Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4)
Registration No. 333-261319
PROSPECTUS
$175,000,000
Pearl Holdings Acquisition Corp
17,500,000 Units
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Pearl Holdings Acquisition Corp is a newly organized blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us. While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry or geographic location (subject to certain limitations described in this prospectus), we intend to focus our search for a target business in global consumer-focused industries, including companies that participate in the lifestyle, technology, healthcare and wellness sectors.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein, and only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. 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 the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,625,000 units.
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account described below calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares that were sold as part of the units in this offering, which we refer to collectively as our public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. If we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, we will redeem 100% of the public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. To exercise each of its three-month extension options, our sponsor is required to deposit an extension fee amount equal to $0.05 per public share into the trust account if at the time of such extension we have not entered into an executed a letter of intent, agreement in principle or definitive agreement for our initial business combination (a “business combination agreement”).
Our sponsor, Pearl Holdings Sponsor LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company (which we refer to as our “sponsor” throughout this prospectus) has committed to purchase an aggregate of 9,000,000 warrants (or 10,050,000 warrants if the underwriters’ option purchase additional units is exercised in full) at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($9,000,000 in the aggregate or $10,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. We refer to these warrants throughout this prospectus as the private placement warrants. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein.
Our initial shareholders currently hold 5,031,250 Class B ordinary shares (which we refer to as “founder shares” as further described herein), up to 656,250 of which are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities (as described herein), are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which the Class B ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such anti-dilution adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the sum of all Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the completion of this offering, plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the business combination. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of the Class B ordinary shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and may remove members of the board of directors for any reason. On any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, holders of the Class B ordinary shares and holders of the Class A ordinary shares will vote together as a single class, except as required by law.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants. We intend to apply to list our units on The Nasdaq Global Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “PRLHU” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants constituting 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 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC 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 of the company reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering and issuing a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the securities constituting the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “PRLH” and “PRLHW,” respectively.
We are an “emerging growth company” and “smaller reporting company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 38. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.
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| | Per Unit | | Total |
Public offering price | | $10.00 | | $175,000,000 |
Underwriting discounts and commissions(1) | | $0.55 | | $9,625,000 |
Proceeds, before expenses, to us | | $9.45 | | $165,375,000 |
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(1) Includes $0.35 per unit, or $6,125,000 (or $7,043,750 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) in the aggregate, payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein. Does not include certain fees and expenses payable to the underwriters in connection with this offering. See also “Underwriting” for a description of compensation payable to the underwriters.
Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $178,500,000 or $202,275,000 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full ($10.20 per unit), will be deposited into a trust account located in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank N.A. with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. 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: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to 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 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders.
The underwriters are offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. Delivery of the units will be made on or about December 17, 2021.
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.
No offer or invitation whether directly or indirectly, may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for our securities.
Sole Book-Running Manager
MORGAN STANLEY
The date of this prospectus is December 14, 2021.
We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus. We and the underwriters take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the units offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of its date.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Trademarks
This prospectus contains references to trademarks and service marks belonging to other entities. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this prospectus may appear without the ® or ™ symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that the applicable licensor will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, its rights to these trademarks and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names, trademarks or service marks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.
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SUMMARY
This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. As this is a summary, it does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making an investment decision. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing.
Definitions
Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus or the context otherwise requires, references to:
• “advisory board” are to our advisory board, which will assist us in sourcing and evaluating transaction opportunities;
• “amended and restated memorandum and articles of association” are to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to be in effect upon completion of this offering;
• “business combination agreement” are to an executed a letter of intent, agreement in principle or definitive agreement for our initial business combination;
• “Companies Act” are to the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time;
• “directors” are to our current directors and our director nominees named in this prospectus;
• “extension option” are to the option of our sponsor, (i) upon deposit of the extension fee into the trust account if we have not entered into a business combination agreement or (ii) for no additional fee if we have entered into a business combination agreement, to cause us to extend the available time to consummate our initial business combination by three months. Our sponsor may exercise the extension option up to two times, allowing for up to an additional six months (for a total of 24 months) to complete a business combination;
• “extension fee” are to an amount equal to $0.05 per public share (a total of $875,000, or $1,006,250 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) that our sponsor may deposit into the trust account in order to exercise each 3-month extension option if we have not entered into a business combination agreement;
• “founder shares” are to our Class B ordinary shares initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to this offering and our Class A ordinary shares that will be issued upon the conversion thereof;
• “initial shareholders” are to our sponsor and the other holders of our founder shares prior to this offering (if any);
• “letter agreement” are to the letter agreement, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part;
• “management” or our “management team” are to our officers;
• “Meadow Lane” are to Meadow Lane Capital LLC, a New York limited liability company, and its affiliated entities, excluding our company and sponsor;
• “ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares and our Class B ordinary shares;
• “private placement” are to the private placement of an aggregate of 9,000,000 warrants (or 10,050,000 warrants if the underwriters’ option purchase additional units is exercised in full) being purchased by our sponsor, which will occur simultaneously with the completion of this offering, at a purchase price of $1.00 per warrant for a total purchase price of $9,000,000 in the aggregate (or $10,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full);
• “private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering;
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• “public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our sponsor, directors, management team and advisory board members to the extent our sponsor, directors, management team or advisory board members purchase public shares, provided their status as a “public shareholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares;
• “public shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market);
• “sponsor” or “Pearl Holdings Sponsor” are to Pearl Holdings Sponsor LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company, in which each of our officers, directors, and certain members of our advisory board is or will be, directly or indirectly, a member;
• “warrants” are to our redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market);
• “we,” “us,” “our” or our “company” are to Pearl Holdings Acquisition Corp, a Cayman Islands exempted company; and
• “$” and “U.S. dollar” are to the United States dollar.
All references in this prospectus to shares of the company being forfeited shall take effect as surrenders for no consideration of such shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. All references to the conversion of our Class B ordinary shares shall take effect as a redemption of such Class B ordinary shares and issuance of the corresponding Class A ordinary shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Any share dividends described in this prospectus shall take effect as share capitalizations as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their option to purchase additional units and assumes the forfeiture by our sponsor of 656,250 founder shares.
General
We are a newly organized blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.
We intend to focus our search for a target business in global consumer-focused industries, including companies that participate in the lifestyle, technology, healthcare and wellness sectors, but may also pursue an initial business combination of any business where we believe the expertise of our management team, our advisory board and our independent directors (all of whom we refer to as “our team”) will provide us with a competitive advantage. We plan to evaluate businesses in high growth sectors with a substantial addressable market, which may be undergoing disruption as a result of technologies or data insights. We are particularly focused on companies that are involved with branded lifestyle, luxury, pet, nutritional and consumer categories. We are also focused on wellness services or products including those related to beauty and fitness and certain categories of healthcare, including technology-enabled services, pharmaceutical value chain, medical devices and equipment, diagnostics and digital and consumer health. These companies may market directly to consumers or through business-to-business distribution channels. We believe that substantial capital needs related to expansion and the adoption of new technologies to business processes, coupled with required ownership transitions in companies in our target sectors, will result in an active and attractive environment for acquisitions. Members of our sponsor are affiliated with Meadow Lane, originally established as an investment office for family members of our Chief Executive Officer.
We believe that the members of our team have proven themselves to be successful investors, owners, financiers and operators whose strategic skills and extensive network of global relationships will help us identify attractive potential business combination targets in order to pursue significant value creation opportunities. Members of our team have experienced considerable successes as investors in, and operators of, multiple globally successful and consumer-oriented companies. Our team’s collective abilities to establish a vision for the future and then acquire and/or operate and expand a global business, coupled with a disciplined investing framework, have resulted in over
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$10 billion in value creation to investors and stockholders. Our team has public company leadership experience across multiple market cycles as well as global transactional expertise, including with successful initial public offerings, in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Our record of successfully developing, acquiring and managing the long-term growth of a diverse group of businesses on a global basis, both organically and through acquisitions, is illustrated by our experiences with the following businesses:
• GUS plc (“GUS”), formerly a publicly traded London-based conglomerate that generated peak revenues of approximately $13 billion in the year immediately prior to the final separation of all of its operating businesses into separate publicly traded companies and was active globally in direct-to-consumer marketing and distribution, financial services, logistics, property, luxury goods and retailing and separated, via initial public offerings, into three separately traded entities:
• Experian plc (“Experian”), originally established by GUS as Commercial Credit (Nottingham) Limited, it became the largest credit service company in the UK and expanded organically and via $2.7 billion of acquisitions into its current position as the world’s leading information services company with a market value in excess of $34 billion in April 2021,
• Burberry Group plc (“Burberry”), the iconic international luxury brand, originally acquired for a nominal amount by GUS and subsequently restructured and repositioned into a global leader with a market value in excess of $11 billion in April 2021, and
• Argos Retail Group (“Argos”), a digital retailing and omni-channel distribution pioneer, acquired for £1.9 billion by GUS, combined with other retailing and mail order divisions, and subsequently acquired by J. Sainsbury plc;
• Shaklee Corporation (“Shaklee”), a worldwide direct seller of natural nutrition and green cleaning products with members and distributors in the United States, Japan, Mexico, Malaysia, Canada, Taiwan and China, established in 1956, acquired from a Japanese corporation in 2004, subsequently expanded in multiple geographies including China and currently privately held; and
• Arcade Beauty (“Arcade”), a sampling solutions provider established in 1902, acquired from family owners, significantly expanded, subsequently sold and currently privately held.
