edgewell Personal Care Company (NYSE: EPC). Mr. Black also serves on the boards of directors of Pestell Nutrition, a leading distributor of minerals, feed ingredients and nutritional additives; Targeted PetCare Goup, a manufacturer of animal litter, bedding products and dental pet treats; Corsicana Bedding, one of the nation’s largest bedding producers; and DecoPac, Inc., the world’s largest supplier of cake decorations to professional cake decorators and bakeries in the world. Mr. Black has also previously served on the boards of directors of a number of public companies, including Annie’s, Inc. (formerly NYSE: BNNY) (from 2014 to 2015), North American Technologies Group, Inc. (from 2004 to 2005), Modernform Group Public Company Ltd. (in 2002) and Kimberly-Clark de Mexico (from 2008 to 2012). Mr. Black earned his bachelor’s degree in management from the State University of New York at Buffalo and his master of business administration from Harvard Business School. Mr. Black’s extensive experience in the consumer products industry qualifies him to serve on our board of directors.
James Hodge has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Mr. Hodge founded Arrowsmith, LLC, an investment management firm, in 1999 and has served as its President and Chief Investment Officer since its inception. From 1987 to 2016, Mr. Hodge served as the President and Chief Investment Officer of Permal Asset Management, an investment management firm. Mr. Hodge is a member of the advisory board of Alpha Japan Asset Advisors Ltd., an asset management company, and the board of directors of China Alpha Fund Management Ltd., an investment management firm. He also serves on the boards of directors for a number of investment funds, including China Alpha II Fund Ltd., China Alpha Master Fund Ltd., Hel Ved Master Fund, WF Asian Reconnaissance Fund Limited and WF Asian Smaller Companies Fund Limited. Mr. Hodge earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Indiana University at Bloomington and his master of business administration from Harvard Business School. Mr. Hodge’s extensive experience in leading and advising investment management firms qualifies him to serve on our board of directors.
Habib Kairouz has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Mr. Kairouz is a Managing Partner of Rho Capital Partners, a private equity and venture capital firm with a focus on technology investments, where he has been employed since 1993 and a position he has held since 1999. Mr. Kairouz is a member of the boards of directors of Kasisto, Inc., a software developer of conversational AI platforms for the financial services industry, Passport Labs, Inc., a software developer of parking payment and enforcement solutions, Snagajob, Inc. an online marketplace for hourly work, Pawlicy Advisor, Inc., a pet insurance market place, and Dashlane Inc., a provider of password management solutions. Mr. Kairouz also previously served on the boards of directors of a number of public companies, including iVillage (formerly Nasdaq: IVIL) (from 1997-2006), IntraLinks Holdings, Inc. (formerly NYSE: IL) (from 2001-2017), Everyday Health, Inc. (formerly NYSE: EVDY) (from 2003-2016) and ReachLocal, Inc. (formerly Nasdaq: RLOC) (from 2007-2016). Mr. Kairouz earned his bachelor’s degrees in engineering and economics from Cornell University and his master of business administration from Columbia Business School. Mr. Kairouz’s extensive experience in venture capital and investing in and advising technology companies qualifies him to serve on our board of directors.
Jodi Shelton has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. In 1994, Ms. Shelton co-founded the Global Semiconductor Alliance, an industry organization that strives to prepare the semiconductor industry for paradigm shifts by aligning leadership from more than 250 companies in more than 25 countries, and has served as its Chief Executive Officer and as a member of its board of directors since its inception. Ms. Shelton also founded the Shelton Group, an integrated investor relations and public relations agency, in 1994 and has served as its Chief Executive Officer since its inception. From 1990 to 1994, Ms. Shelton served as the Director of Investment Relations at Cyrix Corporation, a manufacturer of computer processor solutions. Ms. Shelton has served on the board of advisors of Nanotronics Imaging, Inc., an emerging technology company using artificial intelligence and robotics to transform manufacturing, since April 2021 and has served on the board of directors of Curic, Inc., a start-up developing a patented smart-diaper technology, since June 2020. Ms. Shelton previously served as a member of the board of advisors of the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership and as a member of the boards of directors of Silicon Border Holding Company LLC, a commercial development along the western border of the United States and Mexico; Yellowstone Club Community Foundation; and Aurora Dallas, a public art installation and event that takes place in downtown Dallas. Ms. Shelton earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from San Diego State University, where she currently serves on the Board of Advisors for its International Business Program, and her master of political philosophy from the University of Houston. Ms. Shelton’s extensive experience within the semiconductor industry and in advising companies with respect to investment relations qualifies her to serve on our board of directors.
Djemi Traboulsi has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2021. Mr. Traboulsi serves as President of Capital E Advisors, Inc., Capital E Group’s US private equity and real estate research arm, a position he has held since 2005. Mr. Traboulsi served as a member of LFAC I’s board of directors from its inception through the completion of its business combination with Landsea in January 2021. From 1991 to 2001, Mr. Traboulsi served as the Managing Director of Kenmar Capital Advisors (formerly Kenmar Advisory Corp.), an alternative asset manager. Prior to 1991, Mr. Traboulsi held various M&A and corporate finance positions with Mabon, Nugent & Co., an international investment bank and brokerage firm. Mr. Traboulsi earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the American University of Paris, and he has attended the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University. Mr. Traboulsi’s extensive experience in business and investing in and advising companies qualifies him to serve on our board of directors.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
We intend to have eight directors upon completion of this offering. Our board of directors will be divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Robert Black and Habib Kairouz, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of James Hodge, Scott Reed and Jodi Shelton, will expire at our second annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Elias Farhat, Baudouin Prot and Djemi Traboulsi, will expire at our third annual meeting of stockholders. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we complete our initial business combination.
Prior to the completion of an initial business combination, any vacancy on the board of directors may be filled by a nominee chosen by holders of a majority of our founder shares. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, only holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, our sponsor, upon completion of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate two individuals for election to our board of directors, as long as our sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration rights agreement.
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our bylaws as it deems appropriate. Our bylaws provide that our officers may consist of a Chief Executive Officer, a Chief Financial Officer, a Secretary and such other officers (including without limitation, an Executive Chairman of the Board, Presidents, Vice Presidents, Assistant Secretaries and a Treasurer) as the board of directors from time to time may determine.
Director Independence
Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that Robert Black, James Hodge, Habib Kairouz and Jodi Shelton are “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Executive Officer and Director Compensation
None of our executive officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we have agreed to pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to our initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and completing an initial business combination.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to 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. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the completion of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the Nasdaq rules and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors, and the Nasdaq rules require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors.
Audit Committee
We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. James Hodge, Robert Black and Jodi Shelton will serve as members of our audit committee, each of whom our board of directors has determined to be independent under Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. James Hodge will serve as the chairperson of our audit committee.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that James Hodge qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
We will adopt an audit committee charter, which will detail the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
| ● | 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 permitted 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 (i) the independent auditor’s internal quality-control procedures and (ii) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues; |
| ● | 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
We have established a compensation committee of the board of directors. Jodi Shelton, Robert Black and Habib Kairouz will serve as members of our compensation committee, each of whom our board of directors has determined to be independent under Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Jodi Shelton will serve as the chairperson of our compensation committee.
We will adopt a compensation committee charter, which will detail the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
| ● | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation; |
| ● | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the compensation of all of our other officers; |
| ● | reviewing on an annual basis our executive compensation policies and plans; |
| ● | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
| ● | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
| ● | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees; |
| ● | if required, producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
| ● | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, other than the $15,000 per month administrative fee payable to an affiliate of our sponsor, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid by us to any of our existing stockholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate the completion of a business combination. Accordingly, it is likely that prior to the completion of an initial business combination, the compensation committee will only be responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial business combination.
The charter will also provide that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.
Director Nominations
We do not have a standing nominating committee, though we intend to form a corporate governance and nominating committee as and when required to do so by law or Nasdaq rules. In accordance with Rule 5605(e)(2) of the Nasdaq rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by the board of directors. The board of directors believes that the independent directors can satisfactorily carry out the responsibility of properly selecting or approving director nominees without the formation of a standing nominating committee. The directors who will participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are Robert Black, Habib Kairouz and Jodi Shelton. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq rules, all such directors are independent. As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place.
The board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our stockholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of stockholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of stockholders). Our stockholders that wish to nominate a director for election to our board of directors should follow the procedures set forth in our bylaws.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, our board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our executive officers currently serves, or in the past year has served, as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of directors.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We will file a copy of our Code of Ethics and our audit and compensation committee charters as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You will be 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. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find Additional Information.”
Conflicts of Interest
In general, officers and directors of a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware are required to present business opportunities to a corporation if:
| ● | the corporation could financially undertake the opportunity; |
| ● | the opportunity is within the corporation’s line of business; and |
| ● | it would not be fair to our company and its stockholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation. |
Certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including entities that are affiliates of our sponsor, pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity or is subject to other contractual restrictions. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which they have then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, they will honor their fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Delaware law. We do not expect, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties, contractual obligations or other material management relationships:
Individual | | Entity | | Entity’s Business | | Affiliation |
Elias Farhat | | | | | | |
| Landsea | | Residential Construction | | Director |
| Lakeside Capital Advisors | | Real Estate Investment | | Director |
Baudouin Prot | | Kering S.A. | | Luxury Goods | | Director |
| Alstom S.A. | | Transportation Equipment | | Director |
| Foncia Group S.A. | | Real Estate Services | | Director |
| Finastra | | Financial Technology | | Director |
| Boston Consulting Group | | Management Consulting | | Senior Advisor |
Scott Reed | | Silvergate Capital Corp. | | Banking | | Director |
| Vista Bancshares | | Banking | | Director |
| BankCap Equity Partners | | Private Equity | | Partner |
| Landsea InBankshares Corp. Uncommon Giving | | Residential Construction Banking Technology | | Director Director Director |
| | Nobul Corporation | | Technology | | Director |
Alberto Bianchinotti | | AM Knight Financial Services | | Financial Services | | Owner |
| Merlin Biomed Private Equity Advisors | | Private Equity | | Chief Financial Officer |
Robert Black | | Wind Point Partners | | Private Equity | | Executive Advisory Partner |
| Boston Consulting Group | | Management Consulting | | Senior Advisor |
| Edgewell Personal Care Company | | Consumer Products | | Director |
| RTIC Outdoors, LLC | | Consumer Products | | Director |
| Pestell Nutrition | | Agriculture | | Director |
| Targeted PetCare Group | | Consumer Products | | Director |
| DecoPac, Inc. | | Consumer Products | | Director |
| Corsicana Bedding | | Consumer Products | | Director |
James Hodge | | Arrowsmith, LLC | | Asset Management | | Chief Investment Officer |
| Alpha Japan Asset Advisors Ltd. | | Asset Management | | Member of Advisory Board |
| China Alpha Fund Management Ltd. | | Investment Management | | Director |
| China Alpha II Fund Ltd. | | Investment Fund | | Director |
| China Alpha Master Fund Ltd. | | Investment Fund | | Director |
| Hel Ved Master Fund | | Investment Fund | | Director |
| WF Asian Reconnaissance Fund Limited | | Investment Fund | | Director |
| WF Asian Smaller Companies Fund Limited | | Investment Fund | | Director |
Habib Kairouz | | Rho Capital Partners | | Private Equity | | Managing Partner |
| Kasisto, Inc. | | Software | | Director |
| Passport Labs, Inc. | | Software | | Director |
| Snagajob, Inc. | | Job Marketplace | | Director |
| Dashlane Inc. | | Software | | Director |
| Pawlicy Advisor, Inc. | | Pet Insurance Marketplace | | Director |
Jodi Shelton | | Shelton Group | | Investor Relations | | Chief Executive Officer |
| | Nanotronics Imaging, Inc. | | Technology | | Advisor |
| | Curic Inc. | | Technology | | Director |
Djemi Traboulsi | | Capital E Advisors | | Private Equity | | President |
Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
| ● | Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers and directors is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers and directors are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. |
| ● | Our sponsor subscribed for founder shares prior to the date of this prospectus and will purchase private placement warrants in a transaction that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. |
| ● | Our initial stockholders have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. Additionally, our sponsor has agreed to waive its rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to its founder shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. Except as described herein, our sponsor and each of our executive officers and directors have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earliest of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30- trading day period commencing at least 180 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their common stock for cash, securities or other property. The private placement warrants will not be transferable until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. Because each of our executive officers and director nominees will own common stock or warrants directly or indirectly, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effect our initial business combination. |
| ● | Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. |
| ● | Our sponsor, officers or directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a business combination and financing arrangements as we may obtain loans from our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or any of our officers or directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. |
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm, that such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Furthermore, in no event will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, be paid by the company any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination. Further, commencing on the date of this prospectus, we will also reimburse an affiliate of our sponsor for office space and administrative support services provided to us in the amount of $15,000 per month.
We cannot assure you that any of the above-mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their founder shares, and our sponsor and each of our executive officers and directors have agreed to vote any shares purchased during or after this offering, in favor of our initial business combination.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our executive officers and directors will be indemnified by us to the fullest extent authorized by Delaware law, as it now exists or may in the future be amended. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our directors will not be personally liable for monetary damages to us or our stockholders for breaches of their fiduciary duty as directors, unless they violated their duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders, acted in bad faith, knowingly or intentionally violated the law, authorized unlawful payments of dividends, unlawful stock purchases or unlawful redemptions, or derived an improper personal benefit from their actions as directors.
We will enter into agreements with our executive officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our bylaws also will permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director or employee for any liability arising out of their actions, regardless of whether Delaware law would permit such indemnification.
We will purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors. Each of our executive officers and directors has agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and has agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we complete an initial business combination.
Our indemnification obligations may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our executive 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 executive officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
PRINCIPAL STOCKHOLDERS
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of the date of this prospectus, and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our Class A common stock included in the units offered by this prospectus, and assuming no purchase of units in this offering, by:
| ● | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock; |
| ● | each of our executive officers and directors upon completion of this offering that beneficially owns shares of our common stock; and |
| ● | all our executive officers and directors upon completion of this offering 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 our common stock beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this prospectus.
On March 5, 2021, our sponsor acquired 100 shares of the company’s common stock in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $250.00 per share. On March 15, 2021, we effected a 64,687.5-for-one forward stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock and reclassified those issued and outstanding shares into founder shares. On June 21, 2021, we effected an approximately 1.11-for-one forward stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock. On October 26, 2021, we effected an approximately one-for-1.11 reverse stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock. As of the date of this prospectus, the sponsor holds 6,468,750 founder shares (reflecting an aggregate capital contribution of approximately $0.004 per share). In connection with the closing of the offering, our sponsor will transfer 20,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors at their original purchase price. In addition, at the closing of our initial business combination, our anchor investor will be entitled to purchase from our sponsor an aggregate of 12.5% of the number of founder shares outstanding upon the final closing of this offering, at a purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share.
The following table presents the number of shares and percentage of our common stock owned by our initial stockholders before and after this offering. The post-offering numbers and percentages presented assume that the underwriter does not exercise its over-allotment option, that our sponsor forfeits 843,750 founder shares, that our anchor investor does not buy any units in this offering and that there are 28,125,000 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding after this offering.
| | Before Offering | | After Offering |
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned(2)(3) | | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Common Stock | | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned(2) | | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Common Stock(2) |
Level Field Capital II, LLC(4) | | | 6,468,750 | | | | 100.0% | | | | 5,545,000 | | | | 19.7% | |
Elias Farhat(4) | | | 6,468,750 | | | | 100.0% | | | | 5,545,000 | | | | 19.7% | |
Baudouin Prot | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | |
Scott Reed | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | |
Alberto Bianchinotti | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | |
Robert Black | | | — | | | | — | | | | 20,000 | | | | * | |
James Hodge | | | — | | | | — | | | | 20,000 | | | | * | |
Habib Kairouz | | | — | | | | — | | | | 20,000 | | | | * | |
Jodi Shelton | | | — | | | | — | | | | 20,000 | | | | * | |
Djemi Traboulsi(4) | | | 6,468,750 | | | | 100.0% | | | | 5,545,000 | | | | 19.7% | |
All executive officers and directors as a group (9 individuals) | | | 6,468,750 | | | | 100.0% | | | | 5,625,000 | | | | 20.0% | |
| (1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o LF Capital Acquisition Corp. II, 1909 Woodall Rodgers Freeway, Suite 500, Dallas, Texas 75201. |
| (2) | Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as shares of our Class B common stock. Such shares will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holders thereof, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, as described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities.” The information on the approximate percentage ownership of our outstanding common stock after this offering is of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock on a combined basis. |
| (3) | Includes up to 843,750 founder shares that will be forfeited depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised. |
| (4) | Level Field Capital II, LLC, our sponsor, is the record holder of the shares reported herein. Level Field Partners II, LLC is the managing member of Level Field Capital II, LLC. Level Field Management II, LLC is the managing member of Level Field Partners II, LLC. Level Field Management II, LLC is managed by its two members, Elias Farhat and Djemi Traboulsi. Messrs. Farhat and Traboulsi disclaim beneficial ownership of these shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest they may have therein. |
Immediately after this offering, our initial stockholders will beneficially own 20% of the then-issued and outstanding shares of our common stock (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering) and will have the right to appoint all of our directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to appoint any directors to our board of directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Because of this ownership block, our initial stockholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of significant corporate transactions, including approval of our initial business combination.
Our initial stockholders have agreed (A) to vote any founder shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination and (B) not to redeem any founder shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination.
Our sponsor and our executive officers and directors are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
Our anchor investor has expressed to us an interest to purchase $11.25 million of public units in this offering, and we have agreed to direct the underwriter to sell to our anchor investor such number of public units. Because this expression of interest is not a binding agreement or commitment to purchase, our anchor investor may determine to purchase more, fewer or no units in the offering or the underwriter may determine to sell more, fewer or no units to our anchor investor. We can offer no assurance that our anchor investor will acquire any units in this offering or what amount of equity our anchor investor will retain, if any, upon the completion of our initial business combination. As a result of the founder shares and private placement warrants that our anchor investor may hold, it may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial business combination than other public stockholders.
Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants
The founder shares, private placement warrants and any shares of our Class A common stock issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock- up provisions in the agreements entered into by our sponsor, our anchor investor and our management team. Our sponsor, our anchor investor and each of our executive officers and directors have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earliest of (a) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (b) upon completion of our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 180 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property. The private placement warrants and the respective shares of our Class A common stock underlying such warrants are not transferable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. The foregoing restrictions are not applicable to transfers (a) to our officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our officers or directors, any members or partners of our sponsor or their affiliates, any affiliates of our sponsor, or any employees of such affiliates; (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of one of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family, an affiliate of such person or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made in connection with the completion of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the founder shares, private placement warrants or Class A common stock, as applicable, were originally purchased; (f) by virtue of the limited liability company agreements or other applicable organizational documents of the sponsor upon dissolution of any such sponsor; (g) as distributions to limited partners or members of the sponsor; (h) by virtue of the laws of the State of Delaware or of our sponsor’s organizational documents upon liquidation or dissolution of our sponsor; (i) in the case of the underwriter, to the underwriter’s affiliates or any investment fund or other entity controlled or managed by the underwriter, or to any investment manager or investment advisor of the underwriter or an affiliate of any such investment manager or investment advisor or to any investment fund or other entity controlled or managed by such persons; (j) to the company for no value for cancellation in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (k) in the event of our liquidation prior to the completion of our initial business combination; (l) in the event of our completion of a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination; or (m) to affiliates of the transferor, to any investment fund or other entity controlled or managed by the transferor or to any investment manager or investment advisor of the transferor or an affiliate of such investment manager or investment advisor or to any investment fund or other entity controlled or managed by such persons; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (h) and (m), or with the prior written consent of the company, these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreements.
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
On March 5, 2021, our sponsor acquired 100 shares of the company’s common stock in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $250.00 per share. On March 15, 2021, we effected a 64,687.5-for-one forward stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock and reclassified those issued and outstanding shares into founder shares. On June 21, 2021, we effected an approximately 1.11-for-one forward stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock. On October 26, 2021, we effected an approximately one-for-1.11 reverse stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock. As of the date of this prospectus, the sponsor holds 6,468,750 founder shares (reflecting an aggregate capital contribution of approximately $0.004 per share, which includes 843,750 shares subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised). The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering. In connection with the closing of the offering, our sponsor will transfer 20,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors at their original purchase price. In addition, at the closing of our initial business combination, our anchor investor will be entitled to purchase from our sponsor an aggregate of 12.5% of the number of founder shares outstanding upon the final closing of this offering, at a purchase price of approximately $0.004 per share. The founder shares (including the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder. If we further increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a stock capitalization or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the completion of this offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial stockholders (and their permitted transferees, if any) at 20% of the issued and outstanding shares upon the completion of this offering.
Our sponsor, the underwriter and our anchor investor have committed, pursuant to written agreements, to purchase an aggregate of 11,000,000 (or 12,350,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants for a purchase price of $1.00 per whole warrant in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. As such, our sponsor’s, the underwriter’s and our anchor investor’s interests in this transaction is valued at an aggregate of between approximately $11,000,000 and $12,350,000, depending on the number of private placement warrants purchased. Among the private placement warrants, 7,000,000 warrants (or 8,181,250 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by our sponsor, 1,125,000 warrants (or 1,293,750 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by the underwriter and 2,875,000 warrants will be purchased by our anchor investor. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. The private placement warrants (including the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
As more fully discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which they have then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, they will honor their fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we have agreed to pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination.
However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Our anchor investor has expressed to us an interest to purchase $11.25 million of public units in this offering, and we have agreed to direct the underwriter to sell to our anchor investor such number of public units. Because this expression of interest is not a binding agreement or commitment to purchase, our anchor investor may determine to purchase more, fewer or no units in the offering or the underwriter may determine to sell more, fewer or no units to our anchor investor. We can offer no assurance that our anchor investor will acquire any units in this offering or what amount of equity our anchor investor will retain, if any, upon the completion of our initial business combination. As a result of the founder shares and private placement warrants that our anchor investor may hold, it may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial business combination than other public stockholders.
Our sponsor has made a commitment to loan us up to $600,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. This loan is non-interest bearing, unsecured and is due at the earlier of March 31, 2022 or the closing of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the estimated $1,450,000 of offering proceeds not held in the trust account. The value of our sponsor’s interest in this transaction corresponds to the principal amount outstanding under any such loan.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our stockholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a stockholder meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
We will enter into a registration rights agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, the warrants issuable upon conversion of working capital loans (if any) and the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the foregoing and upon conversion of the founder shares, which is described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Registration Rights.”
Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions
The audit committee of our board of directors will adopt a charter, providing for the review, approval and/or ratification of “related party transactions,” which are those transactions required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K as promulgated by the SEC, by the audit committee. At its meetings, the audit committee will be provided with the details of each new, existing or proposed related party transaction, including the terms of the transaction, any contractual restrictions that the company has already committed to, the business purpose of the transaction and the benefits of the transaction to the company and to the relevant related party. Any member of the committee who has an interest in the related party transaction under review by the committee will abstain from voting on the approval of the related party transaction, but may, if so requested by the chairman of the committee, participate in some or all of the committee’s discussions of the related party transaction. Upon completion of its review of the related party transaction, the committee may determine to permit or to prohibit the related party transaction.
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
We are a Delaware corporation and our affairs will be governed by our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the DGCL. Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our authorized capital stock will consist of 100,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value, and 1,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, $0.0001 par value. The following description summarizes certain terms of our capital stock as set out more particularly in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.
Units
Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of our Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of the shares of the company’s Class A common stock. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
The shares of our Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units are expected to begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless the underwriter informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or to separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into shares of our Class A common stock and warrants.
In no event will the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes this audited balance sheet upon the completion of this offering. If the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option.
Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after the completion of our initial business combination.
Common Stock
Prior to the date of this prospectus, there were 6,468,750 shares of our Class B common stock issued and outstanding, all of which were held of record by our initial stockholders, so that our initial stockholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming our initial stockholders do not purchase any units in this offering). Upon the closing of this offering, 28,125,000 shares of our common stock will be outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of 843,750 founder shares by our sponsor), consisting of:
| ● | 22,500,000 shares of our Class A common stock underlying the units being offered in this offering; and |
| ● | 5,625,000 shares of Class B common stock held by our initial stockholders. |
If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a stock capitalization or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the completion of this offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial stockholders (and their permitted transferees, if any) at 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the completion of this offering.
Stockholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders. Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors, only holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason and any vacancy on the board of directors may be filled by a nominee chosen by holders of a majority of our founder shares. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, only holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended by approval of holders of the majority of our Class B common stock then outstanding. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote. Unless specified in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or as required by applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our shares of common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our stockholders. Our board of directors will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the election of directors can elect all of the directors. Our stockholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.
Because our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will authorize the issuance of up to 100,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock, if we were to enter into a business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such a business combination) be required to increase the number of shares of our Class A common stock which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our stockholders vote on an initial business combination to the extent we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws, unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the completion of 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.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.20 per public share (to be increased by $0.033 per public share for each Extension Election (if any)). The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriter. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial owner must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Our sponsor and each of our executive officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. Unlike many blank check companies that hold stockholder votes and conduct proxy solicitations in conjunction with their initial business combinations and provide for related redemptions of public shares for cash upon completion of such initial business combinations even when a vote is not required by law, if a stockholder vote is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require these tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock voted are voted in favor of our initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. However, the participation of our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates in privately negotiated transactions (as described in this prospectus), if any, could result in the approval of our initial business combination even if a majority of our public stockholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote will be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, may make it more likely that we will complete our initial business combination.
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 Excess Shares. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Our stockholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination, and such stockholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such stockholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And, as a result, such stockholders will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose such shares would be required to sell their shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
If we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 8,437,501, or 37.5%, or 1,406,251, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the overallotment option is not exercised), of the 22,500,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted) in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised). The other members of our management team have entered into a letter agreement similar to the one entered into by our initial stockholders with respect to any public shares acquired by them in or after this offering. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction (subject to the limitations described in the preceding paragraph).
Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, 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. 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 their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if our initial stockholders acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our stockholders are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of stock, if any, having preference over the common stock. Our stockholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock, except that we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash at a per share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.
Founder Shares
The founder shares are designated as shares of our Class B common stock and, except as described below, are identical to the shares of our Class A common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of founder shares have the same stockholder rights as public stockholders, except that (i) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; (ii) our sponsor and each of our officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (a) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (b) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (c) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we do not complete our initial business combination within such time period; (iii) the founder shares are shares of our Class B common stock that will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holders thereof, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described herein and in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation; (iv) prior to the completion of our initial business combination, only our founder shares will have the right to vote on the election of our directors; and (v) are entitled to registration rights. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination.
The founder shares will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holders thereof, at a ratio such that the number of shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of shares of our common stock issued and outstanding upon completion of this offering, plus (ii) the sum of (a) all shares of our common stock issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or deemed issued by the company in connection with or in relation to the completion of our initial business combination, excluding (1) any shares of our Class A common stock or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into shares of our Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in our initial business combination and any (2) private placement warrants issued to our sponsor or any of its affiliates upon conversion of working capital loans. In no event will the shares of our Class B common stock convert into shares of our Class A common stock at a rate of less than one-to-one.
Except as described herein, our sponsor and each of our directors and executive officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until (a) one year after the completion of our initial business combination, or (b) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of our Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property. Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial stockholders with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last reported sale price of the shares of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 180 days after our initial business combination, the converted Class A common stock will be released from the lock-up.
Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, only holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended by approval of holders of at least the majority of our Class B common stock then outstanding. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.
Preferred Stock
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will authorize 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock and will provide that shares of preferred stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors will be authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors will be able to, without stockholder approval, issue shares of preferred stock with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the common stock and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue shares of preferred stock without stockholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any shares of preferred stock, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No shares of preferred stock are being issued or registered in this offering.
Warrants
Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, provided that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement) and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of shares of our Class A common stock. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at a given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation; provided, however, that the private placement warrants held by the underwriter will not be exercisable more than five years from the commencement of sales in this offering in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8).
We will not be obligated to deliver any shares of our Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of our Class A common stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue a share of our Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless the share of our Class A common stock issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the share of our Class A common stock underlying such unit.
The registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part registers the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. We have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than twenty business days, after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or a new registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. We will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration or redemption of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption, and we will use our commercially reasonably efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available and we are unable to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. In addition, 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 be required to use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering each such warrant for that number of shares of our Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of our Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied the excess of the “fair market value” less the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” means the volume-weighted average trading price of the shares of our Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent.
Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00
After the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants:
| ● | in whole and not in part; |
| ● | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| ● | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and |
| ● | if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the shares of our Class A common stock for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three business days before we send to the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (which we refer to as the “Reference Value”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like 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. However, we will not redeem the warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of our Class A common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period.
We have established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise their warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. Any such exercise would not be done on a “cashless” basis and would require the exercising warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised. However, the price of the shares of our Class A common stock may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities) as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00
After the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants:
| ● | 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 determined by reference to the table below, based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock (as defined below); and |
| ● | if, and only if, the Reference Value (as defined above under “Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00”) equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities) |
The numbers in the table below represent the number of shares of our Class A common stock that a warrant holder will receive upon exercise in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, based on the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock on the corresponding redemption date (assuming holders elect to exercise their warrants and such warrants are not redeemed for $0.10 per warrant), determined based on the volume-weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock as reported during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, and the number of months that the corresponding redemption date precedes the expiration date of the warrants, each as set forth in the table below. We will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10-trading day period described above ends. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, references above to shares of our Class A common stock include a security other than shares of our Class A common stock into which the shares of our Class A common stock have been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination. The numbers in the table below will not be adjusted when determining the number of shares of our Class A common stock to be issued upon exercise of the warrants if we are not the surviving entity following our initial business combination.
The stock prices set forth in the column headings of the table below will be adjusted as of any date on which the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant or the exercise price of the warrant is adjusted as set forth under the heading “— Anti-dilution Adjustments” below. If the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant is adjusted, the adjusted stock prices in the column headings will equal the stock prices immediately prior to such adjustment, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the exercise price of the warrant after such adjustment and the denominator of which is the price of the warrant immediately prior to such adjustment. In such an event, the number of shares in the table below will be adjusted by multiplying such share amounts by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant immediately prior to such adjustment and the denominator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant as so adjusted. If the exercise price of the warrant is adjusted, (a) in the case of an adjustment pursuant to the fifth paragraph under the heading “—Anti-dilution Adjustments” below, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the unadjusted share price multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price as set forth under the heading “— Anti-dilution Adjustments” and the denominator of which is $10.00 and (b) in the case of an adjustment pursuant to the second paragraph under the heading “— Anti-dilution Adjustments” below, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the unadjusted share price less the decrease in the exercise price of a warrant pursuant to such exercise price adjustment.