Based on our experience with these and other companies, and as senior professionals in investment banking and private equity with global financial institutions, we have established ourselves as a trusted, management and founder-friendly counterparty with a history of success developing, acquiring, financing and operating businesses amidst a myriad of significant, cyclical, structural and economic challenges. We believe our experience resonates with management teams, business owners, investors and intermediaries involved with companies that are for sale and enhance our competitive positioning as a potential acquirer. We believe that our competitive positioning is further enhanced by our long-standing relationships with the leaders of global and regional financial institutions and large institutional investors in both the public and private markets.
We believe that there is a significant market opportunity in our target sectors. Over many years, we have observed global consumers as their tastes and desires and the distribution and marketing strategies used to connect with them have evolved. We believe that, on a global basis, the demographics of our target consumer are highly favorable and will be favorable for the foreseeable future. Today, digital engagement with consumers and innovation is paramount. Many companies are focused on using technology and data throughout their interactions with consumers to better deliver desired products and services. Technological innovations in marketing also provide an opportunity for companies to accelerate growth through targeted investments. In addition, we believe that many quality brands and products are under-resourced to compete in the current environment, and would benefit from investment with a global and long-term focus. As a result, we are confident that there are a substantial number of suitable acquisition opportunities. We further believe that there will be significant interest from management teams, owners and investors in our target sectors to engage with our team to achieve a public listing through a business combination with us.
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Our team intends to identify businesses that we believe can benefit from our previous experiences and for which there is a clear and convincing vision for the future. We believe that there will be substantial transaction flow with many proprietary opportunities developed by our team and sourced from our unique network of relationships. Our objective is to create value for our shareholders by applying our strategy of identifying promising businesses and leveraging our operational and capital markets expertise to complete a business combination and accelerate future growth.
Past experience or performance of our team and our advisory board and their respective affiliates is not a guarantee of either (1) our ability to successfully identify and execute a transaction or (2) success with respect to any business combination that we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our team or our advisory board or their respective affiliates as indicative of future performance. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to our Team and Their Respective Affiliates and to the Post-Business Combination Company — Past performance of Meadow Lane, our team and their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.”
Our Management Team, Independent Directors and Advisory Board
Our management team and members of our advisory board have worked together extensively for more than 20 years investing in, financing and operating multiple businesses. In addition, over the past five years, our team has sourced, on behalf of Meadow Lane, over 500 potential investment opportunities from a global network of intermediaries, investors and operating executives, many of whom worked with our previous companies.
Our Management Team
Craig E. Barnett
Craig Barnett is the Chairman of our board of directors (our “Chairman”) and our Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Barnett has been the Chief Executive Officer of Meadow Lane since 2014 and its associated broker-dealer and predecessor entities since inception and established and manages the global investment team. Mr. Barnett has over 35 years of experience in investment banking, private equity and corporate development and is responsible for Meadow Lane’s partnerships with financing and investment firms. Mr. Barnett has advised clients, pursued investments and overseen corporate development and finance activities with aggregate values exceeding $60 billion primarily in the consumer sectors of the global economy in the United States, Europe and Asia. In addition, Mr. Barnett has been highly active in corporate development, financing and acquisitions for GUS, Experian, Burberry, Argos, Arcade and Shaklee. Previously, Mr. Barnett was a senior executive in private equity and investment banking. He was a Managing Director with The Blackstone Group Inc. (“Blackstone”), a Managing Director with The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. and a Managing Director with PJ Solomon. Earlier in his career, Mr. Barnett was a Vice President at Lehman Brothers, in London, Tokyo and New York. Mr. Barnett, a graduate of the Wharton School, is active in a number of charitable and community organizations.
Terry Duddy
Terry Duddy is our Vice Chairman and a member of our board of directors. Mr. Duddy has over 30 years of leadership experience with public companies and is a seasoned Chief Executive and digital commerce pioneer. Mr. Duddy has also worked with Meadow Lane principals for over 20 years. Mr. Duddy was a Director and member of the Executive Committee of GUS from 1998 to 2006, having joined as the Chief Executive Officer of Argos. Mr. Duddy was also responsible for the pan-European home shopping division of GUS that, though loss making, was eventually divested for over £800 million. Mr. Duddy was furthermore a member of the Board’s Demerger Committee that presided over the demerger process of GUS that included the successful IPOs of Burberry, Experian and Home Retail Group plc (“Home Retail Group”). As Chief Executive Officer of Argos and its successor independent entity, Home Retail Group, from 1998 to 2014, Mr. Duddy guided the business through both the extensive digital transformation of the industry as well as the downturn of 2009. Argos was the UK’s first multichannel retailer with its e-commerce site and home delivery service launching in 1999 with over 20,000 product lines and a considerable private label brand. Mr. Duddy managed a $2 billion supply chain sourced from China, incubated emerging products, created new marketing technologies including the now ubiquitous and innovative “Click & Collect” sale and mentored a new generation of managers now in industry leadership positions. Most recently, Mr. Duddy was first Senior Independent Director and then Interim Board Chairman of Debenhams
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plc, which he managed through administration, secured financing for a successful reorganization and recruited a new Board. Mr. Duddy has been a member of True Capital Management’s advisory board since 2014, is the Chairman of London Marathon Events Ltd and is or has been a non-executive director of a number of other companies including Hammerson plc and Majid Al Futtaim Properties LLC.
Martin F. Lewis
Martin Lewis is our Chief Financial Officer and one of our Managing Directors. Mr. Lewis has over 35 years of leadership experience in investment banking. He is the founder and Managing Principal, since 2014, of Gower Advisers, a financial advisory boutique in New York. He has also served as a Managing Principal of Meadow Lane since 2014. Previously, Mr. Lewis was a Managing Director with Greenhill, a founding member of Miller, Buckfire Lewis & Co (now Miller Buckfire), a Managing Director of Wasserstein Perella and a Managing Director of Blackstone. Mr. Lewis was also associated with Chemical Bank in London and New York and with NM Rothschild in London and Mexico. Mr. Lewis qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the UK and graduated with an M.A. from Oxford University.
Scott M. Napolitano
Scott Napolitano is one of our Managing Directors. Mr. Napolitano has over 20 years of experience in investment banking acting as strategic and capital advisor to companies and private equity firms, principally in the healthcare and consumer sectors, evaluating mergers, acquisitions and strategic and financing alternatives. Mr. Napolitano is Managing Member of Scott Michael Partners LLC, an advisory and investment firm he founded in 2020 with a focus on healthcare and technology. Prior to founding Scott Michael Partners LLC, Mr. Napolitano served as a Managing Director with Nomura Securities International from 2014 to 2020 where he was Head of MedTech Investment Banking and Healthcare M&A. Previously, he was a Managing Principal with Meadow Lane. Mr. Napolitano has also held senior investment banking positions with PJ Solomon Securities, LLC (“PJ Solomon”), where he served as Managing Director and with The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., where he served as Vice President. Mr. Napolitano is a graduate of Columbia University.
Our Independent Directors
James E. Lieber
James Lieber has more than 25 years of experience in the strategic management of complex international projects and situations for multi-national corporations, investment funds, organizations and high net-worth individuals in Europe and the United States. Mr. Lieber is Founder and President of Lieber Strategies, a consultancy based in Paris. Prior to founding Lieber Strategies in 2005, Mr. Lieber served from 1997 to 2004 as Director of Corporate Affairs at LVMH Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton S.E. (“LVMH”), working with its chairman, Bernard Arnault, and his executive committee on major strategic projects. Mr. Lieber directed LVMH’s strategy in several multi-billion-dollar transactions and business conflicts and managed LVMH’s interests in international trade disputes and European competition clearance situations and other government relations matters. Before joining LVMH, Mr. Lieber practiced law with Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP, where he worked in New York on international securities offerings, privatizations and real estate transactions, and in Paris representing clients in cross-border acquisitions and joint ventures in the media, luxury goods and pharmaceuticals sectors. Mr. Lieber is a director of numerous companies, including LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc., DFS Group and Gabriel Resources Ltd., as well as of Stanhope Capital Group, a private wealth manager with offices in New York, London, Geneva, Paris, Philadelphia and Palm Beach. He is also a director of the French-American Foundation and a member of Panthera’s Conservation Council. Mr. Lieber is an attorney admitted to practice in the State of New York and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Global Advisory Council of the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars. Mr. Lieber holds a Juris Doctor degree cum laude from Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, Illinois, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif, and a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, with honors in art history.
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Mary C. Tanner
Mary Tanner has more than 30 years of leadership experience in investment banking and has served as a director on numerous private and public companies. Ms. Tanner is Senior Managing Director of EVOLUTION Life Sciences Partners (“ELSP”), of which she is a co-founder. Ms. Tanner specializes in healthcare investment and strategic advisory work, including mergers and acquisitions, licensing, corporate minority strategic investments and fund raising. Ms. Tanner is also an active venture capital investor. Before founding ELSP with her husband and long standing business partner, Frederick Frank, Ms. Tanner held leadership positions for over 20 years in investment banking at Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and PJ Solomon. Ms. Tanner has directed over 500 mergers and acquisitions, over 130 initial public offerings and hundreds of financings and is highly experienced in mergers involving spinoffs of public companies. Ms. Tanner has significant expertise in life sciences, traditional pharmaceutical industries and consumer healthcare. Advisory clients of Ms. Tanner have included Pfizer Inc., Block Drug Company, Inc. (“Block Drug”), Amgen Inc., Rhône-Poulenc S.A., Marion Merrell Dow, Inc., BASF SE, Sanofi S.A., Revlon, Inc., Fabergé and L’Oréal S.A. Ms. Tanner was a 10-year member of the board of directors of Lineagen, Inc., a molecular diagnostic company, which was merged with Bionano Genomics, Inc. in 2021, and she was Chair of its Audit and Compliance Committee. As a member of the board of directors of Genticel, S.A., an immune oncology company in France, she assisted in merging the company with Genkyotex, a Swiss/French publicly listed company, in a cross-border transaction with Calliditas Therapeutics AB, a Swedish, Nasdaq-listed company. Previously, for a decade, she served on the board of directors of Evotec SE, a German company which is one of the largest companies in early stage contract research organization research. Ms. Tanner previously served on the board of directors of the consumer products company Block Drug prior to its sale to GlaxoSmithKline plc. Ms. Tanner received a B.A. magna cum laude from Harvard University. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Yale School of Management and is an advisor to the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale and the Yale Center for Biomedical Innovation and Technology.