Redemption Date (period to expiration of warrants) | | Fair Market Value of Our Class A Common stock |
≤$10.00 | | $11.00 | | $12.00 | | $13.00 | | $14.00 | | $15.00 | | $16.00 | | $17.00 | | ≥$18.00 |
60 months | | 0.261 | | 0.281 | | 0.297 | | 0.311 | | 0.324 | | 0.337 | | 0.348 | | 0.358 | | 0.361 |
57 months | | 0.257 | | 0.277 | | 0.294 | | 0.310 | | 0.324 | | 0.337 | | 0.348 | | 0.358 | | 0.361 |
54 months | | 0.252 | | 0.272 | | 0.291 | | 0.307 | | 0.322 | | 0.335 | | 0.347 | | 0.357 | | 0.361 |
51 months | | 0.246 | | 0.268 | | 0.287 | | 0.304 | | 0.320 | | 0.333 | | 0.346 | | 0.357 | | 0.361 |
48 months | | 0.241 | | 0.263 | | 0.283 | | 0.301 | | 0.317 | | 0.332 | | 0.344 | | 0.356 | | 0.361 |
45 months | | 0.235 | | 0.258 | | 0.279 | | 0.298 | | 0.315 | | 0.330 | | 0.343 | | 0.356 | | 0.361 |
42 months | | 0.228 | | 0.252 | | 0.274 | | 0.294 | | 0.312 | | 0.328 | | 0.342 | | 0.355 | | 0.361 |
39 months | | 0.221 | | 0.246 | | 0.269 | | 0.290 | | 0.309 | | 0.325 | | 0.340 | | 0.354 | | 0.361 |
36 months | | 0.213 | | 0.239 | | 0.263 | | 0.285 | | 0.305 | | 0.323 | | 0.339 | | 0.353 | | 0.361 |
33 months | | 0.205 | | 0.232 | | 0.257 | | 0.280 | | 0.301 | | 0.320 | | 0.337 | | 0.352 | | 0.361 |
30 months | | 0.196 | | 0.224 | | 0.250 | | 0.274 | | 0.297 | | 0.316 | | 0.335 | | 0.351 | | 0.361 |
27 months | | 0.185 | | 0.214 | | 0.242 | | 0.268 | | 0.291 | | 0.313 | | 0.332 | | 0.350 | | 0.361 |
24 months | | 0.173 | | 0.204 | | 0.233 | | 0.260 | | 0.285 | | 0.308 | | 0.329 | | 0.348 | | 0.361 |
21 months | | 0.161 | | 0.193 | | 0.223 | | 0.252 | | 0.279 | | 0.304 | | 0.326 | | 0.347 | | 0.361 |
18 months | | 0.146 | | 0.179 | | 0.211 | | 0.242 | | 0.271 | | 0.298 | | 0.322 | | 0.345 | | 0.361 |
15 months | | 0.130 | | 0.164 | | 0.197 | | 0.230 | | 0.262 | | 0.291 | | 0.317 | | 0.342 | | 0.361 |
12 months | | 0.111 | | 0.146 | | 0.181 | | 0.216 | | 0.250 | | 0.282 | | 0.312 | | 0.339 | | 0.361 |
9 months | | 0.090 | | 0.125 | | 0.162 | | 0.199 | | 0.237 | | 0.272 | | 0.305 | | 0.336 | | 0.361 |
6 months | | 0.065 | | 0.099 | | 0.137 | | 0.178 | | 0.219 | | 0.259 | | 0.296 | | 0.331 | | 0.361 |
3 months | | 0.034 | | 0.065 | | 0.104 | | 0.150 | | 0.197 | | 0.243 | | 0.286 | | 0.326 | | 0.361 |
0 months | | - | | - | | 0.042 | | 0.115 | | 0.179 | | 0.233 | | 0.281 | | 0.323 | | 0.361 |
The exact fair market value and redemption date may not be set forth in the table above, in which case, if the fair market value is between two values in the table or the redemption date is between two redemption dates in the table, the number of shares of our Class A common stock to be issued for each warrant exercised will be determined by a straight-line interpolation between the number of shares set forth for the higher and lower fair market values and the earlier and later redemption dates, as applicable, based on a 365 or 366-day year, as applicable. For example, if the volume-weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock as reported during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $11.00 per share, and at such time there are 57 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.277 shares of our Class A common stock for each whole warrant. For an example where the exact fair market value and redemption date are not as set forth in the table above, if the volume-weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock as reported during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $13.50 per share, and at such time there are 38 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.298 shares of our Class A common stock for each whole warrant. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature on a cashless basis for more than 0.361 shares of our Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment).
This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in many other blank check offerings, which typically only provide for a redemption of warrants for cash (other than the private placement warrants) when the trading price for the shares of our Class A common stock exceeds $18.00 per share for a specified period of time. This redemption feature is structured to allow for all of the outstanding warrants to be redeemed when the shares of our Class A common stock are trading at or above $10.00 per share, which may be at a time when the trading price of our the shares of Class A common stock is below the exercise price of the warrants. We have established this redemption feature to provide us with the flexibility to redeem the warrants without the warrants having to reach the $18.00 per share threshold set forth above under “— Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00.” Holders choosing to exercise their warrants in connection with a redemption pursuant to this feature will, in effect, receive a number of shares for their warrants based on an option pricing model with a fixed volatility input as of the date of this prospectus. This redemption right provides us with an additional mechanism by which to redeem all of the outstanding warrants, and therefore have certainty as to our capital structure as the warrants would no longer be outstanding and would have been exercised or redeemed. We will be required to pay the applicable redemption price to warrant holders if we choose to exercise this redemption right and it will allow us to quickly proceed with a redemption of the warrants if we determine it is in our best interest to do so. As such, we would redeem the warrants in this manner when we believe it is in our best interest to update our capital structure to remove the warrants and pay the redemption price to the warrant holders.
As stated above, we can redeem the warrants when the shares of our Class A common stock are trading at a price starting at $10.00, which is below the exercise price of $11.50, because it will provide certainty with respect to our capital structure and cash position while providing warrant holders with the opportunity to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis for the applicable number of shares. If we choose to redeem the warrants when the shares of our Class A common stock are trading at a price below the exercise price of the warrants, this could result in the warrant holders receiving fewer Class A common stock than they would have received if they had chosen to wait to exercise their warrants for Class A common stock if and when such Class A common stock were trading at a price higher than the exercise price of $11.50.
No fractional shares of our Class A common stock will be issued upon exercise. If, upon exercise, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number the number of shares of our Class A common stock to be issued to the holder. If, at the time of redemption, the warrants are exercisable for a security other than the shares of our Class A common stock pursuant to the warrant agreement (for instance, if we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination), the warrants may be exercised for such security. At such time as the warrants become exercisable for a security other than the shares of our Class A common stock, the company (or surviving company) will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register under the Securities Act the security issuable upon the exercise of the warrants.
Redemption Procedures. A holder of a warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the warrant agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 4.9% or 9.8% (as specified by the holder) of the shares of our Class A common stock issued and outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
Anti-dilution Adjustments. If the number of outstanding shares of our Class A common stock is increased by a stock capitalization or stock dividend payable in shares of our Class A common stock, or by a split-up of shares of our Class A common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such stock capitalization, stock dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of shares of our Class A common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding shares of our Class A common stock. A rights offering to holders of our Class A common stock entitling holders to purchase shares of our Class A common stock at a price less than the “fair market value” (as defined below) will be deemed a stock dividend of a number of shares of our Class A common stock equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of our Class A common stock actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for our Class A common stock) multiplied by (ii) one minus the quotient of (x) the price per share of our Class A common stock paid in such rights offering divided by (y) the fair market value. For these purposes (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for shares of our Class A common stock, in determining the price payable for our Class A common stock, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) “fair market value” means the volume-weighted average trading price of shares of our Class A common stock as reported during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the shares of our Class A common stock trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.
In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of shares of our Class A common stock on account of such shares of our Class A common stock (or other shares of our capital stock into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) certain cash dividends, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of our Class A common stock in connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of our Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, or (e) in connection with the redemption of our public shares upon our failure to complete our initial business combination, then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each share of our Class A common stock in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding shares of our Class A common stock is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse stock split or reclassification of our Class A common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse stock split, reclassification or similar event, the number of shares of our Class A common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding shares of our Class A common stock.
Whenever the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of shares of our Class A common stock so purchasable immediately thereafter.
In addition, if (x) we issue additional shares of our Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the completion of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of our Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our initial stockholders or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 10 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we complete our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described adjacent to “Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described adjacent to “Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding shares of our Class A common stock (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such shares of our Class A common stock), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding shares of our Class A common stock), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of the shares of our Class A common stock immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares of stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of our Class A common stock in such a transaction is payable in the form of our Class A common stock in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the Black-Scholes value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant. The purpose of such exercise price reduction is to provide additional value to holders of the warrants when an extraordinary transaction occurs during the exercise period of the warrants pursuant to which the holders of the warrants otherwise do not receive the full potential value of the warrants
The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding warrants to effect any other amendment thereto.
The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price (or on a cashless basis, if applicable), by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of Class A common stock or any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive shares of Class A common stock. After the issuance of shares of our Class A common stock upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.
No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number of shares of our Class A common stock to be issued to the warrant holder.
Private Placement Warrants
The private placement warrants are identical to the public warrants, except for (i) the transfer restrictions with respect to the former that are described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants” and (ii) the registration rights with respect to the former that are described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Registration Rights”. In addition, the private placement warrants held by the underwriter will not be exercisable more than five years from the commencement of sales in this offering in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8).
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial conditions subsequent to completion of a business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. If we increase the size of this offering, we will effect a stock capitalization with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the completion of this offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial stockholders at 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the completion of this offering. Further, if we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent
The transfer agent for our common stock and warrant agent for our warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in its roles as transfer agent and warrant agent, its agents and each of its stockholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith of the indemnified person or entity.
Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain provisions designed to provide certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of the holders of at least 65% of our common stock. Our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees, if any, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our common stock upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that:
| ● | If we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, 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; |
| ● | Prior to or in connection with our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on our initial business combination or on any other proposal presented to stockholders prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination; |
| ● | Although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our executive officers, we are not prohibited from doing so. In the event we enter into such a transaction, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that such a business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view; |
| ● | If a stockholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act; |
| ● | Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions held in trust and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into an initial business combination; |
| ● | If our stockholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, or with respect to any other material provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide dissenting public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of our Class A common stock upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein; and |
| ● | We will not effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. |
In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that under no circumstances will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001.
Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of Delaware Law and our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
We will be subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL regulating corporate takeovers upon completion of this offering. This statute prevents certain Delaware corporations, under certain circumstances, from engaging in a “business combination” with:
| ● | a stockholder who owns 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock (otherwise known as an “interested stockholder”); |
| ● | an affiliate of an interested stockholder; or |
| ● | an associate of an interested stockholder, for three years following the date that the stockholder became an interested stockholder. |
A “business combination” includes a merger or sale of more than 10% of our assets. However, the above provisions of Section 203 do not apply if:
| ● | our board of directors approves the transaction that made the stockholder an “interested stockholder,” prior to the date of the transaction; |
| ● | after the completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, that stockholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, other than statutorily excluded shares of common stock; or |
| ● | on or subsequent to the date of the transaction, our initial business combination is approved by our board of directors and authorized at a meeting of our stockholders, and not by written consent, by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock not owned by the interested stockholder. |
We will take all necessary corporate action to ensure that our sponsor, its affiliates and their permitted transferees will not be deemed to be “interested stockholders” regardless of the percentage of our voting stock owned by them, and accordingly will not be subject to this provision.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our board of directors will be classified into three classes of directors. As a result, in most circumstances, a person can gain control of our board only by successfully engaging in a proxy contest at two or more annual meetings.
Our authorized but unissued common stock and preferred stock will be available for future issuances without stockholder approval (including a specified future issuance) and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved common stock and preferred stock could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain a provision requiring that, if a person other than the company (a “Third-Party Offeror”) makes a tender or exchange offer to the holders of our common stock that would result in (x) such Third-Party Offeror and certain of its affiliates or associates owning more than 50% of the voting power of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock and (y) such tender or exchange offer would result in a change-in-control, such Third-Party Offeror must also make a tender or exchange offer for the same proportion of our warrants then outstanding. Until any such Third-Party Offeror complies with this provision, (i) any shares of our common stock acquired by the Third-Party Offeror upon completion of such a tender or exchange offer shall have no voting power on any matter submitted to a stockholder vote and (ii) we shall not declare or pay any dividend or make any other distribution with respect to any shares of our common stock, other than a dividend or distribution in the form of rights to receive cash, other property or shares of capital stock of the company that is exercisable solely upon receipt, if we request, of a written certification that the holder of such rights has complied with the provision described above.
Exclusive Forum for Certain Lawsuits
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, that (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee to us or our stockholders; (iii) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws; or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware, except any claim (A) as to which the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, or (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. If an action is brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, a court may determine that this provision is unenforceable, and to the extent it is enforceable, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that (a) the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction; Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder, and (b) unless we agree otherwise in writing, any action arising under the Securities Act will be brought only in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. We note, however, that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce this provision and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for state and federal courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
Special Meeting of Stockholders
Our bylaws provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by a majority vote of our board of directors, by our Chief Executive Officer or by our Chairman.
Advance Notice Requirements for Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations
Our bylaws provide that stockholders seeking to bring business before our annual meeting of stockholders, or to nominate candidates for election as directors at our annual meeting of stockholders, must provide timely notice of their intent in writing. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice will need to be received by the company secretary at our principal executive offices not later than the close of business on the 90th day nor earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to the anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders. Pursuant to Rule 14a-8 of the Exchange Act, proposals seeking inclusion in our annual proxy statement must comply with the notice periods contained therein. Our bylaws also specify certain requirements as to the form and content of a stockholders’ meeting. These provisions may preclude our stockholders from bringing matters before our annual meeting of stockholders or from making nominations for directors at our annual meeting of stockholders.
Action by Written Consent
Subsequent to the completion of this offering, any action required or permitted to be taken by our common stockholders must be effected by a duly called annual or special meeting of such stockholders and may not be effected by written consent of the stockholders other than with respect to our Class B common stock.
Classified Board of Directors
Our board of directors will initially be divided into three classes, Class I, Class II and Class III, with members of each class serving staggered three-year terms. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of the board of directors. Subject to the terms of any preferred stock, any or all of the directors may be removed from office at any time, but only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the voting power of all then outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class. Any vacancy on our board of directors, including a vacancy resulting from an enlargement of our board of directors, may be filled only by vote of a majority of our directors then in office.
Class B Common Stock Consent Right
For so long as any shares of our Class B common stock remain outstanding, we may not, without the prior vote or written consent of the holders of a majority of the shares of our Class B common stock then outstanding, voting separately as a single class, amend, alter or repeal any provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise, if such amendment, alteration or repeal would alter or change the powers, preferences or relative, participating, optional or other or special rights of the Class B common stock. Any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the holders of our Class B common stock may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, will be signed by the holders of the outstanding Class B common stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares of our Class B common stock were present and voted.
Securities Eligible for Future Sale
Immediately after the completion of this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option) we will have 28,125,000 (or 32,343,750 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) shares of common stock issued and outstanding on an as-converted basis. Of these shares, the 22,500,000 shares (or 25,875,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the outstanding founder shares (5,625,000 founder shares if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised and 6,468,750 founder shares if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) and all of the outstanding private placement warrants (11,000,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised and 12,350,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering, and the founder shares and private placement warrants are also subject to transfer restrictions as set forth elsewhere in this prospectus. These restricted securities will be subject to registration rights as more fully described below under “— Registration Rights.”
Rule 144
Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted shares of our common stock or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities provided that (i) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and (ii) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale and have filed all required reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the twelve months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale.
Persons who have beneficially owned restricted shares of our common stock or warrants for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:
| ● | 1% of the total number of shares of our Class A common stock then outstanding, which will equal 225,000 shares immediately after this offering (or 258,750 if the underwriter exercises its over-allotment option in full); or |
| ● | the average weekly reported trading volume of the shares of our Class A common stock during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale. |
Sales by our affiliates under Rule 144 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.
Restrictions on the Use of Rule 144 by Shell Companies or Former Shell Companies
Rule 144 is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company. However, Rule 144 also includes an important exception to this prohibition if the following conditions are met:
| ● | the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company; |
| ● | the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act; |
| ● | the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and materials required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding twelve months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Current Reports on Form 8-K; and |
| ● | at least one year has elapsed from the time that the issuer filed current Form 10 type information with the SEC reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company. |
As a result, our initial stockholders will be able to sell their founder shares and private placement warrants, as applicable, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination.
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and any shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and upon conversion of the founder shares) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering, requiring us to register such securities for resale (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion to our Class A common stock). The holders of the majority of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of our initial business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lockup period, which occurs (i) in the case of the founder shares, as described in the following paragraph, and (ii) in the case of the private placement warrants and the respective shares of our Class A common stock underlying such warrants, 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the registration rights relating to the private placement warrants held by the underwriter shall comply with the requirements of FINRA Rule 5110 (g)(8)(B)-(D), namely that the underwriter may not exercise its demand and “piggy-back” registration rights after five and seven years, respectively, from the commencement of sales of this offering and may not exercise its demand rights on more than one occasion.