Laura A. Weil
Laura Weil has over 25 years of corporate leadership experience. Ms. Weil has been an independent director of Carnival Corporation since 2007 and is a member of the audit, compliance and compensation committees. She is also an independent director of Global Fashion Group, SA since 2019. She previously served as a Director of Christopher & Banks Corporation. Ms. Weil is the Founder and has been the Managing Partner of Village Lane Advisory LLC, which specializes in providing executive and strategic consulting services to retailers as well as private equity firms, since 2015. Previously, Ms. Weil was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of New York & Company, Inc., the Chief Executive Officer of Ashley Stewart LLC, the Chief Executive Officer of Urban Brands, Inc., the Chief Operating Officer of AnnTaylor Stores Corporation, the Chief Financial Officer of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., and the Vice President Finance and CFO Credit Operations for Macy’s Inc. Ms. Weil was also a senior executive with investment banking firms including Oppenheimer and Lehman Brothers. Ms. Weil Received a B.A. in Art History and Government from Smith College and an MBA from Columbia University Business School.
Our Advisory Board
In addition to our management team and independent directors, we have assembled a distinguished advisory board of accomplished executives that we believe will help position us as a preferred operating partner for potential business combination targets. Our advisory board will expand our sourcing networks and will assist our management team with evaluating business opportunities. In addition, we believe our advisory board’s depth and breadth of experience will enable them to provide critical strategic advice to our eventual target, while best-positioning it for long-term success.
Victor J. Barnett
Victor Barnett has considerable experience as a successful investor in and leader of multiple global businesses. Mr. Barnett was a Director and member of the Executive Committee directing the affairs of GUS for over 20 years. Mr. Barnett also served as the Executive Chairman of Burberry and was the chief visionary for its operational reorganization and transformation. Mr. Barnett also led the global expansion, via $2.7 billion of acquisitions, of Experian. Mr. Barnett was previously a Director of Revlon and of various other private companies.
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David C. Blatte
David Blatte has over 30 years of investment banking and private equity investing experience in the consumer and retail industry sectors. He is also a seasoned operating executive in the pet industry. He is the Chairman of Worldwise, Inc., one of the five largest pet accessory companies in the U.S., and was the Founder and CEO of Quaker Pet Group, one of Worldwise’s operating businesses. Mr. Blatte is a former Partner at Centre Partners, a former Partner at Catterton Partners, and a former Managing Director at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp. He holds a B.S. from the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania.
Noah Gottdiener
Noah Gottdiener has 35 years of corporate leadership and investment banking experience. Mr. Gottdiener is the Executive Chairman of Kroll Inc. (“Kroll”), formerly Duff & Phelps Corp., and chairs Kroll’s board of directors. He served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board from 2004 to 2020. During that time, revenue increased from $30 million in 2004 to over $1 billion. Kroll has nearly 5,000 professionals in 30 countries and territories around the world. Mr. Gottdiener guided Kroll through a series of acquisitions, an initial public offering and a subsequent going private transaction. In April 2020, Mr. Gottdiener led Kroll through a $4.2 billion acquisition by a global investor consortium. Previously, Mr. Gottdiener was a Partner with Thomas Weisel Partners and Furman Selz LLC, and a Managing Director at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., where he began his career. Mr. Gottdiener is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and sits on the Board of Trustees of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). He is a member of the Black Rock Forest Consortium Leadership Council and on the Board of Directors of AZTherapies, Inc. He is a former member of the board of trustees of The Brearley School and the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.
Brandon Ralph
Brandon Ralph is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Unquantifiable, a marketing services consultancy. He has over 20 years of experience navigating consumer content distribution and consumption behavior as a creative leader in omni-channel content-concentric marketing strategies. Mr. Ralph is a Founder and, for seventeen years, was the Chief Creative Officer of Code and Theory, an independent digital first creative agency. At Code and Theory, Mr. Ralph led the creative teams for fashion, lifestyle, media, and entertainment brands for publishers, including Vice, NBC Olympics, The Huffington Post, Bloomberg, and The Verge. He has also been a trusted creative collaborator for Anna Wintour, Arianna Huffington, Tina Brown, David Carey and Tomas Maier. His unique ability to learn customer behaviors and amplify brands has afforded him the opportunity to deliver award-winning strategies across a broad spectrum of industries. Mr. Ralph’s clients have included Bottega Venetta, Hermes, Burger King and Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Mr. Ralph has also served as the Chief Experience Officer and Chief Creative officer of Equinox Fitness Holdings and as the Chief Creative Officer of NJOY.
Carlos Rohm
Carlos Rohm has been Chief Executive Officer of LCA Capital, a family office with ties to Mexico, since 2007. Previously, Mr. Rohm was a Principal of JPMorgan Partners. Mr. Rohm has been a director of and is a member of the Operating Committee of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico. He is also a director of FIBRA Storage and Liv Capital Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company.
Ronald Stern
Ronald Stern is a highly experienced marketing and operations executive who has also been actively involved in evaluating and pursuing investment opportunities with Meadow Lane. Mr. Stern was the President and a long-time executive of SlimFast prior to its sale for $2.3 billion to Unilever PLC and subsequently served as a Consultant to Unilever. Mr. Stern is an active angel investor in emerging companies and advises a number of consumer-facing and health-oriented businesses.
Jonathan H. Weis
Jonathan Weis has over 30 years of corporate leadership experience. He has been the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Weis Markets, Inc. (“Weis Markets”), a leading regional supermarket chain with over 23,000 employees and 197 stores, since 2014 and has served in executive capacities with Weis Markets since
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1989. Under the leadership of Mr. Weis, Weis Markets has expanded its operations significantly both organically and via acquisition and has maintained its market position in a highly competitive environment. Mr. Weis has also been responsible for establishing and implementing major strategic initiatives that reflect Weis Markets’ focus on understanding continuously evolving consumer perspectives, optimizing organizational issues with respect to human capital and operational capabilities and controlling, increasing and maximizing the considerable intellectual property associated with Weis Markets.
Our Business Strategy and Competitive Advantages
We intend to identify, acquire, and manage a high-quality business that can benefit from our global investment and management experience and capital markets expertise to drive ongoing value creation post-business combination in the public markets. We believe the sourcing, valuation, diligence and execution capabilities of our team will provide us with a significant pipeline of investment opportunities from which to evaluate and select a business that will benefit from our expertise.
We expect that our pipeline will be reflective of large numbers of companies owned by entrepreneurs, venture capital and other private investment funds that are seeking a liquidity event and augmented operating and marketing expertise. In addition, we believe our pipeline could include business combinations with multiple companies in similar industries that result in synergistic benefits. We also believe that large corporations will continue to divest attractive but under-resourced businesses, or the intellectual property associated with such businesses, that need repositioning and are in sectors and with business models that we understand.
We are confident in our reputation of being founder- and management-friendly and believe that our prior successes allow us to present a compelling set of competitive advantages and capabilities that enhance our efforts to complete a business combination:
• Demonstrated management track record. Our team has decades of experience building industry-leading companies that have delivered excellent stockholder value creation over an extended period as we have a history of owning, operating, and financing companies across all stages of the business lifecycle from emerging technology companies to growth-oriented businesses to established franchises. We have identified, developed and acquired multi-billion-dollar businesses that have grown significantly in value through both organic and inorganic strategies. We have also elevated our brands by employing innovative technologies, new marketing tactics, demographic targeting and modern distribution models.
• Differentiated sourcing network. Our team has owned and operated global businesses and has extensive operating and M&A transaction experience across the United States, Europe and Asia, and members of our team have a history of sourcing over 500 potential investment opportunities. Our deep relationships with owners and management teams, public and private companies, private equity investors, intermediaries, and financing providers provides us with a differentiated sourcing network.
• Value-enhancing operational expertise. Our team has significant experience attracting, enhancing and advising management teams as they embark on growth and ownership transition cycles. We are also highly regarded for having always maintained a focused and concentrated approach to investments rather than the more portfolio-centric strategy favored by many investment firms. Importantly, we have successfully managed businesses through transitional periods of development, including geographic growth and organic expansion by evolving all aspects of strategy and business processes related to sales, marketing, operations, supply chain, systems, infrastructure and personnel. We believe that our combined prior experiences enhance our attractiveness as a partner or buyer and are derived from our expertise in the following key themes: Partner with Management; Local to Global; Contemporize and Reposition; Adapt to New Technologies or Else; Build and/or Buy; and How and When to go Public. We believe that we are well-positioned to identify management teams, entrepreneurs and business owners who share our vision for long-term, sustainable value creation.
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• History of transformational acquisitions, financings and divestitures. Our team has been involved in noteworthy transactions with our prior businesses, including multiple transactions involving GUS, Experian, Argos, Arcade and Shaklee. We have corporate, financial and investment experience with a myriad of transaction structures including initial public offerings, public and private company mergers and acquisitions, founder exits, transformational mergers and divisional combinations and spin-offs.
• Public and capital markets experience. We have a deep understanding of the requirements necessary to operate a growing public company, including accessing capital markets and M&A experience, across business cycles. As a public entity, we believe that we can offer a wide range of advantages to shareholders such as leveraging our team’s collective skills and experience to accelerate profitable growth, broaden access to debt and equity capital providers, provide liquidity alternatives for employees and investors, and provide public currency for future acquisitions. Importantly, we believe that our relationships with financial institutions and leading investors will enhance our ability to consummate a business combination expeditiously.
Upon completion of this offering, our management team, assisted by members of our advisory board and our independent directors, 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 potential opportunities. In addition to any potential target businesses we may identify on our own, we anticipate that other target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including family business owners, entrepreneurs, management teams, investment market participants, private equity and other investment funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.
Our Acquisition Criteria
We believe that our team is well positioned to identify attractive business combination opportunities with a compelling industry backdrop and an opportunity for growth. We expect to favor potential target companies with certain industry and business characteristics that support our level of commitment to the target. Key industry characteristics that are of paramount importance in our considerations include compelling long-term growth prospects, attractive competitive dynamics, and acquisition/consolidation opportunities, in tandem with operating in an industry that exhibits these favorable attributes. Key business characteristics we look for in a target include: durability, market leadership, innovation, and focus on strong business performance through cycles. Target companies should also have a strong management team and innovative products, technologies, marketing strategies, consumer engagement approaches and distribution models.
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 are focused on the long-term growth and potential of our acquisition target, and we will implement the operating improvements that we believe are most likely to yield sustainable growth and maximize value creation. We intend to acquire one or more businesses that:
• address the needs of the global consumer and have established a clear and convincing vision for the future;
• are family or founder-owned, venture or investor-backed, or corporate divestitures;
• have high potential for future growth in a large addressable market;
• have a strong historical performance and attractive margin profile;
• are led by outstanding management teams;
• would benefit from our team’s expertise as managers, acquirers and financiers to accelerate growth;
• are positioned to benefit from a significant capital infusion to realize strategic initiatives; and
• can deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders across business cycles.
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These criteria and guidelines 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 criteria and guidelines as well as other considerations, factors, criteria, and guidelines that our team may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria and guidelines in our shareholder 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.
Our Acquisition Process
Our directors and officers presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may need to honor these fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, or in the case of a non-compete restriction, may not present such opportunity to us at all, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Craig E. Barnett intends to devote a majority of his time to our affairs, however, none of our directors or officers are required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our directors or officers will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to our Team and Their Respective Affiliates and to the Post-Business Combination Company — Certain of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.”
Our sponsor is managed by Craig E. Barnett, our Chairman and our Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Barnett is the Chief Executive Officer of Meadow Lane. In addition, our sponsor is owned by entities controlled by Mr. Barnett and associated with Meadow Lane (the “Meadow Lane affiliates”). As a result, Mr. Barnett and the Meadow Lane affiliates may exert a substantial influence on other actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including appointment of our directors, amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of major corporate transactions. If our sponsor purchases any Class A ordinary shares in this offering or in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence over such actions. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to our Team and Their Respective Affiliates and to the Post-Business Combination Company — Our sponsor is managed by Craig E. Barnett, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and is owned by Meadow Lane affiliates. As a result, Mr. Barnett and the Meadow Lane affiliates may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, and their interests may differ from your interests.” We do not believe, however, that the duties and obligations of the Meadow Lane affiliates will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination.
Meadow Lane may become aware of a potential business combination opportunity that may be an attractive opportunity for our company. However, Meadow Lane is not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial business combination or refer any such opportunities to our company or provide any other services to our company. Meadow Lane’s role with respect to our company is expected to be primarily passive and advisory in nature. Meadow Lane may have fiduciary and/or contractual duties to its investment vehicles and to companies in which Meadow Lane has invested. As a result, Meadow Lane may have a duty to offer business combination opportunities to certain other investment vehicles or other entities before other parties, including our company. Additionally, certain companies in which Meadow Lane has invested may enter into transactions with, provide goods or services to, or receive goods or services from an entity with which we seek to complete our initial business combination. Transactions of these types may present a conflict of interest because Meadow Lane may directly or indirectly receive a financial benefit as a result of such transaction.
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We believe that any such potential conflicts of interest of Meadow Lane will be naturally mitigated, in part, by the differing nature of targets that Meadow Lane typically considers most attractive for its investment activities, as compared to our activities related to pursuing an initial business combination. Meadow Lane’s investment activities typically involve investing in private companies, and while Meadow Lane may take a company public, it would typically invest in such an entity several years prior to an initial public offering, not at the time of the initial public offering. In contrast, the acquisition targets that we expect to find most attractive would generally have capital structures and existing business operations and infrastructure to go public immediately upon our acquisition. As a result, we may become aware of a potential transaction that is not a fit for the investment activities of Meadow Lane but that is an attractive opportunity for us. Notwithstanding our belief regarding natural mitigation, Meadow Lane may compete with us for acquisition opportunities that fall within Meadow Lane’s investment objectives or strategies. A decision by Meadow Lane to pursue an opportunity would preclude us from pursuing it and could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our partnering transaction.
Our advisory board members are not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial business combination or refer any such opportunities to our company or provide any other services for our company. Such advisors’ roles with respect to our company are expected to be primarily passive and advisory in nature. Our advisory board members may have fiduciary and/or contractual duties to certain companies but do not have any fiduciary obligations to our company. As a result, our advisory board members may have a duty to offer business combination opportunities to certain other companies before our company. Additionally, certain companies affiliated with our advisory board members may enter into transactions with, provide goods or services to, or receive goods or services from an entity with which we seek to complete our initial business combination. Transactions of these types may present a conflict of interest because our advisory board members may directly or indirectly receive a financial benefit as a result of such transaction. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to our Team and Their Respective Affiliates and to the Post-Business Combination Company — Our advisory board members are not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial business combination or refer any such opportunities to our company or provide any other services for our company.”
Past experience or performance of our team and our advisory board and their respective affiliates is not a guarantee of either (1) our ability to successfully identify and execute a transaction or (2) success with respect to any business combination that we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our team or our advisory board or their respective affiliates as indicative of future performance. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to our Team and Their Respective Affiliates and to the Post-Business Combination Company — Past performance of Meadow Lane, our team and their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.”
Initial Business Combination
The Nasdaq listing rules require that our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into our initial business combination. We refer to this as the 80% of fair market value test. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company
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Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target business or issue a substantial number of new shares to third parties in connection with financing our initial business combination. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of fair market value test. If our initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we are not then listed on Nasdaq for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of fair market value test.
Prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (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 consummation of our initial business combination.
Corporate Information
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 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 ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
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Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies wishing to conduct business outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have applied for and have received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of such undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall be payable (1) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (2) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated on March 23, 2021. Our executive offices are located at 767 Third Avenue, 11th Floor, New York, New York 10017 and our telephone number is (212) 457-1540. Upon completion of this offering, our corporate website address will be www.PearlHAC.com. Our website and the information contained on, or that can be accessed through, the website is not deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and is not considered part of, this prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You should not rely on any such information in making your decision whether to invest in our securities.
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THE OFFERING
In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of the members of our team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company and the fact that this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section below entitled “Risk Factors” of this prospectus.
Securities offered | | 17,500,000 units (or 20,125,000 units if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full), at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of: |
| | • one Class A ordinary share; and |
| | • one-half of one redeemable warrant. |
Proposed Nasdaq symbols | | Units: “PRLHU” |
| | Class A ordinary shares: “PRLH” |
| | Warrants: “PRLHW” |
Trading commencement and separation of Class A ordinary shares and warrants | |
The units are expected to begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants constituting 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 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the Class A ordinary shares and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A ordinary shares 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 three units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
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| | 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 ordinary shares and warrants is prohibited until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K | |
In no event will the Class A ordinary shares 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 of the company reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units.
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Units: | | |
Number issued and outstanding before this offering | | 0
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Number issued and outstanding after this offering | | 17,500,000(1)
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Ordinary shares: | | |
Number issued and outstanding before this offering | | 5,031,250(2)(3)
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Number issued and outstanding after this offering | | 21,875,000(1)(3)(4)
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Warrants: | | |
Number of private placement warrants to be sold in a private placement simultaneously with this offering | |
9,000,000(1)
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Number of warrants to be outstanding after this offering and the sale of private placement warrants | |
17,750,000(1)
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Exercisability | | Each whole warrant offered in this offering is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share, subject to adjustment as provided herein, and only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. |
| | We structured each unit to contain one-half of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary share, 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 our initial business combination as compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole share, which we believe will make us a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses. |
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(1) Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units and the forfeiture by our sponsor of 656,250 founder shares.
(2) Consists solely of founder shares and includes up to 656,250 founder shares that are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised.
(3) Founder shares are currently classified as Class B ordinary shares, which shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights.”
(4) Includes 17,500,000 public shares and 4,375,000 founder shares.