Except as described herein, our sponsor and each of our directors and executive officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until (a) one year after the completion of our initial business combination, or (b) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of our Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property. Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our sponsor with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, the converted shares of our Class A common stock will be released from the lock-up.
Listing of Securities
We have applied to list our units on Nasdaq under the symbol “LFACU.” We expect that our units will be listed on Nasdaq on or promptly after the effective date of the registration statement. Following the date the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq separately under the symbols “LFAC” and “LFACW,” respectively. The units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded following the completion of our initial business combination.
UNITED STATES FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The following is a discussion of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our units, shares of Class A common stock and warrants, which we refer to collectively as our securities. Because the components of a unit are separable at the option of the holder, the holder of a unit generally should be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as the owner of the underlying Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant components of the unit, as the case may be. As a result, the discussion below with respect to actual holders of Class A common stock and warrants should also apply to holders of units (as the deemed owners of the underlying Class A common stock and warrants that comprise the units). This discussion applies only to securities that are held as a capital asset for U.S. federal income tax purposes and is applicable only to holders who purchased units in this offering.
This discussion does not describe all of the tax consequences that may be relevant to you in light of your particular circumstances, including the alternative minimum tax, the Medicare tax on certain investment income and the different consequences that may apply if you are subject to special rules that apply to certain types of investors, such as:
| ● | our sponsor, initial stockholders, officers or directors; |
| ● | banks, financial institutions or financial service entities; |
| ● | insurance companies; |
| ● | dealers or traders subject to a mark-to-market method of accounting with respect to the securities; |
| ● | persons holding the securities as part of a “straddle,” hedge, integrated transaction or similar transaction; |
| ● | U.S. holders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar; |
| ● | S corporations, partnerships or other pass-through entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes; |
| ● | regulated investment companies; |
| ● | real estate investment trusts; |
| ● | controlled foreign corporations; |
| ● | passive foreign investment companies; |
| ● | governments or agencies or instrumentalities thereof; |
| ● | qualified foreign pension funds; |
| ● | retirement plans, individual retirement accounts or other tax-deferred accounts; |
| ● | expatriates or former long-term residents of the United States; |
| ● | persons that actually or constructively own five percent or more (by vote or value) of our shares; |
| ● | persons that acquired our securities pursuant to an exercise of employee share options, in connection with employee share incentive plans or otherwise as compensation or in connection with services; and |
| ● | tax-exempt entities. |
If you are a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of your partners will generally depend on the status of the partners and your activities.
This discussion is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), administrative pronouncements, judicial decisions and final, temporary and proposed Treasury regulations as of the date hereof, changes to any of which subsequent to the date of this prospectus may affect the tax consequences described herein. This discussion does not address any aspect of state, local or non-U.S. taxation, or any U.S. federal taxes other than income taxes (such as gift and estate taxes).
We have not sought, and will not seek, a ruling from the IRS as to any U.S. federal income tax consequence described herein. The IRS may disagree with the discussion herein, and its determination may be upheld by a court. Moreover, we can offer no assurance that future legislation, regulations, administrative rulings or court decisions will not adversely affect the accuracy of the statements in this discussion.
You are urged to consult your tax advisor with respect to the application of U.S. federal tax laws to your particular situation, as well as any tax consequences arising under the laws of any state, local or foreign jurisdiction.
Personal Holding Company Status
We could be subject to a second level of U.S. federal income tax on a portion of our income if we are determined to be a personal holding company, or PHC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A U.S. corporation generally will be classified as a PHC for U.S. federal income tax purposes in a given taxable year if (i) at any time during the last half of such taxable year, five or fewer individuals (without regard to their citizenship or residency and including as individuals for this purpose certain entities such as certain tax-exempt organizations, pension funds and charitable trusts) own or are deemed to own (pursuant to certain constructive ownership rules) more than 50% of the stock of the corporation by value and (ii) at least 60% of the corporation’s adjusted ordinary gross income, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes, for such taxable year consists of PHC income (which includes, among other things, dividends, interest, certain royalties, annuities and, under certain circumstances, rents).
Depending on the date and size of our initial business combination, at least 60% of our adjusted ordinary gross income may consist of PHC income as discussed above. In addition, depending on the concentration of our stock in the hands of individuals, including the members of our sponsor and certain tax-exempt organizations, pension funds and charitable trusts, more than 50% of our stock may be owned or deemed owned (pursuant to the constructive ownership rules) by such persons during the last half of a taxable year. Thus, no assurance can be given that we will not be a PHC following this offering or in the future. If we are or were to become a PHC in a given taxable year, we would be subject to an additional PHC tax, currently 20%, on our undistributed PHC income, which generally includes our taxable income, subject to certain adjustments.
Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit
No statutory, administrative or judicial authority directly addresses the treatment of a unit or instruments similar to a unit for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, therefore, that treatment is not entirely clear. The acquisition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as the acquisition of one share of our Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant to acquire one share of our Class A common stock. We intend to treat the acquisition of a unit in this manner and, by purchasing a unit, you will agree to adopt such treatment for tax purposes. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, each holder of a unit must allocate the purchase price paid by such holder for such unit between the one share of Class A common stock and the one-half of one warrant based on the relative fair market value of each at the time of issuance. The price allocated to each share of Class A common stock and the one-half of one warrant should be the stockholder’s tax basis in such share or one-half of one warrant, as the case may be. Any disposition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a disposition of the share of Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant comprising the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated between the share of Class A common stock and the one-half of one warrant based on their respective relative fair market values at the time of disposition. The separation of shares of Class A common stock and warrants comprising units should not be a taxable event for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
The foregoing treatment of the shares of Class A common stock and warrants and a holder’s purchase price allocation are not binding on the IRS or the courts. Because there are no authorities that directly address instruments that are similar to the units, no assurance can be given that the IRS or the courts will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. Accordingly, each prospective investor is urged to consult its own tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit). The balance of this discussion assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
U.S. Holders
This section applies to you if you are a “U.S. holder.” A U.S. holder is a beneficial owner of our units, shares of Class A common stock or warrants who or that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
| ● | an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States; |
| ● | a corporation (or other entity taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia; |
| ● | an estate the income of which is includible in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes regardless of its source; or |
| ● | a trust, if (i) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more United States persons (as defined in the Code) have authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (ii) it has a valid election in effect under Treasury Regulations to be treated as a United States person. |
Taxation of Distributions. If we pay cash distributions to U.S. holders of shares of our Class A common stock, such distributions generally will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. Distributions in excess of current and accumulated earnings and profits will constitute a return of capital that will be applied against and reduce (but not below zero) the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in our Class A common stock. Any remaining excess will be treated as gain realized on the sale or other disposition of the Class A common stock and will be treated as described under “U.S. Holders — Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants” below.
Dividends we pay to a U.S. holder that is a taxable corporation generally will qualify for the dividends received deduction if the requisite holding period is satisfied. With certain exceptions (including, but not limited to, dividends treated as investment income for purposes of investment interest deduction limitations), and provided certain holding period requirements are met, dividends we pay to a non-corporate U.S. holder generally will constitute “qualified dividends” that will be subject to tax at the preferential tax rate accorded to long-term capital gains. It is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to the Class A common stock described in this prospectus may prevent a U.S. holder from satisfying the applicable holding period requirements with respect to the dividends received deduction or the preferential tax rate on qualified dividend income, as the case may be. If the holding period requirements are not satisfied, then a U.S. corporate holder may not be able to qualify for the dividends received deduction and would have taxable income equal to the entire dividend amount, and U.S. non-corporate holders may be subject to tax on such dividend at regular ordinary income tax rates instead of the preferential rate that applies to qualified dividend income.
Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants. Upon a sale or other taxable disposition of our Class A common stock or warrants which, in general, would include a redemption of Class A common stock or warrants that is treated as a sale of such securities as described below, and including as a result of a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not complete an initial business combination within the required time period, a U.S. holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized and the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in the Class A common stock or warrants. Any such capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. holder’s holding period for the Class A common stock or warrants so disposed of exceeds one year. Long-term capital gains recognized by non-corporate U.S. holders will be eligible to be taxed at reduced rates. It is unclear, however, whether the redemption rights with respect to the Class A common stock described in this prospectus may suspend the running of the applicable holding period for this purpose. If the running of the applicable holding period is suspended, then non-corporate U.S. holders may not be able to satisfy the one-year holding period requirement for long-term capital gain treatment, in which case any gain on a sale or taxable disposition of the shares of Class A common stock would be subject to short-term capital gain treatment and would be taxed at regular ordinary income tax rates. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations.
Generally, the amount of gain or loss recognized by a U.S. holder is an amount equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in such disposition (or, if the Class A common stock or warrants are held as part of units at the time of the disposition, the portion of the amount realized on such disposition that is allocated to the Class A common stock or the warrants based upon the then fair market values of the Class A common stock and the warrants included in the units) and (ii) the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A common stock or warrants so disposed of. A U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A common stock or warrants generally will equal the U.S. holder’s acquisition cost (that is, as discussed above, the portion of the purchase price of a unit allocated to a share of Class A common stock or one warrant or, as discussed below, the U.S. holder’s initial basis for Class A common stock received upon exercise of warrants) less, in the case of a share of Class A common stock, any prior distributions treated as a return of capital.
Redemption of Class A Common Stock. In the event that a U.S. holder’s Class A common stock is redeemed pursuant to the redemption provisions described in this prospectus under the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Common Stock” or if we purchase a U.S. holder’s Class A common stock in an open market transaction (each of which we refer to herein as a “redemption”), the treatment of the transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes will depend on whether the redemption qualifies as a sale of the Class A common stock under Section 302 of the Code. If the redemption qualifies as a sale of common stock, the U.S. holder will be treated as described under “U.S. Holders — Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants” above. If the redemption does not qualify as a sale of common stock, the U.S. holder will be treated as receiving a corporate distribution with the tax consequences described above under “U.S. Holders — Taxation of Distributions.” Whether a redemption qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely on the total number of shares of our stock treated as held by the U.S. holder (including any stock constructively owned by the U.S. holder as a result of owning warrants) relative to all of our shares outstanding both before and after the redemption. The redemption of Class A common stock generally will be treated as a sale of the Class A common stock (rather than as a corporate distribution) if the redemption (i) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to the U.S. holder; (ii) results in a “complete termination” of the U.S. holder’s interest in us; or (iii) is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to the U.S. holder. These tests are explained more fully below.
In determining whether any of the foregoing tests are satisfied, a U.S. holder takes into account not only stock actually owned by the U.S. holder, but also shares of our stock that are constructively owned by it. A U.S. holder may constructively own, in addition to stock owned directly, stock owned by certain related individuals and entities in which the U.S. holder has an interest or that have an interest in such U.S. holder, as well as any stock the U.S. holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which would generally include Class A common stock which could be acquired pursuant to the exercise of the warrants. In order to meet the substantially disproportionate test, the percentage of our outstanding voting stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. holder immediately following the redemption of Class A common stock must, among other requirements, be less than 80% of the percentage of our outstanding voting stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. holder immediately before the redemption. There will be a complete termination of a U.S. holder’s interest if either (i) all of the shares of our stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. holder are redeemed or (ii) all of the shares of our stock actually owned by the U.S. holder are redeemed and the U.S. holder is eligible to waive, and effectively waives in accordance with specific rules, the attribution of stock owned by certain family members and the U.S. holder does not constructively own any other stock. The redemption of the Class A common stock will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend if it results in a “meaningful reduction” of the U.S. holder’s proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction in a U.S. holder’s proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances. However, the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority stockholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” A U.S. holder should consult with its own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of a redemption.
If none of the foregoing tests is satisfied, then the redemption will be treated as a corporate distribution and the tax effects will be as described under “U.S. Holders — Taxation of Distributions,” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis of the U.S. holder in the redeemed Class A common stock will be added to the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in its remaining stock, or, if it has none, to the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in its warrants or possibly in other stock constructively owned by it.
Exercise or Lapse of a Warrant. Except as discussed below with respect to the cashless exercise of a warrant, a U.S. holder generally will not recognize taxable gain or loss the acquisition of common stock upon exercise of a warrant for cash. The U.S. holder’s tax basis in the share of our Class A common stock received upon exercise of the warrant generally will be an amount equal to the sum of the U.S. holder’s initial investment in the warrant (i.e., the portion of the U.S. holder’s purchase price for units that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price. The U.S. holder’s holding period for the Class A common stock received upon exercise of the warrants will begin on the date following the date of exercise (or possibly the date of exercise) of the warrants and will not include the period during which the U.S. holder held the warrants. If a warrant is allowed to lapse unexercised, a U.S. holder generally will recognize a capital loss equal to such holder’s tax basis in the warrant.
The tax consequences of a cashless exercise of a warrant are not clear under current tax law. A cashless exercise may be tax-free, either because the exercise is not a gain realization event or because the exercise is treated as a recapitalization for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In either situation, a U.S. holder’s basis in the Class A common stock received would equal the holder’s basis in the warrant. If the cashless exercise were treated as not being a gain realization event, a U.S. holder’s holding period in the Class A common stock would be treated as commencing on the date following the date of exercise (or possibly the date of exercise) of the warrant. If the cashless exercise were treated as a recapitalization, the holding period of the Class A common stock would include the holding period of the warrant.
It is also possible that a cashless exercise could be treated in part as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized. In such event, a portion of the warrants to be exercised on a cashless basis could, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, be deemed to have been surrendered in consideration for the exercise price of the remaining warrants, which would be deemed to be exercised. For this purpose, a U.S. holder could be deemed to have surrendered warrants having an aggregate fair market value equal to the exercise price for the total number of warrants to be deemed exercised. The U.S. holder would recognize capital gain or loss with respect to the deemed surrendered warrants in an amount generally equal to the difference between the fair market value of the deemed surrendered warrants and the U.S. holder’s tax basis in such warrants. Such gain or loss would be long-term or short-term, depending on the U.S. holder’s holding period in the warrants deemed surrendered. In this case, a U.S. holder’s tax basis in the Class A common stock received would equal the U.S. holder’s tax basis in the warrants deemed exercised (i.e., the portion of the U.S. holder’s purchase price for the units that is allocated to the warrants, as described above under “Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price of such warrants. A U.S. holder’s holding period for the Class A common stock would commence on the date following the date of exercise (or possibly the date of exercise) of the warrant. In either case, the holding period would not include the period during which the U.S. holder held the warrant.
Due to the absence of authority on the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a cashless exercise, there can be no assurance which, if any, of the alternative tax consequences and holding periods described above would be adopted by the IRS or a court of law. Accordingly, U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of a cashless exercise.
The U.S. federal income tax consequences of an exercise of a warrant occurring after our giving notice of an intention to redeem the warrant for $0.10 as described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Warrants — Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Our Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00” are unclear under current law. In the case of a cashless exercise, the exercise may be treated either as if we redeemed such warrant for Class A common stock or as an exercise of the warrant. If the cashless exercise of a warrant for Class A common stock is treated as a redemption, then such redemption generally should be treated as a “recapitalization” for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in which case a U.S. holder should not recognize any gain or loss on such redemption, and accordingly, a U.S. holder’s aggregate tax basis in the Class A common stock received should equal the U.S. holder’s aggregate tax basis in the warrants redeemed and the holding period for the Class A common stock received should include the U.S. holder’s holding period of the warrant. However, there is some uncertainty regarding this tax treatment, and it is possible such transaction could be treated in part as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized in a manner similar to that discussed above for a cashless exercise of warrants or otherwise characterized. Accordingly, U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of the exercise of a warrant occurring after our giving notice of an intention to redeem the warrant as described above.