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Exercise price | | $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. |
| | In addition, if (x) we issue additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (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 ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share 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. |
Exercise period | | The warrants will become exercisable 30 days after completion of our initial business combination; provided that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement, including as a result of a notice of redemption described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00”). |
| | We are registering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants in the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part because the warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, which may be within one year of this offering. However, because the warrants will be exercisable until their expiration date of up to five years after the completion of our initial business combination, in order to comply with the requirements of Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act following the consummation of our initial business combination, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days, after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC, and within 60 business days following our initial business combination to 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 issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed; provided that if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange |
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| | such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of 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. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of the initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption, but we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. |
| | The warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. On the exercise of any warrant, the warrant exercise price will be paid directly to us and not placed in the trust account. |
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00 | |
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants):
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| | • in whole and not in part; |
| | • at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| | • upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder, 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 ordinary shares for any 20 trading days within any 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 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 — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”). |
| | We will not redeem the warrants as described above for cash unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares 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. |
| | As a result, we may redeem warrants even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise their warrants. |
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| | No fractional Class A ordinary shares 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 ordinary shares to be issued to the holder. Please see the section entitled “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants” for additional information. |
Extension of time to complete business combination | | If we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 18 months, our sponsor may cause us to extend the available time to consummate our initial business combination by three months. In order to exercise the extension option, our sponsor must deposit into the trust account $0.05 per share (a total of $875,000, or $1,006,250 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline. Our sponsor may exercise the extension option up to two times, allowing for up to an additional six months (for a total of up to 24 months) to complete a business combination. Our sponsor or its affiliates or designees will receive a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note equal to the amount of any such deposit that will not be repaid in the event that we are unable to close a business combination unless there are funds available outside the trust account to do so. Such note would either be paid upon consummation of our initial business combination, or, at the lender’s discretion, converted upon consummation of our business combination into additional private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant. In the event that we receive notice from our sponsor five days prior to the applicable deadline of its intent to exercise an extension option, we intend to issue a press release announcing such intention to exercise the extension option at least three days prior to the applicable deadline. In addition, we intend to issue a press release the day after the applicable deadline announcing whether the funds were timely deposited. 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. Any note issued pursuant to such loan would be in addition to any notes issued pursuant to working capital loans made to us.
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Founder shares | | On April 3, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in exchange for an aggregate of 7,187,500 founder shares. In November 2021, our sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 2,156,250 founder shares for no consideration, thereby reducing the aggregate number of founder shares outstanding to 5,031,250, resulting in an effective purchase price paid for the founder shares of approximately $0.005 per share. |
| | Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The purchase price of these founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to us by the number of founder shares issued. Our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Up to 656,250 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised. |
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| | The founder shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, except that: |
| | • prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason; |
| | • the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions contained in a letter agreement that our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into with us, as described in more detail below; |
| | • pursuant to such letter agreement, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to waive: (1) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (2) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to 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 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame). If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to vote any founder shares and public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 6,562,501, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the option to purchase additional units is not exercised), or none (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum, being one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares entitled to vote at the meeting, are voted and the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is not exercised), of the 17,500,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have such initial business combination approved; |
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| | • the founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described in more detail below; and |
| | • the founder shares are entitled to registration rights. |
Transfer restrictions on founder shares | | Except as described herein, pursuant to a letter agreement entered into with us, our initial shareholders, directors and officers 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; and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 120 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up.
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Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights | | We have 5,031,250 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, issued and outstanding. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which the Class B ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such anti-dilution adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of all ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the completion of this offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in our initial business combination. The term “equity-linked securities” refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for our Class A ordinary shares issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including, but not limited to, a private placement of equity or debt.
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Appointment of directors; Voting rights | | Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by the holders of at least 90% of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in a general meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, 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.
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Private placement warrants | | Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 9,000,000 (or 10,050,000 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($9,000,000 in the aggregate or $10,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will adjust the number of private placement warrants purchased to account for the change in upfront underwriting discount to be paid upon the closing of this offering. |
| | Each private placement warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. For a portion of the purchase price, private placement warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants will not be redeemable by us. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. Our sponsor, as well as its permitted transferees, have the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. |
Transfer restrictions on private placement warrants | | The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.”
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Proceeds to be held in trust account | | Nasdaq listing rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the $184,000,000 in gross proceeds we will receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, or $211,300,000 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full, $178,500,000 ($10.20 per unit), or $202,275,000 ($10.20 per unit) if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full (including $6,125,000 (or $7,043,750 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions), will be deposited into a trust account located in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and $2 million will be used to pay expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following this offering. The funds in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries. |
| | 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: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to 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 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote described in clause (2) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares 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 shareholders. |
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Anticipated expenses and funding sources | | Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, no proceeds held in the trust account will be available for our use, except the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes or to redeem our public shares in connection with an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as described above. Based on current interest rates, we expect the trust account to generate approximately $89,250 of interest annually (assuming an interest rate of 0.05% per year). Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, we may pay our expenses only from:
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| | • the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account, which will be approximately $1,350,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $650,000 in expenses relating to this offering; and |
| | • any loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our team or any of their affiliates or other third parties, although they are under no obligation to loan funds to, or otherwise invest in, us; and provided that any such loans will not have any claim on the proceeds held in the trust account unless such proceeds are released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. |
Conditions to completing our initial business combination | | There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. Nasdaq listing rules require that an initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into our initial business combination. We refer to this as the 80% of fair market value test. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). Even though our board of directors will rely on generally accepted standards, our board of directors will have discretion to select the standards employed. In addition, the application of the standards generally involves a substantial degree of judgment. Accordingly, investors will be relying on the business judgment of the board of directors in evaluating the fair market value of the target or targets. The proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents used by us in connection with any proposed transaction will provide public shareholders with our analysis of our satisfaction of the 80% of fair market value test, as well as the basis for our determinations. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
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| | We will complete our initial business combination only if the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of fair market value test; provided that in the event that our initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses. |
Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities | |
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Any such price per share may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material non-public information), our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates are under no obligation or duty to do so and 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 public shares or warrants in such transactions. If our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates engage in such transactions, they will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. See “Proposed Business — Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to enter into private transactions with.
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| | 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; provided, 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 sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will be restricted from making any purchases if such purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. |
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Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination | |
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers 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 public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
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Manner of conducting redemptions | | We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (1) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination or (2) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder 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 shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would typically require shareholder approval. We intend to conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless shareholder approval is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons. |
| | If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association: |
| | • conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and |
| | • file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
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| | Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our ordinary shares 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 shareholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, 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 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination. |
| | If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other 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. |
| | We expect that a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such shareholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Although we are not required to do so, we currently intend to comply with the substantive and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any shareholder vote even if we are not able to maintain our Nasdaq listing or Exchange Act registration. |
| | If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. In such case, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, our initial shareholders have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. We expect that at the time of any shareholder vote relating to our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares entitled to vote thereon. Our directors and officers also have agreed to vote in favor of our initial business combination with respect to any public shares acquired by them. These voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public shareholder 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. |
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| | Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 following such redemptions. 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: (1) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (2) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (3) 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 public shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination. |
Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights | |
We may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their 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 initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve our initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, 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, rather than simply voting against the 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 whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares.
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Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold shareholder vote | |
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering, without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described above will discourage shareholders 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 sponsor or its affiliates to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its
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| | redemption rights against a business combination if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our sponsor or its affiliates at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with 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 shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those shareholders that hold more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering) for or against our initial business combination. |
Redemption rights in connection with proposed amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association | |
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of a majority of the holders of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting), including those related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the sale of private placement warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances), may be amended if approved by the holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our ordinary shares. Our initial shareholders, who will beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to 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 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers 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 public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
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Release of funds in trust account on closing of our initial business combination | |
On the completion of our initial business combination, all amounts held in the trust account will be disbursed directly by the trustee or released to us to pay amounts due to any public shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination,” to pay the underwriters their deferred underwriting commissions, to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination and to pay other expenses associated with our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, 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 the redemption of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of 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.
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Redemption of public shares and distribution and liquidation if no initial business combination | |
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we will have only 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such 18-month (or up to 24-month if our sponsor exercises its extension options) period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the 18-month (or up to 24-month if our sponsor exercises its extension options) time period.