Possible Constructive Distributions. The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of shares of Class A common stock for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events, as discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants.” An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. The U.S. holders of the warrants would, however, be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the warrant holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of shares of Class A common stock that would be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease to the exercise price) as a result of a taxable distribution of cash to the holders of shares of our Class A common stock as described under “U.S. Holders — Taxation of Distributions” above. Such constructive distribution would be subject to tax as described under that section in the same manner as if the U.S. holders of the warrants received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interest.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding. In general, information reporting requirements may apply to dividends paid to a U.S. holder and to the proceeds of the sale or other disposition of our units, shares of Class A common stock and warrants, unless the U.S. holder is an exempt recipient. Backup withholding may apply to such payments if the U.S. holder fails to provide a taxpayer identification number or certification of exempt status or has been notified by the IRS that it is subject to backup withholding (and such notification has not been withdrawn).
Any amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules will be allowed as a refund or a credit against a U.S. holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
Non-U.S. Holders
This section applies to you if you are a “Non-U.S. holder.” A Non-U.S. holder is a beneficial owner of our units, shares of Class A common stock and warrants who or that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
| ● | a non-resident alien individual, other than certain former citizens and residents of the United States subject to U.S. tax as expatriates; |
| ● | a foreign corporation; or |
| ● | a foreign estate or trust; |
but does not include an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of disposition. If you are such an individual, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the sale or other disposition of our units.
Taxation of Distributions. In general, any distributions (including constructive distributions) we make to a Non-U.S. holder of shares of our Class A common stock, to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles), will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, provided such dividends are not effectively connected with the Non-U.S. holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the U.S., we will be required to withhold tax from the gross amount of the dividend at a rate of 30%, unless such Non-U.S. holder is eligible for a reduced rate of withholding tax under an applicable income tax treaty and provides proper certification of its eligibility for such reduced rate (usually on an IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E). In the case of any constructive dividend, it is possible that this tax would be withheld from any amount owed to a Non-U.S. holder by the applicable withholding agent, including cash distributions on other property or sale proceeds from warrants or other property subsequently paid or credited to such holder, as described below under “Non-U.S. Holders — Possible Constructive Distributions.” Any distribution not constituting a dividend will be treated first as reducing (but not below zero) the Non-U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares of our Class A common stock and, to the extent such distribution exceeds the Non-U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis, as gain realized from the sale or other disposition of the Class A common stock, which will be treated as described under “Non-U.S. Holders — Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants” below. In addition, if we determine that we are likely to be classified as a “U.S. real property holding corporation” (see “Non-U.S. Holders — Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants” below), we will withhold 15% of any distribution that exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits including a distribution in redemption of shares of our Class A common stock.
The withholding tax does not apply to dividends paid to a Non-U.S. holder who provides a Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and if a tax treaty applies, are attributable to a U.S. permanent establishment or fixed base maintained by the Non-U.S. holder). Instead, the effectively connected dividends will be subject to regular U.S. income tax as if the Non-U.S. holder were a U.S. resident, subject to an applicable income tax treaty providing otherwise. A Non-U.S. corporation receiving effectively connected dividends may also be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” imposed at a rate of 30% (or a lower treaty rate).
Exercise or Lapse of a Warrant. The U.S. federal income tax treatment of a Non-U.S. holder’s exercise of a warrant, or the lapse of a warrant held by a Non-U.S. holder, generally will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax treatment of the exercise or lapse of a warrant by a U.S. holder, as described under “U.S. holders — Exercise or Lapse of a Warrant” above, although to the extent a cashless exercise results in a taxable exchange, the consequences would be similar to those described below in “Non-U.S. Holders — Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants.”
Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants. A Non-U.S. holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding tax in respect of gain recognized on a sale, taxable exchange or other taxable disposition of our Class A common stock or warrants, which would include a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not complete an initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, or warrants (including an expiration or redemption of our warrants), in each case without regard to whether those securities were held as part of a unit, unless:
| ● | the gain is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business by the Non-U.S. holder within the United States (and, under certain income tax treaties, is attributable to a U.S. permanent establishment or fixed base maintained by the Non-U.S. holder); or |
| ● | we are or have been a “U.S. real property holding corporation” for U.S. federal income tax purposes at any time during the shorter of the five-year period ending on the date of disposition or the period that the Non-U.S. holder held our Class A common stock or warrants (as applicable), and, in the case where shares of our Class A common stock or warrants are regularly traded on an established securities market, the Non-U.S. holder has owned, directly or constructively, more than 5% of our Class A common stock or warrants at any time within the shorter of the five-year period preceding the disposition or such Non-U.S. holder’s holding period for the shares of our Class A common stock or warrants. We can offer no assurance that our Class A common stock or warrants will be treated as regularly traded on an established securities market for this purpose. |
Unless an applicable treaty provides otherwise, gain described in the first bullet point above will be subject to tax at generally applicable U.S. federal income tax rates as if the Non-U.S. holder were a U.S. resident. Any gains described in the first bullet point above of a Non-U.S. holder that is a foreign corporation may also be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate (or lower treaty rate).
If the second bullet point above applies to a Non-U.S. holder, gain recognized by such holder on the sale, exchange or other disposition of our Class A common stock or warrants will be subject to tax at generally applicable U.S. federal income tax rates. In addition, a buyer of our Class A common stock or warrants from such holder may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 15% of the amount realized upon such disposition. We cannot determine whether we will be a U.S. real property holding corporation in the future until we complete an initial business combination. We will be classified as a U.S. real property holding corporation if the fair market value of our “U.S. real property interests” equals or exceeds 50 percent of the sum of the fair market value of our worldwide real property interests plus our other assets used or held for use in a trade or business, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Redemption of Class A Common Stock. The characterization for U.S. federal income tax purposes of the redemption of a Non-U.S. holder’s Class A common stock pursuant to the redemption provisions described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Common Stock” generally will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax characterization of such a redemption of a U.S. holder’s Class A common stock, as described under “U.S. Holders — Redemption of Class A Common Stock” above, and the consequences of the redemption to the Non-U.S. holder will be as described above under “Non-U.S. Holders — Taxation of Distributions” and “Non-U.S. Holders — Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants,” as applicable. It is possible that because the applicable withholding agent may not be able to determine the proper characterization of a redemption of a Non-U.S. holder’s Class A common stock, the withholding agent might treat the redemption as a distribution subject to withholding tax.
Possible Constructive Distributions. The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of shares of Class A common stock for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events, as discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants.” An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. The Non-U.S. holders of the warrants would, however, be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the warrant holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of shares of Class A common stock that would be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease to the exercise price) as a result of a distribution of cash to the holders of shares of our Class A common stock. Any such constructive distribution would generally be taxed as described under “Non-U.S. Holders — Taxation of Distributions” above, in the same manner as if the Non-U.S. holders of the warrants received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interest resulting from the adjustment.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding. Information returns will be filed with the IRS in connection with payments of dividends and the proceeds from a sale or other disposition of our units, shares of Class A common stock and warrants. A Non-U.S. holder may have to comply with certification procedures to establish that it is not a U.S. person in order to avoid information reporting and backup withholding requirements. The certification procedures required to claim a reduced rate of withholding under a treaty will satisfy the certification requirements necessary to avoid the backup withholding as well. The amount of any backup withholding from a payment to a Non-U.S. holder will be allowed as a credit against such holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability and may entitle such holder to a refund, provided that the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
FATCA Withholding Taxes. Provisions commonly referred to as “FATCA” impose withholding of 30% on payments of dividends (including constructive dividends) on our Class A common stock or warrants to “foreign financial institutions” (which is broadly defined for this purpose and in general includes investment vehicles) and certain other Non-U.S. entities unless various U.S. information reporting and due diligence requirements (generally relating to ownership by U.S. persons of interests in or accounts with those entities) have been satisfied, or an exemption applies (typically certified as to by the delivery of a properly completed IRS Form W-8BEN-E). The 30% withholding under FATCA was scheduled to apply to payments of gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of property that produces U.S.-source interest or dividends beginning on January 1, 2019, but on December 13, 2018, the IRS released proposed regulations that, if finalized in their proposed form, would eliminate the obligation to withhold on gross proceeds. Although these proposed Treasury Regulations are not final, taxpayers generally may rely on them until final Treasury Regulations are issued.
If FATCA withholding is imposed, a beneficial owner that is not a foreign financial institution generally will be entitled to a refund of any amounts withheld by filing a U.S. federal income tax return (which may entail significant administrative burden). Foreign financial institutions located in jurisdictions that have an intergovernmental agreement with the U.S. governing FATCA may be subject to different rules. Prospective investors should consult their tax advisers regarding the effects of FATCA on their investment in our securities.
UNDERWRITING
Jefferies LLC, the underwriter, is acting as sole book-running manager of the offering. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the underwriting agreement between us and the underwriter, we have agreed to sell to the underwriter, and the underwriter has agreed to purchase from us, 22,500,000 units.
The underwriting agreement will provide that the obligations of the underwriter to purchase the units included in this offering are subject to all applicable laws and regulations and certain conditions precedent such as the receipt by the underwriter of officers’ certificates and legal opinions and approval of certain legal matters by its counsel. The underwriting agreement will provide that the underwriter will purchase all of the units if any of them are purchased (other than those covered by the over-allotment option described below). We have agreed to indemnify the underwriter and certain of their controlling persons against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and to contribute to payments that the underwriter may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
The underwriter has advised us that, following the completion of this offering, it currently intends to make a market in the units as permitted by applicable laws and regulations. However, the underwriter is not obligated to do so, and the underwriter may discontinue any market-making activities at any time without notice in its sole discretion. Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to the liquidity of the trading market for the units, that you will be able to sell any of the units held by you at a particular time or that the prices that you receive when you sell will be favorable.
The underwriter is offering the units subject to its acceptance of the units from us and subject to prior sale. The underwriter reserves the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part. In addition, the underwriter has advised us that they do not intend to confirm sales to any account over which it exercises discretionary authority.
Commission and Expenses
The underwriter has advised us that it proposes to offer the units to the public at the initial public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus and to certain dealers, which may include the underwriter, at that price less a concession not in excess of $______ per unit. The underwriter may allow, and certain dealers may reallow, a discount from the concession not in excess of $_______ per unit to certain brokers and dealers. After the offering, the initial public offering price, concession and reallowance to dealers may be reduced by the representative. No such reduction will change the amount of proceeds to be received by us as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.
The following table shows the public offering price, the underwriting discounts and commissions that we are to pay the underwriter and the proceeds, before expenses, to us in connection with this offering. Such amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriter’s option to purchase additional units.
| | Per Unit(1) | | Total(1) |
| | Without Over-allotment | | With Over-allotment | | Without Over-allotment | | With Over-allotment |
Underwriting Discounts and Commissions paid by us | | $ | 0.55 | | | $ | 0.55 | | | $ | 12,375,000 | | | $ | 14,231,250 | |
(1) | Includes $0.20 per unit, or $4,500,000 in the aggregate payable to the underwriter (or $5,175,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) upon the closing of this offering. $0.35 per unit, or $7,875,000 in the aggregate (or $9,056,250 in the aggregate if the underwriter’s option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) will be deposited in the trust account as deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred commissions will be released to the underwriter only on and concurrently with completion of an initial business combination. |
If we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months from the closing of this offering (or, following the extension of the period of time to complete the initial business combination up to six times by an additional period of one month each time for a total of up to 21 months), the underwriter has agreed that (i) they will forfeit any rights or claims to its deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, including any accrued interest thereon, then in the trust account and (ii) the deferred underwriter’s discounts and commissions will be distributed on a pro rata basis, together with any accrued interest thereon (which interest will be net of taxes payable) to the public stockholders.
We estimate expenses payable by us in connection with this offering, other than the underwriting discounts and commissions referred to above, will be approximately $550,000. We have agreed to pay for FINRA-related fees and expenses of the underwriter’s legal counsel, not to exceed $25,000, and have agreed to provide the underwriter with a right of first refusal to provide investment banking services in connection with certain future transactions.
Determination of Offering Price
Prior to this offering, there has not been a public market for our securities. Consequently, the initial public offering price for our units was determined by negotiations between us and the representative. Among the factors considered in these negotiations were the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies, prior offerings of those companies, our management, our capital structure, and currently prevailing general conditions in equity securities markets, including current market valuations of publicly traded companies considered comparable to our company.
We offer no assurances that the initial public offering price will correspond to the price at which the units will trade in the public market subsequent to the offering or that an active trading market for the units will develop and continue after the offering.
Listing
We have applied to have our units listed on the Nasdaq under the trading symbol “LFACU.” We expect that our Class A common stock and warrants will be listed under the symbols “LFAC” and “LFACW” respectively, once the Class A common stock and warrants begin separate trading.
Stamp Taxes
If you purchase units offered in this prospectus, you may be required to pay stamp taxes and other charges under the laws and practices of the country of purchase, in addition to the offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus.
Private Placement Warrants
The underwriter has committed that it will purchase 1,125,000 private placement warrants (or 1,293,750 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) for an aggregate purchase price of $1,125,000 (or $1,293,750 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $1.00 per warrant, in the private placement that will occur simultaneously with the completion of this offering. These private placement warrants are identical to the private placement warrants being purchased by our sponsor and our anchor investor. These warrants have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject, pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1), to a 180-day lock-up commencing on the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Pursuant to this lock-up, these warrants may not be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities by any person during such period. Additionally, these warrants may not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated during such period, except to any selected dealer participating in the offering and the bona fide officers or partners of the underwriter or any such participating selected dealer. Moreover, these warrants and the securities underlying them must comply with the registration limitations imposed by FINRA Rule 5110(g)(2), and for so long as these warrants are held by the underwriter or any of its affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the commencement of sales of this offering. We have granted the underwriter and its designees or affiliates certain registration rights relating to these securities. The underwriter may not exercise its demand and “piggyback” registration rights after five and seven years after the commencement of sales of this offering, respectively, and may not exercise its demand rights on more than one occasion.
Option to Purchase Additional Units
We have granted to the underwriter an option, exercisable for 45 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase, from time to time, in whole or in part, up to an aggregate of 3,375,000 units from us at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, less underwriting discounts and commissions. If the underwriter exercises this option, the underwriter will be obligated, subject to specified conditions, to purchase a number of additional units. This option may be exercised only if the underwriter sells more units than the total number set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.
Letter Agreement
We, our sponsor and our officers and directors have agreed that, for a period of 180 days from the date of this prospectus, we and they will not, without the prior written consent of the underwriter, offer, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell (including any short sale), pledge, transfer, establish an open “put equivalent option” within the meaning of Rule 16a-l(h) under the Exchange Act, as amended, or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any units, warrants, shares of common stock or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, shares of common stock currently or hereafter owned either of record or beneficially, or publicly announce an intention to do any of the foregoing; provided, however, that we may (1) issue and sell the private placement warrants, (2) issue and sell the additional units to cover the underwriter’s over-allotment option (if any), (3) register with the SEC pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, the resale of the private placement warrants and shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and the founder shares and (4) issue securities in connection with an initial business combination. The underwriter, in its sole discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice.
Our initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the reported closing 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, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property (except as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial stockholders with respect to any founder shares and private placement shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up.
The private placement warrants (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).
Stabilization
The underwriter has advised us that it, pursuant to Regulation M, as amended, and certain persons participating in the offering may engage in short sale transactions, purchases to cover short positions, which may include purchases pursuant to the over-allotment option, stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions or the imposition of penalty bids in connection with this offering. These activities may have the effect of stabilizing or maintaining the market price of the units at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. Establishing short sales positions may involve either “covered” short sales or “naked” short sales.
“Covered” short sales are sales made in an amount not greater than the underwriter’s option to purchase additional units in this offering. The underwriter may close out any covered short position by either exercising its option to purchase additional units or purchasing units in the open market. In determining the source of units to close out the covered short position, the underwriter will consider, among other things, the price of units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which it may purchase units through the option to purchase additional units.
“Naked” short sales are sales in excess of the option to purchase additional units. The underwriter must close out any naked short position by purchasing units in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriter is concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of our units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering.
A stabilizing bid is a bid for the purchase of units on behalf of the underwriter for the purpose of fixing or maintaining the price of the units. A syndicate covering transaction is the bid for or the purchase of units on behalf of the underwriter to reduce a short position incurred by the underwriter in connection with the offering. Similar to other purchase transactions, the underwriter’s purchases to cover the syndicate short sales may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our units or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our units. As a result, the price of our units may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. A penalty bid is an arrangement permitting the underwriter to reclaim the selling concession otherwise accruing to a syndicate member in connection with the offering if the units originally sold by such syndicate member are purchased in a syndicate covering transaction and therefore have not been effectively placed by such syndicate member.