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| | Our initial shareholders 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 their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial shareholders acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 18-month (or up to 24-month if our sponsor exercises its extension options) time frame. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission held in the trust account in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the allotted time frame 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. |
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| | Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to 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 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and 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 following such redemptions. |
Limited payments to insiders | | There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made by us to our sponsor, our team, our advisory board members or our or any of their affiliates for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, other than the following payments, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination: |
| | • repayment of an aggregate of up to $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses; |
| | • payment to our sponsor of a total of $15,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services; |
| | • payment of customary fees for financial advisory services; |
| | • reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination; and |
| | • repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers 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 $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. |
| | These payments may be funded using the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account or, upon completion of the initial business combination, from any amounts remaining from the proceeds of the trust account released to us in connection therewith. |
| | Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, directors or officers, or our or any of their affiliates. |
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Audit committee | | Prior to the effectiveness of this registration statement, we will have established and will maintain an audit committee to, among other things, 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 entitled “Management — Committees of the Board of Directors — Audit Committee.” |
Conflicts of interest | | Our team, in their capacities as directors, officers or employees of our sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our sponsor, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law and any other applicable fiduciary duties. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. For more information, see the section entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest.” |
| | Our directors and officers presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may need to honor these fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, or in the case of a non-compete restriction, may not present such opportunity to us at all, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our Chairman intends to devote a majority of his time to our affairs, however, none of our directors or officers are required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. |
| | We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our directors or officers will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to our Team and Their Respective Affiliates and to the Post-Business Combination Company — Certain of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.” |
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| | Our sponsor is managed by Craig E. Barnett, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Craig E. Barnett is the Chief Executive Officer of Meadow Lane. In addition, our sponsor is owned by Meadow Lane affiliates. As a result, Mr. Barnett and the Meadow Lane affiliates may exert a substantial influence on other actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including appointment of our directors, amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of major corporate transactions. If our sponsor purchases any Class A ordinary shares in this offering or in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence over such actions. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to our Team and Their Respective Affiliates and to the Post-Business Combination Company — Our sponsor is managed by Craig E. Barnett, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and is owned by entities controlled by him and associated with Meadow Lane. As a result, Mr. Barnett and the Meadow Lane affiliates may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, and their interests may differ from your interests.” We do not believe, however, that the duties and obligations of the Meadow Lane affiliates will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination. |
| | Meadow Lane may become aware of a potential business combination opportunity that may be an attractive opportunity for our company. However, Meadow Lane is not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial business combination or refer any such opportunities to our company or provide any other services to our company. Meadow Lane’s role with respect to our company is expected to be primarily passive and advisory in nature. Meadow Lane may have fiduciary and/or contractual duties to its investment vehicles and to companies in which Meadow Lane has invested. As a result, Meadow Lane may have a duty to offer business combination opportunities to certain other investment vehicles or other entities before other parties, including our company. Additionally, certain companies in which Meadow Lane has invested may enter into transactions with, provide goods or services to, or receive goods or services from an entity with which we seek to complete our initial business combination. Transactions of these types may present a conflict of interest because Meadow Lane may directly or indirectly receive a financial benefit as a result of such transaction. |
| | We believe that any such potential conflicts of interest of Meadow Lane will be naturally mitigated, in part, by the differing nature of targets that Meadow Lane typically considers most attractive for its investment activities, as compared to our activities related to pursuing an initial business combination. Meadow Lane’s investment activities typically involve investing in private companies, and while Meadow Lane may take a company public, it would typically invest in such an entity several years prior to an initial public offering, not at the time of the initial public offering. In contrast, the acquisition targets that we expect to find most attractive would generally have capital structures and existing business operations and infrastructure to go public immediately upon our acquisition. As a result, we may become aware of a potential transaction that is not a fit for the investment activities of Meadow Lane but that is an attractive opportunity for us. Notwithstanding our belief regarding natural mitigation, Meadow Lane may compete with us for acquisition opportunities that fall within Meadow Lane’s investment objectives or strategies. A decision by Meadow Lane to pursue an opportunity would preclude us from pursuing it and could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our partnering transaction. |
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| | Our advisory board members are not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial business combination or refer any such opportunities to our company or provide any other services for our company. Such advisors’ roles with respect to our company are expected to be primarily passive and advisory in nature. Our advisory board members may have fiduciary and/or contractual duties to certain companies but do not have any fiduciary obligations to our company. As a result, our advisory board members may have a duty to offer business combination opportunities to certain other companies before our company. Additionally, certain companies affiliated with our advisory board members may enter into transactions with, provide goods or services to, or receive goods or services from an entity with which we seek to complete our initial business combination. Transactions of these types may present a conflict of interest because our advisory board members may directly or indirectly receive a financial benefit as a result of such transaction. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to our Team and Their Respective Affiliates and to the Post-Business Combination Company — Our advisory board members are not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial business combination or refer any such opportunities to our company or provide any other services for our company.” |
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 registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of 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 and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations. |
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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 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 “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 entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 38 of this prospectus.
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 adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. Such risks include, but are not limited to:
• We are a newly 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.
• Past performance of Meadow Lane, our team and their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.
• Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.
• If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders 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 shareholder approval of such business combination.
• If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities.
• You will not be entitled to certain protections afforded to investors of some other blank check companies.
• 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 and/or warrants, potentially at a loss.
• 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 may depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search, to pay our taxes and to complete our initial business combination.
• The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the impact on businesses and debt and equity markets could have a material adverse effect on our search for an initial business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate an initial business combination.
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• If we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) of the closing of this offering, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) before redemption from our trust account.
• The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.
• The ability of our public shareholders 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 and may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
• We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm regarding fairness. Consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
• 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 may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public shareholders may receive only $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
• 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, directors or officers which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
• Since our initial shareholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
• Our directors and officers 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.
• Certain of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
• Our directors, officers, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
• The other risks and uncertainties discussed in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus.
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SUMMARY FINANCIAL DATA
The following table summarizes the relevant financial data for our business and should be read with our financial statements, which are included in this prospectus. We have not had any significant operations to date, so only balance sheet data is presented.
| | Actual | | As Adjusted |
Balance Sheet Data: | | | | | | | | |
Working (deficiency) capital(1) | | $ | (735,871 | ) | | $ | 173,716,015 | |
Total assets(2) | | $ | 728,386 | | | $ | 179,841,015 | |
Total liabilities(3) | | $ | 737,371 | | | $ | 6,125,000 | |
Value of ordinary shares subject to possible redemption(4) | | $ | — | | | $ | 178,500,000 | |
Shareholders’ equity (deficit) | | $ | (8,985 | ) | | $ | (4,783,985 | ) |
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(1) The “as adjusted” calculation includes $178,500,000 of cash held in trust from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private warrants, plus $1,350,000 of cash held outside the trust account, less $8,985 of actual shareholders’ equity on September 30, 2021, less $6,125,000 of deferred underwriting commissions.
(2) The “as adjusted” calculation equals $178,500,000 of cash held in trust from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private warrants, plus $1,350,000 in cash held outside the trust accounts less $8,985 of actual shareholders’ equity on September 30, 2021.
(3) The “as adjusted” calculation equals $6,125,000 of deferred underwriting commissions, assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised.
(4) The “as adjusted” calculation equals the “as adjusted” total assets, less the “as adjusted” total liabilities, less the “as adjusted” shareholders’ equity.
If no business combination is completed within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable) will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares. Our sponsor, 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 their founder shares and public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within such 18-month (or up to 24-month if our sponsor exercises its extension options) time period.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Some statements contained in this prospectus are forward-looking in nature. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our 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. The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other assumptions include, but are not limited to, the following:
• our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses;
• our ability to complete our initial business combination;
• our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses;
• our expectations around the performance or projections of markets or industries;
• our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;
• our directors and officers allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with or otherwise conflicting contractual obligations in connection with our business or in approving or consummating our initial business combination;
• our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination;
• our pool of prospective target businesses and the industries;
• our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases);
• the ability of our directors and officers to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities;
• our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading;
• the lack of a market for our securities;
• the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance;
• the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; and
• our financial performance following this offering.
Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
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RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below and in the section above entitled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” 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 Search for, and Consummation of or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
We are a newly 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 newly incorporated company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands 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 fail to 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 no cash and a working capital deficit of $735,871. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Our plans to raise capital and to consummate our initial business combination may not be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this prospectus do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to consummate this offering or our inability to continue as a going concern.
Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.
We may not hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange rules or if we decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons. For instance, Nasdaq listing rules currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a shareholder meeting, but would still require us to obtain shareholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding shares to a target business as consideration in any business combination. Therefore, if we were structuring a business combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding shares, we would seek shareholder approval of such business combination. However, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders 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 shareholder approval. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares do not approve of the business combination we consummate. Please see the section entitled “Proposed Business — Effecting Our Initial Business Combination — Shareholders may not have the ability to approve our initial business combination” for additional information.
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If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Unlike some other blank check companies in which the initial shareholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public shareholders in connection with an initial business combination, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will be present if the one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares entitled to vote at the meeting are represented in person or by proxy. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers will count toward this quorum and, pursuant to the letter agreement, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to vote any founder shares and public shares held by them (including any shares purchased in this offering or in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 6,562,501, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the option to purchase additional units is not exercised), or none (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum, being one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares entitled to vote at the meeting, are voted and the option to purchase additional units is not exercised), of the 17,500,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have such initial business combination approved. Our directors and officers have also entered into the letter agreement, imposing similar obligations on them with respect to public shares acquired by them, if any. We expect that our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares at the time of any such shareholder vote. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary shareholder approval will be received than would be the case if such persons agreed to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public shareholders. The agreement by our initial shareholders, directors and officers to vote in favor of our initial business combination and our quorum threshold will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite shareholder 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 shareholder approval of such 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 any target businesses. Additionally, since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder approval. Accordingly, if we do not seek shareholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
The ability of our public shareholders 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 and may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
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 shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with a business combination and such amount of deferred underwriting discount is not available for us to use as consideration in an initial business combination. If we are able to consummate an initial business combination, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming shareholders will reflect our obligation to pay and the payment of the deferred underwriting commissions. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination.
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Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination (including, potentially, with the same target). Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public shareholders 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 shareholders may exercise their redemption rights and, therefore, we will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
The ability of our public shareholders 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 increases. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your 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 our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the end of the 18-month (or up to 24-month if our sponsor exercises its extension options) period. 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.
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the status of debt and equity markets.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced, which has and is continuing to spread throughout the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health
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emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak, and on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization classified the outbreak as a “pandemic.” The pandemic, together with resulting voluntary and U.S. federal and state and non-U.S. governmental actions, including, without limitation, mandatory business closures, public gathering limitations, restrictions on travel and quarantines, has meaningfully disrupted the global economy and markets. Although the long-term economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic is difficult to predict, it has and is expected to continue to have ongoing material adverse effects across many, if not all, aspects of the regional, national and global economy. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in, and a significant pandemic of other infectious diseases could result in, a widespread health crisis that has, and in the future could, materially adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we may consummate a business combination could be materially adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete an initial business combination if concerns relating to COVID-19 continue to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors, limit the ability to conduct due diligence or limit the ability of a potential target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for an initial business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of and perceptions to COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.
Finally, the outbreak of COVID-19 or other infectious diseases may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such as those related to the market for our securities and cross-border transactions.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public shareholders may receive only $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we must complete our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic continues both in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire.
If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.20 per share, or less than $10.20 per share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors herein.
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If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Any such price per share may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material non-public information), our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates are under no obligation or duty to do so and 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. See “Proposed Business — Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates will select which shareholders to enter into private transactions with. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of our initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of our 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. This 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 securities and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
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 have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on our redemption of their shares, 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. Additionally, the number of blank check companies looking for business combination targets has increased compared to recent years and many of these blank check companies are sponsored by entities or persons that have significant experience with completing business combinations. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, in the event we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we are obligated to pay cash for our Class A ordinary shares, it will potentially reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire
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worthless. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors herein.