Neither we nor the underwriter make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our units. The underwriter is not obligated to engage in these activities and, if commenced, any of the activities may be discontinued at any time.
The underwriter may also engage in passive market making transactions in our units on the Nasdaq in accordance with Rule 103 of Regulation M during a period before the commencement of offers or sales of our units in this offering and extending through the completion of distribution. A passive market maker must display its bid at a price not in excess of the highest independent bid of that security. However, if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market maker’s bid, that bid must then be lowered when specified purchase limits are exceeded.
Electronic Distribution
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available by e-mail or on the web sites or through online services maintained by the underwriter or one or more of its affiliates. In those cases, prospective investors may view offering terms online and may be allowed to place orders online. The underwriter may agree with us to allocate a specific number of units for sale to online brokerage account holders. Any such allocation for online distributions will be made by the underwriter on the same basis as other allocations. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on the underwriter’s web sites and any information contained in any other web site maintained by the underwriter is not part of this prospectus, has not been approved and/or endorsed by us or the underwriter and should not be relied upon by investors.
Other Activities and Relationships
We are not under any contractual obligation to engage the underwriter to provide any services for us after this offering, and have no present intent to do so but we may do so in our sole discretion. However, the underwriter may introduce us to potential target businesses, provide financial advisory services to us in connection with an initial business combination or assist us in raising additional capital in the future, including by acting as a placement agent in a private offering or underwriting or arranging debt financing. If the underwriter provides services to us after this offering, we may pay such underwriter fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with the underwriter and no fees for such services will be paid to the underwriter prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of this prospectus, unless such payment would not be deemed underwriter’s compensation in connection with this offering and we may pay the underwriter of this offering or any entity with which it is affiliated a finder’s fee or other compensation for services rendered to us in connection with the completion of a business combination. Any fees we may pay the underwriter or its affiliates for services rendered to us after this offering may be contingent on the completion of a business combination and may include non-cash compensation. The underwriter or its affiliates that provide these services to us may have a potential conflict of interest given that the underwriter is entitled to the deferred portion of its underwriting compensation for this offering only if an initial business combination is completed within the specified timeframe.
The underwriter and certain of its affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. The underwriter and certain of its affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various commercial and investment banking and financial advisory services for us and our affiliates, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In the ordinary course of its various business activities, the underwriter and certain of its affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for its own account and for the accounts of its customers, and such investment and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments issued by us and our affiliates. The underwriter and certain of its affiliates may also communicate independent investment recommendations, market color or trading ideas and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
Selling Restrictions
Canada
Resale Restrictions
The distribution of the securities in Canada is being made only in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia on a private placement basis exempt from the requirement that we prepare and file a prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each province where trades of these securities are made. Any resale of the securities in Canada must be made under applicable securities laws, which may vary depending on the relevant jurisdiction, and which may require resales to be made under available statutory exemptions or under a discretionary exemption granted by the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authority. Purchasers are advised to seek legal advice prior to any resale of the securities.
Representations of Canadian Purchasers
By purchasing the securities in Canada and accepting delivery of a purchase confirmation, a purchaser is representing to us and the dealer from whom the purchase confirmation is received that:
| ● | the purchaser is entitled under applicable provincial securities laws to purchase the securities without the benefit of a prospectus qualified under those securities laws as it is an “accredited investor” as defined under National Instrument 45-106 — Prospectus Exemptions; |
| ● | the purchaser is a “permitted client” as defined in National Instrument 31-103 — Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations; |
| ● | where required by law, the purchaser is purchasing as principal and not as agent; and |
| ● | the purchaser has reviewed the text above under Resale Restrictions. |
Conflicts of Interest
Canadian Purchasers are hereby notified that the underwriter is relying on the exemption set out in section 3A.3 or 3A.4, if applicable, of National Instrument 33-105 — Underwriting Conflicts from having to provide certain conflict of interest disclosure in this document.
Statutory Rights of Action
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if the prospectus (including any amendment thereto) such as this document contains a misrepresentation; provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory. The purchaser of these securities in Canada should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
Enforcement of Legal Rights
All of our directors and officers, as well as the experts named herein, may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible for Canadian purchasers to effect service of process within Canada upon us or those persons. All or a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of those persons may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible to satisfy a judgment against us or those persons in Canada or to enforce a judgment obtained in Canadian courts against us or those persons outside of Canada.
Taxation and Eligibility for Investment
Canadian purchasers of the securities should consult their own legal and tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences of an investment in the securities in their particular circumstances and about the eligibility of the securities for investment by the purchaser under relevant Canadian legislation.
Australia
This prospectus is not a disclosure document for the purposes of Australia’s Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) of Australia, or Corporations Act, has not been lodged with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and is only directed to the categories of exempt persons set out below. Accordingly, if you receive this prospectus in Australia:
You confirm and warrant that you are either:
| ● | a “sophisticated investor” under section 708(8)(a) or (b) of the Corporations Act; |
| ● | a “sophisticated investor” under section 708(8)(c) or (d) of the Corporations Act and that you have provided an accountant’s certificate to the company which complies with the requirements of section 708(8)(c)(i) or (ii) of the Corporations Act and related regulations before the offer has been made; |
| ● | a person associated with the company under Section 708(12) of the Corporations Act; or |
| ● | a “professional investor” within the meaning of section 708(11)(a) or (b) of the Corporations Act. |
To the extent that you are unable to confirm or warrant that you are an exempt sophisticated investor, associated person or professional investor under the Corporations Act any offer made to you under this prospectus is void and incapable of acceptance.
You warrant and agree that you will not offer any of the securities issued to you pursuant to this prospectus for resale in Australia within 12 months of those securities being issued unless any such resale offer is exempt from the requirement to issue a disclosure document under section 708 of the Corporations Act.
European Economic Area
In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area (each a “Relevant State”), no units have been offered or will be offered pursuant to this offering to the public in that Relevant State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the units which has been approved by the competent authority in that Relevant State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation, except that offers of units may be made to the public in that Relevant State at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Regulation:
| (a) | to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under Article 2 of the Prospectus Regulation; |
| (b) | to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under the Article 2 of the Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of representatives for any such offer; or |
| (c) | in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation, |
provided that no such offer of units shall require us or any of the representatives to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to the units in any Relevant State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any units, and the expression “Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129, as amended.
Dubai International Financial Centre
This prospectus relates to an Exempt Offer in accordance with the Offered Securities Rules of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”). This prospectus is intended for distribution only to persons of a type specified in the Offered Securities Rules of the DFSA. It must not be delivered to, or relied on by, any other person. The DFSA has no responsibility for reviewing or verifying any documents in connection with Exempt Offers. The DFSA has not approved this prospectus nor taken steps to verify the information set forth herein and has no responsibility for the prospectus.
The units to which this prospectus relates may be illiquid and/or subject to restrictions on their resale. Prospective purchasers of the units offered should conduct their own due diligence on the units. If you do not understand the contents of this prospectus you should consult an authorized financial advisor.
Hong Kong
No securities have been offered or sold, and no securities may be offered or sold, in Hong Kong, by means of any document, other than to persons whose ordinary business is to buy or sell shares or debentures, whether as principal or agent; or to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) of Hong Kong (“SFO”) and any rules made under that ordinance; or in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32) of Hong Kong (“CO”) or which do not constitute an offer or invitation to the public for the purpose of the CO or the SFO. No document, invitation or advertisement relating to the securities has been issued or may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public of Hong Kong (except if permitted under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to securities which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the SFO and any rules made under that Ordinance.
This prospectus has not been registered with the Registrar of Companies in Hong Kong. Accordingly, this prospectus may not be issued, circulated or distributed in Hong Kong, and the securities may not be offered for subscription to members of the public in Hong Kong. Each person acquiring the securities will be required, and is deemed by the acquisition of the securities, to confirm that he is aware of the restriction on offers of the securities described in this prospectus and the relevant offering documents and that he is not acquiring, and has not been offered any securities in circumstances that contravene any such restrictions.
Israel
This document does not constitute a prospectus under the Israeli Securities Law, 5728-1968 (the “Israel Securities Law”), and has not been filed with or approved by the Israel Securities Authority. In Israel, this prospectus is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, and any offer of the units is directed only at, (i) a limited number of persons in accordance with the Israeli Securities Law and (ii) investors listed in the first addendum (the “Addendum”), to the Israeli Securities Law, consisting primarily of joint investment in trust funds, provident funds, insurance companies, banks, portfolio managers, investment advisors, members of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, underwriters, venture capital funds, entities with equity in excess of NIS 50 million and “qualified individuals,” each as defined in the Addendum (as it may be amended from time to time), collectively referred to as qualified investors (in each case, purchasing for their own account or, where permitted under the Addendum, for the accounts of their clients who are investors listed in the Addendum). Qualified investors are required to submit written confirmation that they fall within the scope of the Addendum, are aware of the meaning of same and agree to it.
Japan
The offering has not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (Law No. 25 of 1948 of Japan, as amended) (“FIEL”), and the underwriter will not offer or sell any securities, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the FIEL and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.
Singapore
This prospectus has not been and will not be lodged or registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the securities may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the securities be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275, of the SFA, or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA. Solely for the purposes of its obligations pursuant to Sections 309B(1)(a) and 309B(1)(c) of the SFA, the company has determined, and hereby notifies all relevant persons (as defined in Section 309A of the SFA) that the units are “prescribed capital markets products” (as defined in the Securities and Futures (Capital Markets Products) Regulations 2018) and “Excluded Investment Products” (as defined in MAS Notice SFA 04-N12: Notice on the Sale of Investment Products and MAS Notice FAA-N16: Notice on Recommendations on Investment Products).
Where the securities are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is:
| ● | a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or |
| ● | a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an individual who is an accredited investor, securities (as defined in Section 239(1) of the SFA) of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the securities pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except: |
| ● | to an institutional investor or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person arising from an offer referred to in Section 275(1A) or Section 276(4)(i)(B) of the SFA; |
| ● | where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer; |
| ● | where the transfer is by operation of law; |
| ● | as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA; or |
| ● | as specified in Regulation 32 of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Shares and Debentures) Regulations 2005 of Singapore. |
Switzerland
The securities may not be publicly offered in Switzerland and will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (“SIX”) or on any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. This prospectus has been prepared without regard to the disclosure standards for issuance prospectuses under art. 652a or art. 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or the disclosure standards for listing prospectuses under art. 27 ff. of the SIX Listing Rules or the listing rules of any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. Neither this prospectus nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the securities or the offering may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.
Neither this prospectus nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the offering, the company or the securities have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this prospectus will not be filed with, and the offer of securities will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA, and the offer of securities has not been and will not be authorized under the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes (“CISA”). The investor protection afforded to acquirers of interests in collective investment schemes under the CISA does not extend to acquirers of securities.
United Kingdom
In relation to the United Kingdom, no securities have been offered or will be offered pursuant to this offering to the public in the United Kingdom prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the shares which has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority, except that offers of securities may be made to the public in the United Kingdom at any time:
| ● | to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation; |
| ● | to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives for any such offer; or |
| ● | in any other circumstances falling within Section 86 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”), |
provided that no such offer of securities shall require the issuer or any underwriter to publish a prospectus pursuant to section 85 of the FSMA or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the UK Prospectus Regulation. For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to the securities in the United Kingdom means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any securities and the expression “UK Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
LEGAL MATTERS
Dechert LLP will pass upon the validity of the securities offered hereby on behalf of us. Certain legal matters in connection with this offering will be passed upon on behalf of the underwriter by Paul Hastings LLP.
EXPERTS
The financial statements of LF Capital Acquisition Corp. II as of March 5, 2021 and for the period from February 19, 2021 (inception) through March 5, 2021, have been included herein in reliance upon the report (which contains an explanatory paragraph relating to LF Capital Acquisition Corp. II’s ability to continue as a going concern as described in Note 1 to the financial statements), of Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP, independent registered public accountants, upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the securities we are offering by this prospectus. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For further information about us and our securities, you should refer to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed with the registration statement. Whenever we make reference in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements or other documents, the references are materially complete but may not include a description of all aspects of such contracts, agreements or other documents, and you should refer to the exhibits attached to the registration statement for copies of the actual contract, agreement or other document.
Upon completion of this offering, we will be subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and will file annual, quarterly and current event reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings, including the registration statement, over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Upon request, we will provide electronic copies of our public filings free of charge.
LF Capital Acquisition Corp. II
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholder and Board of Directors of LF Capital Acquisition Corp. II
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of LF Capital Acquisition Corp. II (the “Company”) as of March 5, 2021, and the related statements of operations, changes in stockholder’s equity and cash flows for the period from February 19, 2021 (inception) through March 5, 2021, and the related notes (collectively, the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of March 5, 2021 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from February 19, 2021 (inception) through March 5, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company was recently formed and has no revenue, its business plan is dependent on the completion of a financing transaction and the Company’s cash and working capital as of March 5, 2021 are not sufficient for its planned activities for the upcoming year. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans regarding these matters are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.