If the funds not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) following the closing of this offering, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) following the closing of this offering, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering and potential loans from certain of our affiliates are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” However, our affiliates are not obligated to make loans to us in the future, and we may not be able to raise additional financing from unaffiliated parties necessary to fund our expenses. Any such event in the future may negatively impact the analysis regarding our ability to continue as a going concern at such time.
We believe that, upon the closing of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) following the closing of this offering; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent 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 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 have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors herein.
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 may depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search, to pay our taxes and to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, only approximately $1,350,000 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 $650,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $650,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our team nor any of their respective affiliates is under any obligation to loan funds to, or otherwise invest in, us in such circumstances. Any such loans may be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors herein.
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Changes in laws or regulations or how such laws or regulations are interpreted or applied, or a failure to comply with any laws or regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
We are and will be 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, our business combination may be contingent on our ability to comply with certain laws and regulations and any post-business combination company may be subject to additional laws and regulations. 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, including as a result of changes in economic, political, social and government policies, and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, 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 are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
• restrictions on the nature of our investments; and
• restrictions on the issuance of securities;
each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
• registration as an investment company with the SEC;
• adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and
• reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that we are currently not subject to.
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. The proceeds held in the trust account may be invested by the trustee only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Because the investment of the proceeds will be restricted to these instruments, we believe we will meet the requirements for the exemption provided in Rule 3a-1 promulgated under the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
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,
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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.
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 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.
We may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering, which may include acting as M&A advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that will be released from the trust account only upon a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause them 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 one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing M&A advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing transactions. We may pay such underwriter or its affiliate 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 any of the underwriters or their respective affiliates and no fees or other compensation for such services will be paid to any of the underwriters or their respective affiliates prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of this prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with this offering. The underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. The underwriters’ or their respective affiliates’ financial interests tied to the consummation of a business combination transaction may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
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We may face risks related to companies in the healthcare industry.
Business combinations with businesses in the healthcare industry entail special considerations and risks. If we are successful in completing a business combination with a target business in the healthcare industry, we will be subject to, and possibly adversely affected by, the following risks:
• Competition could reduce profit margins.
• Our inability to comply with governmental regulations affecting the healthcare industry could negatively affect our operations. An inability to license or enforce intellectual property rights on which our business may depend.
• The success of our planned business following consummation of our initial business combination may depend on maintaining a well-secured business and technology infrastructure.
• If we are required to obtain governmental approval of our products, the production of our products could be delayed and we could be required to engage in a lengthy and expensive approval process that may not ultimately be successful.
• Changes in the healthcare related wellness industry and markets for such products affecting our customers or retailing practices could negatively impact customer relationships and our results of operations.
• The healthcare industry is susceptible to significant liability exposure.
• If liability claims are brought against us following a business combination, it could materially adversely affect our operations.
• Dependence of our operations upon third-party suppliers, manufacturers or contractors whose failure to perform adequately could disrupt our business. A disruption in supply could adversely impact our business.
Any of the foregoing could have a materially adverse effect on our operations following a business combination. However, our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses will not be limited to the healthcare sector. Accordingly, if we acquire a target business in another industry, the risks will likely not affect us and we will be subject to other risks attendant with the specific industry in which we operate or target business which we acquire, which may or may not be different than those risks listed above.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
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Risks Relating to our Securities and Trust Account
If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the tender offer documents or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See “Proposed Business — Effecting Our Initial Business Combination — Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights.”
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares and/or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to 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 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote described in clause (2) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or 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 and/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 intend to have our units listed on Nasdaq on or promptly after the date of this prospectus and our Class A ordinary shares and warrants listed on or promptly after their date of separation. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the Nasdaq listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. In general, we must maintain a minimum amount in shareholders’ equity and a minimum of 400 round lot 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 share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, our shareholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $15 million and we would be required to have a minimum of 400 round lot holders of our unrestricted securities (with at least 50% of such round-lot holders holding unrestricted securities with a market value of at least $2,500). We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
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If Nasdaq delists any of our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect such securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
• a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
• reduced liquidity for our securities;
• a determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;
• a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and
• a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because we expect that our units and eventually our Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq, our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants will qualify as covered securities under such statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of covered securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under such statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
You will not be entitled to certain protections afforded to investors of some other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the U.S. securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the successful completion of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet of the company demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. In accordance with the SEC’s penny stock rules, we will calculate net tangible assets as total assets less intangible assets and liabilities. We expect our net tangible assets following this offering to exceed $5,000,001, as our total assets will primarily consist of the $178,500,000 of proceeds in the trust account and our total liabilities will consist of deferred underwriting commissions and accrued offering costs and other payables. 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 “Proposed Business — Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.”
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess
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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.
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to subsequently take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present with a particular target business that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write down or write off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any shareholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.20 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 registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver only 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 we are unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.20 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors.
Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in
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the trust account to below (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of 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. Our sponsor may not have sufficient funds available to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations, and therefore, no funds are currently set aside to cover any such obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.20 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 directors or officers 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 shareholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in 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 shareholders may be reduced below $10.20 per share.
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 shareholders 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 pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business combination or make certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, our public shareholders 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 shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or insolvency laws as a voidable performance. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts
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received by our shareholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable insolvency law, and may be included in our liquidation estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any liquidation claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation would be reduced.
If we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) of the closing of this offering, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) before redemption from our trust account.
If we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, we will distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), pro rata to our public shareholders by way of redemption and cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up of our affairs, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account shall be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Act. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond the initial 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless, prior thereto, we consummate our initial business combination or amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and then only in cases where investors have properly sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period and do not amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior thereto.
Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offense and may be liable for a fine of up to approximately $18,300 and to imprisonment for up to five years in the Cayman Islands.
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We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination. Our public shareholders will not have the right to elect or remove directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or extraordinary general meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to discuss company affairs with management. In addition, as holders of our Class A ordinary shares, our public shareholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors prior to consummation of our initial business combination. In addition, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.
The warrants may become exercisable and redeemable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares, 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 of a business combination, the warrants may become exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares. 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 as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days, after the closing of our initial business combination.
You will not be permitted to exercise your warrants unless we register and qualify the underlying Class A ordinary shares or certain exemptions are available.
If the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, holders of warrants will not be entitled to exercise such warrants and such warrants may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A ordinary shares included in the units.
We are registering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants in the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part because the warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, which may be within one year of this offering. However, because the warrants will be exercisable until their expiration date of up to five years after the completion of our initial business combination, in order to comply with the requirements of Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act following the consummation of our initial business combination, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 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 covering the registration under the Securities Act of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following our initial business combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order.
If the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, under the terms of the warrant agreement, holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do so for cash and, instead, will be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption.
In no event will warrants be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration or qualification is available.
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If our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, not permit holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants to do so for cash and, instead, require them to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act; in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement or register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities (other than upon a cashless exercise as described above) or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under the Securities Act or applicable state securities law.
The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into on or prior to the closing of this offering, at or after the time of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of their founder shares after those shares convert to our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, our sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares 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 ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares that is expected when the ordinary shares owned by our initial shareholders or their permitted transferees, our private placement warrants or warrants issued in connection with working capital loans are registered for resale.
We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes the issuance of up to 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 5,000,000 undesignated preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 475,000,000 and 43,750,000 (assuming in each case that the underwriters have not exercised their option to purchase additional units) authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance, which amount takes into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants but not upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares. Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein. Immediately after this offering, there will be no preference shares issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares, and may issue preference shares, in order to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares to redeem the warrants upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that
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prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional ordinary shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares on any initial business combination. The issuance of additional ordinary shares or preference shares:
• may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares;
• may subordinate the rights of holders of ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our ordinary shares;
• could cause a change of control if a substantial number of our ordinary shares 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 directors and officers;
• may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;
• may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, ordinary shares and/or warrants; and
• may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants.
Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.005 per founder share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution upon the purchase of our Class A ordinary shares.
The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the ordinary shares and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our sponsor acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon the closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public shareholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 93.30% (or $9.33 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $0.67 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the founder shares result in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the founder shares at the time of our initial business combination and would become exacerbated to the extent that public shareholders seek redemptions from the trust. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A ordinary shares.
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Risks Related to our Team and Their Respective Affiliates and to the Post-Business Combination Company
Because we are not limited to a particular industry or any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
We may seek to complete a business combination with an operating company of any size (subject to our satisfaction of the 80% of fair market value test) and in any industry, sector or geography. However, we will not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or development stage entity. Although our directors and officers 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 not ultimately prove to be less favorable to our investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any shareholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Past performance of Meadow Lane, our team and their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.
Information regarding performance by Meadow Lane, our team and their respective affiliates is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance of Meadow Lane, our team and their respective affiliates is not a guarantee either (1) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (2) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of Meadow Lane, our team or their respective affiliates or any related investment’s performance as indicative of our future performance of an investment in the company or the returns the company will, or is likely to, generate going forward.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these criteria and guidelines, such initial business combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
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We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our directors and officers will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm regarding fairness. Consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
We are dependent upon our directors and officers and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our directors and officers, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our Chairman intends to devote a majority of his time to our affairs, however, none of our directors or officers are required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of our or a target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we 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 directors and officers of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
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Since our sponsor, our team and our advisory board members will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire during or after this offering), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On April 3, 2021, our sponsor purchased an aggregate 7,187,500 founder shares for a total purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. In November 2021, our sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 2,156,250 founder shares for no consideration, thereby reducing the aggregate number of founder shares outstanding to 5,031,250, resulting in an effective purchase price paid for the founder shares of approximately $0.005 per share. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of this offering would be a maximum of 20,125,000 units if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full, and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering. Up to 656,250 of the founder shares will be forfeited by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 9,000,000 private placement warrants (or up to 10,050,000 warrants if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full), each exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $9,000,000 (or up to $10,050,000 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full), or $1.00 per warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of our executive officers, directors and advisory board members may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 18-month (or up to 24-month if our sponsor exercises its extension options) anniversary of the closing of this offering nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination.