New York, New York
October 27, 2021
LF Capital Acquisition Corp. II |
BALANCE SHEETS |
| | September 30, 2021 | | March 5, 2021 |
| | (unaudited) | | |
CURRENT ASSETS | | | | | | | | |
Cash | | $ | 32,110 | | | $ | 25,000 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Total current assets | | | 32,110 | | | | 25,000 | |
| | | | | | | | |
OTHER ASSETS | | | | | | | | |
Deferred offering costs | | | 456,794 | | | | 218,714 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Total other assets | | | 456,794 | | | | 218,714 | |
| | | | | | | | |
TOTAL ASSETS | | $ | 488,904 | | | $ | 243,714 | |
| | | | | | | | |
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDER'S EQUITY | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
CURRENT LIABILITIES | | | | | | | | |
Accounts payable and accrued expenses | | $ | 774 | | | $ | 1,165 | |
Accrued offering costs | | | 50,818 | | | | 218,714 | |
Note payable – related party | | | 425,000 | | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Total current liabilities | | | 476,592 | | | | 219,879 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Total liabilities | | | 476,592 | | | | 219,879 | |
| | | | | | | | |
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
STOCKHOLDER'S EQUITY | | | | | | | | |
Preferred stock. $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized: none issued and outstanding | | | — | | | | — | |
Class A Common Stock; $0.0001 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding | | | — | | | | — | |
Class B Common Stock; S0.0001 par value: 10,000,000 shares authorized; 6,468,750 issued and outstanding (1), (2) | | | 647 | | | | 647 | |
Additional paid-in capital | | | 24,353 | | | | 24,353 | |
Accumulated deficit | | | (12,688 | ) | | | (1,165 | ) |
| | | | | | | | |
Total stockholder's equity | | | 12,312 | | | | 23,835 | |
| | | | | | | | |
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDER'S EQUITY | | $ | 488,904 | | | $ | 243,714 | |
| (1) | This number includes an aggregate of up to 843,750 Class B common shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriter. |
| (2) | Shares have been retroactively restated to reflect the recapitalization of the Company in the form of a 64,687.50 - for - 1 stock split, a 1.11 - for - 1 stock split, and a 1 – for – 1.11 reverse stock split (see Note 6). |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
LF Capital Acquisition Corp. II |
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS |
| | For the period February 19, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 (unaudited) | | For the period February 19, 2021 (inception) through March 5, 2021 |
EXPENSES | | | | | | | | |
General and administrative | | $ | 11,523 | | | $ | — | |
Organizational costs | | | 1,165 | | | | 1,165 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Total expenses | | | 12,688 | | | | 1,165 | |
| | | | | | | | |
NET LOSS | | $ | (12,688 | ) | | $ | (1,165 | ) |
| | | | | | | | |
WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING, BASIC AND DILUTED (1), (2) | | | 5,625,000 | | | | 5,625,000 | |
BASIC AND DILUTED NET LOSS PER SHARE | | $ | (0.00 | ) | | $ | (0.00 | ) |
| (1) | This number excludes an aggregate of up to 843,750 Class B common shares subject to forfeiture if the overallotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriter. |
| (2) | Shares have been retroactively restated to reflect the recapitalization of the Company in the form of a 64,687.50 - for - 1 stock split and a 1.11 - for - 1 stock split, and a 1 – for – 1.11 reverse stock split (see Note 6). |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
LF Capital Acquisition Corp. II |
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY |
| | Common Stock | | | | | | |
| | Class A | | Class B | | Additional | | | | Total |
| | Shares | | Amount | | Shares | | Amount | | paid-in capital | | Accumulated deficit | | Stockholder’s equity |
Balance, February 19, 2021 (inception) | | | — | | | $ | — | | | | — | | | $ | — | | | $ | — | | | $ | — | | | $ | — | |
Issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor (1). (2) | | | — | | | | — | | | | 6,468,750 | | | | 647 | | | | 24,353 | | | | — | | | | 25,000 | |
Net loss | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | (1,165 | ) | | | (1,165 | ) |
Balance, March 5, 2021 | | | — | | | | — | | | | 6,468,750 | | | | 647 | | | | 24,353 | | | | (1,165 | ) | | | 23,835 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Net loss | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | (11,523 | ) | | | (11,523 | ) |
Balance, September 30, 2021 (unaudited) | | | — | | | $ | — | | | | 6,468,750 | | | $ | 647 | | | $ | 2,4353 | | | $ | (12,688 | ) | | $ | 12,312 | |
(1) | This number includes an aggregate of up to 843,750 Class B common shares subject to forfeiture if the overallotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriter. |
(2) | Shares have been retroactively restated to reflect the recapitalization of the Company in the form of a 64,687.50 - for - 1 stock split and a 1.11 - for - 1 stock split , and a 1 – for – 1.11 reverse stock split (see Note 6). |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
LF Capital Acquisition Corp. II |
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS |
| | For the period February 19, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 (unaudited) | | For the period February 19, 2021 (inception) through March 5, 2021 |
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES | | | | | | | | |
Net loss | | $ | (12,688 | ) | | $ | (1,165 | ) |
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | | | | | | | | |
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | | | | | | | | |
Accounts payable and accrued expenses | | | 774 | | | | 1,165 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Net cash used in operating activities | | | (11,914 | ) | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES | | | | | | | | |
Payment of deferred offering costs | | | (405,976 | ) | | | — | |
Proceeds from issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor | | | 25,000 | | | | 25,000 | |
Proceeds from note payable – related party | | | 425,000 | | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Net cash provided by financing activities | | | 44,024 | | | | 25,000 | |
| | | | | | | | |
NET CHANGE IN CASH | | | 32,110 | | | | 25,000 | |
CASH, BEGINNING OF PERIOD | | | — | | | | — | |
CASH, END OF PERIOD | | $ | 32,110 | | | $ | 25,000 | |
Supplemental disclosure of noncash activities: | | | | | | | | |
Deferred offering costs included in accrued offering costs and due to affiliates | | $ | 50,818 | | | $ | 218,714 | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
LF CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. II |
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
September 30, 2021 |
|
Note 1 — Description of Organization and Business Operations
LF Capital Acquisition Corp. II (the “Company” or “we”) was incorporated in Delaware on February 19, 2021. 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 purposes of consummating a Business Combination, the Company intends to focus its search on a business with a disruptive business model that could benefit from a hands-on owner with extensive operational experience in the financial services, technology, digital asset or consumer products sectors. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
As of September 30, 2021, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from February 19, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and the proposed initial public offering described below. 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 Proposed Public Offering. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
The Company’s sponsor is Level Field Capital II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”). The Company’s ability to commence operations is contingent upon obtaining adequate financial resources through a proposed public offering (the “Proposed Public Offering”) of 22,500,000 units (each, a “Unit” and collectively, the “Units”) at $10.00 per Unit (or 25,875,000 units if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), which is discussed in Note 3, and the sale of 11,000,000 warrants (or 12,350,000 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) (each, a “Private Placement Warrant” and collectively, the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to the Sponsor that will close simultaneously with the Proposed Public Offering.
LF CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. II |
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
September 30, 2021 |
Note 1 — Description of Organization and Business Operations
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Proposed Public Offering and the sale of 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 (as defined below) (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and 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, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, management has agreed that an amount equal to at least $10.00 per Unit sold in the Proposed Public Offering will be held in a trust account (“Trust Account”), located in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase, N.A., 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, with a maturity of 180 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund 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.
The Company will provide the holders of the outstanding Public Shares (the “Public Stockholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company. The Public Stockholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $10.20 per Public Share, plus any pro rata interest then in the Trust Account, net of taxes payable). There will be no redemption rights with respect to the Company’s warrants.
All of the Public Shares contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such Public Shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation, if there is a stockholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Company’s Business Combination and in connection with certain amendments to the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation (the “Certificate of Incorporation”). In accordance with the rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and its guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of a company require common stock subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Given that the Public Shares will be issued with other freestanding instruments (i.e., public warrants), the initial carrying value of Class A common stock classified as temporary equity will be the allocated proceeds determined in accordance with ASC 470-20. The Class A common stock is subject to ASC 480-10-S99. If it is probable that the equity instrument will become redeemable, the Company has the option to either (i) accrete changes in the redemption value over the period from the date of issuance (or from the date that it becomes probable that the instrument will become redeemable, if later) to the earliest redemption date of the instrument or (ii) recognize changes in the redemption value immediately as they occur and adjust the carrying amount of the instrument to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. The Company has elected to recognize the changes immediately. The accretion or remeasurement will be treated as a deemed dividend (i.e., a reduction to retained earnings, or in absence of retained earnings, additional paid-in capital). While redemptions cannot cause the Company’s net tangible assets to fall below $5,000,001, the Public Shares are redeemable and will be classified as such on the balance sheet until such date that a redemption event takes place.
Redemptions of the Company’s Public Shares may be subject to the satisfaction of conditions, including minimum cash conditions, pursuant to an agreement relating to the Company’s Business Combination. If the Company seeks stockholder approval of the Business Combination, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination, or such other vote as required by law or stock exchange rule. If a stockholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Certificate of Incorporation, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or the Company decides to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If the Company seeks stockholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor has agreed to vote its Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Proposed Public Offering in favor of approving a Business Combination. Additionally, each Public Stockholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Subsequent to the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering, the Company will adopt an insider trading policy which will require insiders to: (i) refrain from purchasing shares during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information and (ii) to clear all trades with the Company’s legal counsel prior to execution. In addition, the initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with the completion of a Business Combination.
LF CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. II |
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
September 30, 2021 |
Note 1 — Description of Organization and Business Operations
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Certificate of Incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% or more of the Class A common stock sold in the Proposed Public Offering, without the prior consent of the Company.
The Company’s Sponsor, officers and directors (the “initial stockholders”) have agreed not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination, unless the Company provides the public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock in conjunction with any such amendment.
If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within 15 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering (the “Combination Period”) (unless extended in connection with an Extension Election (as defined below)). If the Company anticipates that it may be unable to complete its initial business combination within 15 months, the Company may, but is not obligated to, extend the period of time to complete a business combination up to six times by an additional period of one month each time (for a total of up to 21 months) (each such one-month extension, an “Extension Election”); provided that, at the beginning of each such Extension Election, the Company’s Sponsor (or its designees) must deposit into the trust account funds equal to $0.033 per public share (including any shares issued in relation to the exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option), in each case, in exchange for a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note. The Company’s Sponsor and its affiliates or designees are not obligated to fund the trust account to extend the time for the Company to complete its initial business combination. If the Company is unable to consummate its initial business combination within the applicable time period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay the Company’s 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, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
LF CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. II |
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
September 30 , 2021 |
Note 1 — Description of Organization and Business Operations
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 should acquire Public Shares in or after the Proposed Public Offering, 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. The underwriter has agreed to waive the rights to its deferred underwriting commission (see Note 5) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within in the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be only $10.20 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 Proposed Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
Going Concern Consideration
As of September 30, 2021 and March 5, 2021, the Company had $32,110 (unaudited) and $25,000 in cash, respectively, and a working capital deficit of $444,482 (unaudited) and $194,879, respectively. Further, the Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its financing and acquisition plans. The Company lacks the financial resources it needs to sustain operations for a reasonable period of time, which is considered to be one year from the issuance date of the financial statements. Management plans to address this seed for capital through the Proposed Public Offering. The Company cannot ensure that its plans to raise capital or to consummate an initial Business Combination will be successful. In addition, management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and its effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations and/or closing the initial public offering or search for a target company.
These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as going concern one year from the date these financial statements are issued. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from its inability to consummate the Proposed Public Offering or its inability to continue as a going concern.
Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
LF CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. II |
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
September 30, 2021 |
Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
The accompanying unaudited financial statements as of September 30, 2021 and for the period from February 19, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP for interim financial information and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal accruals) considered for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the period from February 19, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the period ending December 31, 2021, or any future period.
Emerging Growth Company
Section 102(b)(1) of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”) exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard.
This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statement 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.
Net Loss Per Common Share
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” Net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. Weighted average shares were reduced for the effect of an aggregate of 843,750 shares of Class B common stock that are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised by the underwriter (see Note 5). At September 30, 2021 and March 5, 2021, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into shares of common stock and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted loss per share is the same as basic loss per share for the period presented.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.
Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheets, primarily due to their short term nature.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
LF CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. II |
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
September 30, 2021 |
Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under FASB ASC 740, “Income Taxes.” Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
FASB ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of September 30, 2021 and March 5, 2021. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties for the period from February 19, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 and February 19, 2021 (date of inception) to March 5, 2021. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
The provision for income taxes was deemed to be de minimis for the period February 19, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 and the period February 19, 2021 (inception) through March 5, 2021.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
The Company’s management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
Deferred Offering Costs Associated with the Proposed Public Offering
Deferred offering costs consist of direct costs incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Proposed Public Offering and that will be charged to stockholder’s equity upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering. Should the Proposed Public Offering prove to be unsuccessful, these deferred costs, as well as additional expenses to be incurred, will be charged to operations. The Company had incurred $456,794 (unaudited), and $218,714 of deferred offering costs at September 30, 2021 and March 5, 2021, respectively.
Subsequent Events
Subsequent events are events or transactions that occur after the balance sheet date but before the financial statements are issued or are available to be issued. These events and transactions either provide additional evidence about conditions that existed at the date of the balance sheet, including the estimated inherent in the process of preparing the financial statements (that is, recognized subsequent events), or provide evidence about conditions that did not exist at the date of the balance sheet but arose after that date (that is, non-recognized subsequent events).
In accordance with ASC 855, “Subsequent Events”, the Company has evaluated subsequent events through October 27, 2021, which was the date these financial statements were available for issuance and determined that there were no significant unrecognized events through that date.
LF CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. II |
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
September 30 , 2021 |
Note 3 — Public Offering
Pursuant to the Proposed Public Offering, the Company intends to offer for sale 22,500,000 units 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, the “Public Shares”), and one half of a redeemable warrant (each, a “Public Warrant”). Each 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 6).
Note 4 — Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On March 5, 2021, the Sponsor acquired 100 shares of the Company’s common stock. On March 15, 2021, the Company effectuated a recapitalization of the Company, which included a 64,687.50-for-1 stock split resulting in an aggregate of 6,468,750 Class B Founder Shares outstanding (up to 843,750 of which are subject to forfeiture if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised in full). On June 21, 2021, the Company effectuated a recapitalization of the Company, which included a 1.11-for-1 stock split resulting in an aggregate of 7,187,500 Class B Founder Shares outstanding (up to 937,500 of which are subject to forfeiture if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised in full). Information contained in the financial statements has been adjusted for the split as of March 31, 2021. On October 26, 2021, the Company effectuated a recapitalization of the Company, which included a 1-for-1.11 reverse stock split resulting in an aggregate of 6,468,750 Class B Founder Shares outstanding (up to 843,750 of which are subject to forfeiture if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised in full). Information contained in the financial statements has been adjusted for these splits as of March 5, 2021.
The Founder Shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of the Company’s initial Business Combination and are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in Note 6. 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 843,750 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 20.0% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Proposed Public Offering. If the Company increases or decreases the size of the offering, the Company will effect a stock dividend or share contribution back to capital, as applicable, immediately prior to the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering in such amount as to maintain the Founder Share ownership of the Company’s stockholders prior to the Proposed Public Offering at 20.0% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock upon the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering.
The initial stockholders will agree, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of its 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 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.
LF CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. II |
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
September 30, 2021 |
Note 4 — Related Party Transactions
Private Placement Warrants
The Sponsor has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 11,000,000 Private Placement Warrants (or 12,350,000 the over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant ($11,000,000 in the aggregate or $12,350,000 in the aggregate if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. Each whole Private Placement Warrant is exercisable for one whole share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. The proceeds from the Private Placement Warrants will be added to the proceeds from the Proposed Public Offering to be held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
The Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Private Placement Warrants until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination.
Related Party Loans
On March 5, 2021, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the Proposed Public Offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). On June 18, 2021, the Note was amended as the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $600,000 to cover such expenses. This loan is non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of December 31, 2021 or the completion of the Proposed Public Offering. As of September 30, 2021 and March 5, 2021, the Company had $425,000 (unaudited) and no borrowings under the Note, respectively.
In addition, 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 $1.5 million of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. As of September 30, 2021 and March 5, 2021, no Working Capital Loans were outstanding.
Support Services
The Company intends to pay an affiliate of the Sponsor a fee of approximately $15,000 per month following the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering until the earlier of the consummation of the Business Combination or liquidation.
LF CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. II |
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
September 30, 2021 |
Note 5 — Commitments & 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 Proposed Public Offering. 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.
Underwriting Agreement
The Company will grant the underwriter a 45-day option from the date of the Planned Public Offering to purchase up to 3,375,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Proposed Public Offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions.
The underwriter will be entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per unit, or $4,500,000 in the aggregate (or $5,175,000 in the aggregate if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. $0.35 per unit, or $7,875,000 in the aggregate (or $9,056,250 in the aggregate if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be payable to the underwriter for deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriter from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement. A portion of the deferred underwriting commission may be allocated to third parties at the discretion of the Sponsor.
Expression of Interest
The Sponsor plans on entering into an agreement with certain funds and accounts managed by subsidiaries of a strategic investor (referred to as “anchor investor”), for the purchase of a certain number of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants and have expressed an interest to purchase a number of units in the Proposed Public Offering and will provide that the underwriter sell to our anchor investor such number of public units. Further, it is likely that the Company’s agreement with the anchor investor will entail that if the anchor investor does not own a set minimum of public shares at the time of any stockholder vote with respect to an initial Business Combination or the business day immediately prior to the completion of our initial Business Combination, it will transfer to the Sponsor all or a portion of the Founder Shares it purchased prior to this offering on a pro rata basis. In such a case, the Sponsor (or its designee), will repurchase all of the Private Placement Warrants held by our anchor investor at its original purchase price. The Company can make no assurance that the anchor investor will acquire any public units in the Proposed Public Offering or what amount of equity our anchor investor will retain, if any, upon the completion of the Company’s Business Combination. As a result of the Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants that the anchor investor may hold, it may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial Business Combination than other public stockholders.
LF CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. II |
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
September 30, 2021 |
Note 6 — Stockholder’s Equity
Common Stock
Recapitalization
On March 15, 2021, the Company effectuated a recapitalization , which amended the articles of incorporation and included a 64,687.50-for-1 Class B common stock split resulting in an aggregate of 6,468,750 Class B Founder Shares outstanding (up to 843,750 of which are subject to forfeiture if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised in full).
On June 21, 2021, the Company effectuated a recapitalization, which included a 1.11-for-1 stock split resulting in an aggregate of 7,187,500 Class B Founder Shares outstanding (up to 937,500 of which are subject to forfeiture if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised in full).
On October 26, 2021, the Company effectuated a recapitalization of the Company, which included a 1-for-1.11 reverse stock split resulting in an aggregate of 6,468,750 Class B Founder Shares outstanding (up to 843,750 of which are subject to forfeiture if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised in full).
Class B shares and per share information contained in the financial statements has been retroactively adjusted for these splits as of March 5, 2021.
Class A Common Stock
The Company is authorized to issue 100,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of September 30, 2021 and March 5, 2021, there were no shares of Class A common stock issued or outstanding.
Class B Common Stock
The Company is authorized to issue 10,000,000 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 September 30, 2021 and March 5, 2021, there were 6,468,750 shares of Class B common stock outstanding. Of the 6,468,750 shares of Class B common stock, an aggregate of up to 843,750 shares are subject to forfeiture to the Company by the Sponsor 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 Proposed Public Offering as of September 30, 2021 and March 5, 2021.
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 offered in the Proposed Public Offering 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 Proposed Public Offering 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.
LF CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. II |
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
September 30, 2021 |
Note 6 — Stockholder’s Equity
Preferred Stock
The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. As of September 30, 2021 and March 5, 2021, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.
Warrants
The Public Warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination. No warrants will be exercisable for cash unless the Company has an effective and current registration statement covering the shares of Common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to such shares of Common stock. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the shares of Common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of a 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.
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants:
| · | in whole and not in part; |
| · | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| · | upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, which we refer to as the “30-day redemption period”; and |
| · | if, and only if, the last reported sale price (the “closing price”) of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Anti-Dilution Adjustments”) 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. |
We will not redeem the warrants as described above unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants:
| · | in whole and not in part; |
| · | at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined by reference to the table set forth under “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants” based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock (as defined below) except as otherwise described in “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants”; and |
| · | if, and only if, the closing price of our Class A common stock 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 as described under the heading “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within the 30-trading day period ending three trading days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
LF CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. II |
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS |
September 30, 2021 |
Note 6 — Stockholder’s Equity
The “fair market value” of our Class A common stock for the above purpose shall mean the volume weighted average price of our Class A common stock during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. We will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10 trading day period described above ends. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment). Any redemption of the warrants for Class A common stock will apply to both the Public Warrants and the Private Placement Warrants.
No fractional Class A common stock will be issued upon redemption. If, upon redemption, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of Class A common stock to be issued to the holder. Please see the section entitled “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants” for additional information.
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 Private Placement Warrants will be identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units being sold in the Proposed Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the shares of Common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions.
The exercise price and number of shares of Common stock issuable on exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, extraordinary dividend or our recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of shares of Common stock at a price below their respective exercise prices. 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.
In addition, if the Company issues additional shares of Common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of a Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors, and in the case of any such issuance to the initial stockholders or their affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by them prior to such issuance), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of a Business Combination on the date of the consummation of a Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Company’s Common stock during the 10 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates a 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 greater of (i) the Market Value or (ii) the price at which the Company issues the additional shares of Common stock or equity-linked securities.
22,500,000 Units
LF Capital Acquisition Corp. II
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
, 2021
JEFFERIES
Until , 2021 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade shares of our Class A common stock, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The estimated expenses payable by us in connection with this offering described in this registration statement (other than the underwriting discount and commissions) will be as follows:
Legal fees and expenses | | $ | 300,000 | |
Accounting fees and expenses | | | 42,500 | |
SEC/FINRA expenses | | | 91,968 | |
Travel and road show | | | 3,000 | |
Nasdaq listing and filing fees | | | 75,000 | |
Printing and engraving expenses | | | 30,000 | |
Miscellaneous expenses | | | 7,532 | |
Total offering expenses | | $ | 550,000 | |
Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that all of our directors, officers, employees and agents will be entitled to be indemnified by us to the fullest extent permitted by Section 145 of the DGCL.
Section 145 of the DGCL concerning indemnification of officers, directors, employees and agents is set forth below.
Section 145. Indemnification of officers, directors, employees and agents; insurance.
| (a) | A corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s conduct was unlawful. The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that the person’s conduct was unlawful. |
| (b) | A corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper. |
| (c) | To the extent that a present or former director or officer of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith. |
| (d) | Any indemnification under subsections (a) and (b) of this section (unless ordered by a court) shall be made by the corporation only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the present or former director, officer, employee or agent is proper in the circumstances because the person has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of this section. Such determination shall be made, with respect to a person who is a director or officer of the corporation at the time of such determination, (1) by a majority vote of the directors who are not parties to such action, suit or proceeding, even though less than a quorum, or (2) by a committee of such directors designated by majority vote of such directors, even though less than a quorum, or (3) if there are no such directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, or (4) by the stockholders. |
| (e) | Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director of the corporation in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding may be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified by the corporation as authorized in this section. Such expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by former officers and directors or other employees and agents of the corporation or by persons serving at the request of the corporation as directors, officers, employees or agents of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise may be so paid upon such terms and conditions, if any, as the corporation deems appropriate. |
| (f) | The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, the other subsections of this section shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in such person’s official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office. A right to indemnification or to advancement of expenses arising under a provision of the certificate of incorporation or a bylaw shall not be eliminated or impaired by an amendment to the certificate of incorporation or the bylaws after the occurrence of the act or omission that is the subject of the civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding for which indemnification or advancement of expenses is sought, unless the provision in effect at the time of such act or omission explicitly authorizes such elimination or impairment after such action or omission has occurred. |
| (g) | A corporation shall have power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of such person’s status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under this section. |
| (h) | For purposes of this section, references to “the corporation” shall include, in addition to the resulting corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to indemnify its directors, officers, and employees or agents, so that any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under this section with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as such person would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued. |
| (i) | For purposes of this section, references to “other enterprises” shall include employee benefit plans; references to “fines” shall include any excise taxes assessed on a person with respect to any employee benefit plan; and references to “serving at the request of the corporation” shall include any service as a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation which imposes duties on, or involves services by, such director, officer, employee or agent with respect to an employee benefit plan, its participants or beneficiaries; and a person who acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of an employee benefit plan shall be deemed to have acted in a manner “not opposed to the best interests of the corporation” as referred to in this section. |
| (j) | The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this section shall, unless otherwise provided when authorized or ratified, continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person. |
| (k) | The Court of Chancery is hereby vested with exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine all actions for advancement of expenses or indemnification brought under this section or under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise. The Court of Chancery may summarily determine a corporation’s obligation to advance expenses (including attorneys’ fees). |
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers, and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person in a successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, we will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to the court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
In accordance with Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, will provide that no director will be personally liable to us or any of our stockholders for monetary damages resulting from breaches of their fiduciary duty as directors, except to the extent such limitation on or exemption from liability is not permitted under the DGCL. The effect of this provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation is to eliminate our rights and those of our stockholders (through stockholders’ derivative suits on our behalf) to recover monetary damages against a director for breach of the fiduciary duty of care as a director, including breaches resulting from negligent or grossly negligent behavior, except, as restricted by Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL. However, this provision does not limit or eliminate our rights or the rights of any stockholder to seek non-monetary relief, such as an injunction or rescission, in the event of a breach of a director’s duty of care.
If the DGCL is amended to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the liability of directors, then, in accordance with our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the liability of our directors to us or our stockholders will be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent authorized by the DGCL, as so amended. Any repeal or amendment of provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation limiting or eliminating the liability of directors, whether by our stockholders or by changes in law, or the adoption of any other provisions inconsistent therewith, will (unless otherwise required by law) be prospective only, except to the extent such amendment or change in law permits us to further limit or eliminate the liability of directors on a retroactive basis.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will also provide that we will, to the fullest extent authorized or permitted by applicable law, indemnify our current and former officers and directors, as well as those persons who, while directors or officers of our corporation, are or were serving as directors, officers, employees or agents of another entity, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to an employee benefit plan, in connection with any threatened, pending or completed proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, against all expense, liability and loss (including, without limitation, attorney’s fees, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes and penalties and amounts paid in settlement) reasonably incurred or suffered by any such person in connection with any such proceeding. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a person eligible for indemnification pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will be indemnified by us in connection with a proceeding initiated by such person only if such proceeding was authorized by our board of directors, except for proceedings to enforce rights to indemnification.
The right to indemnification which will be conferred by our amended and restated certificate of incorporation is a contract right that includes the right to be paid by us the expenses incurred in defending or otherwise participating in any proceeding referenced above in advance of its final disposition, provided, however, that if the DGCL requires, an advancement of expenses incurred by our officer or director (solely in the capacity as an officer or director of our corporation) will be made only upon delivery to us of an undertaking, by or on behalf of such officer or director, to repay all amounts so advanced if it is ultimately determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified for such expenses under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or otherwise.
The rights to indemnification and advancement of expenses will not be deemed exclusive of any other rights which any person covered by our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may have or hereafter acquire under law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our bylaws, an agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise.
Any repeal or amendment of provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation affecting indemnification rights, whether by our stockholders or by changes in law, or the adoption of any other provisions inconsistent therewith, will (unless otherwise required by law) be prospective only, except to the extent such amendment or change in law permits us to provide broader indemnification rights on a retroactive basis, and will not in any way diminish or adversely affect any right or protection existing at the time of such repeal or amendment or adoption of such inconsistent provision with respect to any act or omission occurring prior to such repeal or amendment or adoption of such inconsistent provision. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will also permit us, to the extent and in the manner authorized or permitted by law, to indemnify and to advance expenses to persons other that those specifically covered by our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Our bylaws include the provisions relating to advancement of expenses and indemnification rights consistent with those which will be set forth in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. In addition, our bylaws provide for a right of indemnity to bring a suit in the event a claim for indemnification or advancement of expenses is not paid in full by us within a specified period of time. Our bylaws also permit us to purchase and maintain insurance, at our expense, to protect us and/or any director, officer, employee or agent of our corporation or another entity, trust or other enterprise against any expense, liability or loss, whether or not we would have the power to indemnify such person against such expense, liability or loss under the DGCL.
Any repeal or amendment of provisions of our bylaws affecting indemnification rights, whether by our board of directors, stockholders or by changes in applicable law, or the adoption of any other provisions inconsistent therewith, will (unless otherwise required by law) be prospective only, except to the extent such amendment or change in law permits us to provide broader indemnification rights on a retroactive basis, and will not in any way diminish or adversely affect any right or protection existing thereunder with respect to any act or omission occurring prior to such repeal or amendment or adoption of such inconsistent provision.
We will enter into indemnification agreements with each of our officers and directors, a form of which is to be filed as an exhibit to this Registration Statement. These agreements will require us to indemnify these individuals to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law against liabilities that may arise by reason of their service to us, and to advance expenses incurred as a result of any proceeding against them as to which they could be indemnified.
Pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement to be filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Registration Statement, we have agreed to indemnify the underwriter and the underwriter has agreed to indemnify us against certain civil liabilities that may be incurred in connection with this offering, including certain liabilities under the Securities Act.
Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
On March 5, 2021, Level Field Capital II, LLC, our sponsor, acquired 100 shares of the company’s common stock in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $250.00 per share. On March 15, 2021, we effected a 64,687.5-for-one forward stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock and reclassified those issued and outstanding shares into founder shares. On June 21, 2021, we effected an approximately 1.11-for-one forward stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock. On October 26, 2021, we effected an approximately one-for-1.11 reverse stock split of our issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock. As of the date of this prospectus, the sponsor holds 6,468,750 founder shares (reflecting an aggregate capital contribution of approximately $0.004 per share). Such securities were issued in connection with our organization pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
Our sponsor, the underwriter and our anchor investor are accredited investors for purposes of Rule 501 of Regulation D under the Securities Act.
In addition, our sponsor, the underwriter and our anchor investor have committed, pursuant to written agreements, to purchase from us an aggregate of 11,000,000 (or 12,350,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants at $1.00 per warrant (for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $11,000,000 (or approximately $12,350,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full)). Among the private placement warrants, 7,000,000 warrants (or 8,181,250 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by our sponsor, 1,125,000 warrants (or 1,293,750 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by the underwriter and 2,875,000 warrants will be purchased by our anchor investor. These purchases will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the completion of this offering. Any such issuances will be made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sales.
Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
| (a) | Exhibits. The list of exhibits following the signature page of this registration statement is incorporated herein by reference. |
| (b) | Financial Statements. See page F-1 for an index to the financial statements and schedules included in the registration statement. |
Item 17. Undertakings.
The undersigned registrant, hereby undertakes:
| (1) | To provide to the underwriter at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriter to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser. |
| (2) | To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement: |
| i. | To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended; |
| ii. | To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and |
| | |
| iii. | To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement. |
| (3) | That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. |
| | |
| (4) | To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering. |
| | |
| (5) | That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act to any purchaser, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use. |
| | |
| (6) | That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser: |
| i. | Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424; |
| | |
| ii. | Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant; |
| | |
| iii. | The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and |
| | |
| iv. | Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser. |
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in The City of Dallas, State of Texas, on the 27th day of October, 2021.
| LF CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORP. II |
| | |
| By: | /s/ Scott Reed |
| | Scott Reed |
| | President, Chief Executive Officer |
POWERS OF ATTORNEY
Each of the undersigned constitutes and appoints each of Scott Reed and Alberto Bianchinotti, each acting alone, their true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for such person and in their name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign this registration statement on Form S-1 (including all pre-effective and post-effective amendments and registration statements filed pursuant to Rule 462 under the Securities Act of 1933), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, each acting alone, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming that any such attorney-in-fact and agent, or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities indicated on October 27, 2021.
Signature | | Title |
| | |
/s/ Scott Reed | | President, Chief Executive Officer and Director |
Scott Reed | | (Principal Executive Officer) |
| | |
/s/ Alberto Bianchinotti | | Chief Financial Officer |
Alberto Bianchinotti | | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
| | |
/s/ Elias Farhat | | Executive Chairman and Director |
Elias Farhat | | |
| | |
/s/ Baudouin Prot | | Non-Executive Chairman and Director |
Baudouin Prot | | |
| | |
/s/ Robert Black | | Director |
Robert Black | | |
| | |
/s/ James Hodge | | Director |
James Hodge | | |
| | |
/s/ Habib Kairouz | | Director |
Habib Kairouz | | |
| | |
/s/ Jodi Shelton | | Director |
Jodi Shelton | | |
| | |
/s/ Djemi Traboulsi | | Director |
Djemi Traboulsi | | |
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit No. | | Description |
1.1** | | Form of Underwriting Agreement. |
3.1 | | Certificate of Incorporation. |
3.2 | | Certificate of Amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation. |
3.3 | | Certificate of Amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation. |
3.4 | | Certificate of Amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation. |
3.5 | | Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. |
3.6 | | Bylaws. |
4.1 | | Specimen Unit Certificate. |
4.2 | | Specimen Class A Common Stock Certificate. |
4.3 | | Specimen Warrant Certificate. |
4.4 | | Form of Warrant Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant. |
5.1 | | Opinion of Dechert LLP, counsel to the Registrant. |
10.1 | | Promissory Note, dated March 15, 2021, issued to Level Field Capital II, LLC. |
10.2 | | Amendment to the Promissory Note, dated June 21, 2021. |
10.3 | | Form of Letter Agreement among the Registrant, each of its officers and directors and Level Field Capital II, LLC. |
10.4 | | Form of Investment Management Trust Agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Registrant. |
10.5 | | Form of Registration Rights Agreement among the Registrant and certain of its security holders. |
10.6 | | Securities Subscription Agreement, dated March 15, 2021, between the Registrant and Level Field Capital II, LLC. |
10.7 | | Form of Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement between the Registrant and Level Field Capital II, LLC. |
10.8 | | Form of Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement between the Registrant and the underwriter. |
10.9 | | Form of Indemnification Agreement. |
10.10 | | Form of Administrative Support Agreement between the Registrant and Level Field Capital II, LLC. |
10.11 | | Form of Subscription Agreement between the Registrant, Level Field Capital II, LLC and our anchor investor. |
14.1 | | Form of Code of Ethics. |
23.1 | | Consent of Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP. |
23.2 | | Consent of Dechert LLP (contained in its opinion filed as Exhibit 5.1 hereto). |
24.1 | | Power of Attorney (included on signature page of this Registration Statement). |
99.1 | | Form of Audit Committee Charter. |
99.2 | | Form of Compensation Committee Charter. |
** | To be filed by amendment. |
+ | Previously filed. |