Members of our team may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Members of our team may be able to remain with the company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of our initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of the members of our team or advisory board will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any members of our team will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any members of our team will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
We may have limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any shareholder or warrant holder who
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chooses to remain a shareholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
The directors and officers of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
Our team 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 Chairman intends to devote a majority of his time to our affairs, however, none of our directors or officers are 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. Our officers may be engaged in other business endeavors for which they may be entitled to substantial compensation and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Certain of our independent directors also serve as officers or board members for other entities. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs, which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “Management and Advisors — Directors, Director Nominees and Officers.”
Certain of our directors, officers and advisory board members are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of this offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor, our team and our advisory board members are, or may in the future become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in a similar business. Our officers, directors and members of our advisory board have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer, director or strategic advisor of, any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act without our prior written consent, which will not be unreasonably withheld.
Our team and our advisory board members also may become aware of business opportunities that may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to other entities prior to its presentation to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see “Management and Advisors — Directors, Director Nominees and Officers,” “Management and Advisors — Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
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Our directors, officers, advisory board members, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, advisory board members, 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 officers, although we do not intend to do so. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
In particular, affiliates of our sponsor have invested in a diverse set of industries. As a result, there may be substantial overlap between companies that would be a suitable business combination for us and companies that would make an attractive target for such other affiliates.
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, directors or officers which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, directors and officers with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, directors and officers. Certain of our directors and officers also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including those described under “Management and Advisors — Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, directors and officers are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no preliminary discussions concerning 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 and guidelines for a business combination as set forth in “Proposed Business — Effecting Our Initial Business Combination — 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 that we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Meadow Lane is not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial business combination or refer any such opportunities to our company or provide any other services to our company.
Meadow Lane may become aware of a potential business combination opportunity that may be an attractive opportunity for our company. However, Meadow Lane is not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial business combination or refer any such opportunities to our company or provide any other services to our company. Employees of Meadow Lane may have fiduciary and/or contractual duties to other companies in which Meadow Lane or its affiliates have invested. As a result, employees of Meadow Lane may have a duty to offer business combination opportunities to Meadow Lane, other investment vehicles or other entities before other parties, including our company. Additionally, other companies in which Meadow Lane may have invested may enter into transactions with, provide goods or services to, or receive goods or services from an entity with which we seek to complete our initial business combination. Transactions of these types may present a conflict of interest because Meadow Lane may directly or indirectly receive a financial benefit as a result of such transaction.
We believe that any such potential conflicts of interest of Meadow Lane will be naturally mitigated, in part, by the differing nature of targets that Meadow Lane typically considers most attractive for its investment activities, as compared to our activities related to pursuing an initial business combination. Meadow Lane’s investment activities typically involve investing in private companies, and while Meadow Lane may take a company public, it would typically invest in such an entity several years prior to an initial public offering, not at the time of the initial public offering. In contrast, the acquisition targets that we expect to find most attractive would generally have capital structures and existing business operations and infrastructure to go public immediately upon our acquisition.
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As a result, we may become aware of a potential transaction that is not a fit for the investment activities of Meadow Lane but that is an attractive opportunity for us. Notwithstanding our belief regarding natural mitigation, Meadow Lane may compete with us for acquisition opportunities that fall within Meadow Lane’s investment objectives or strategies. A decision by Meadow Lane to pursue an opportunity would preclude us from pursuing it and could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our partnering transaction.
For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see “Management and Advisors — Directors, Director Nominees and Officers,” “Management and Advisors — Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Since our initial shareholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On April 3, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in exchange for an aggregate of 7,187,500 founder shares. In November 2021, our sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 2,156,250 founder shares for no consideration, thereby reducing the aggregate number of founder shares outstanding to 5,031,250, resulting in an effective purchase price paid for the founder shares of approximately $0.005 per share. Our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination.
In addition, our sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 9,000,000 (or 10,050,000 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) private placement warrants, each exercisable for one Class A ordinary share, for a purchase price of $9,000,000 in the aggregate (or $10,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full), or $1.00 per warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete a business combination. Each private placement warrant may be exercised for one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein.
The founder shares are identical to the ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering except that: (1) prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason; (2) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions contained in a letter agreement that our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into with us; (3) pursuant to such letter agreement, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to waive: (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to 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 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame); (4) the founder shares will automatically convert into our Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described in more detail below; and (5) the founder shares are entitled to registration rights directors and officers. If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders have agreed
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(and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination.
The personal and financial interests of our sponsor, directors and officers may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 18-month (or up to 24-month if our sponsor exercises its extension options) anniversary following the closing of this offering nears, which is the deadline for the completion of our initial business combination. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to or waiver of the letter agreement or registration rights agreement prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgement and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to or waivers of such agreements in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Any such amendments or waivers would not require approval from our shareholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
We may be able to complete only one business combination with the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
The net proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will provide us with $175,000,000 (or $201,250,000 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) that we may use to complete our initial business combination (which includes $6,125,000 (or $7,043,750 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account, and excludes estimated offering expenses of $650,000).
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
• solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or
• dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will complete such business combination only if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial business combination
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may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new ordinary shares in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target, or issue a substantial number of new shares to third parties in connection with financing our initial business combination. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business.
Our initial shareholders will control the appointment of our board of directors until consummation of our initial business combination and will hold a substantial interest in us. As a result, they will appoint all of our directors prior to our initial business combination and may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon the closing of this offering, our initial shareholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of the founder shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and may remove members of the board of directors for any reason. Holders of our public shares will have no right to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by the holders of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. As a result, you will not have any influence over the appointment of directors prior to our initial business combination.
Neither our initial shareholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our directors or officers, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this prospectus. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, as a result of their substantial ownership in our company, our initial shareholders may exert a substantial influence on other actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial shareholders purchase any Class A ordinary shares in this offering or in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence over these actions.
Accordingly, our initial shareholders will exert significant influence over actions requiring a shareholder vote at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
Our sponsor is managed by Craig E. Barnett, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and is owned by entities controlled by him and associated with Meadow Lane. As a result, Mr. Barnett and the Meadow Lane affiliates may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, and their interests may differ from your interests.
Our sponsor is managed by Craig E. Barnett, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Craig E. Barnett is the Chief Executive Officer of Meadow Lane. In addition, our sponsor is owned by Meadow Lane affiliates. As a result, Mr. Barnett and the Meadow Lane affiliates may exert a substantial influence on other actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including appointment of our directors, amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of major corporate transactions. If our sponsor purchases any Class A ordinary shares in this offering or in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence over such actions. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor.
The interests of Craig E. Barnett and the Meadow Lane affiliates may differ from or be opposed to the interests of other shareholders. The Meadow Lane affiliates engage in a variety of businesses, including, but not limited to, business and inventory liquidations, apparel companies and real estate investments. Opportunities may
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arise in the area of potential competitive business activities that may be attractive to the Meadow Lane affiliates and us. The Meadow Lane affiliates are under no obligation to communicate or offer any corporate opportunity to us. In addition, the Meadow Lane affiliates have the right to engage in similar activities as us, do business with our suppliers and customers, and, except as limited by agreement, employ or otherwise engage any of our officers or employees.
General Risk Factors
We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of this prospectus captioned “Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Federal Income Taxation — U.S. Holders”) of our ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend upon the status of an acquired company pursuant to a business combination and whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception (see the section of this prospectus captioned “Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Federal Income Taxation — U.S. Holders — Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules”). Depending on the particular circumstances, the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, moreover, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may require, including a PFIC Annual Information Statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would likely be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. Holders to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules to holders of our ordinary shares and warrants. For a more detailed explanation of the tax consequences of PFIC classification to U.S. Holders, see “Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Federal Income Taxation — U.S. Holders — Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”
Our initial business combination or reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders and warrant holders.
We may, subject to requisite shareholder approval by special resolution under the Companies Act, effect a business combination with a target company in another jurisdiction, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located, or reincorporate in another jurisdiction. Such transactions may result in tax liability for a shareholder or warrant holder in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder is a tax resident (or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity), in which the target company is located, or in which we reincorporate. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrant holders to pay such taxes. Shareholders or warrant holders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following this offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
• default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
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• 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 ordinary shares;
• using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
• limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
• increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and
• limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete a business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association do not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all public shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires at least a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law. A resolution is deemed to be a special resolution as a matter of Cayman Islands law where it has been approved by either (1) holders of at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s ordinary shares at a general meeting for which
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notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given or (2) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that special resolutions must be approved either by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law) (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of the holders of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then issued and outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments, including the warrant agreement, or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination. 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.
Our letter agreement with our initial shareholders, directors and officers and registration rights agreement may be amended, and provisions therein may be waived, without shareholder approval.
Our letter agreement with our initial shareholders, directors and officers contain provisions relating to transfer restrictions of our founder shares and private placement warrants, indemnification of the trust account, waiver of redemption rights and participation in liquidating distributions from the trust account. The letter agreement and the registration rights agreement may be amended, and provisions therein may be waived, without shareholder approval (although releasing the parties from the restriction contained in the letter agreement not to transfer any units, warrants, Class A ordinary shares or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, Class A ordinary shares for 180 days following the date of this prospectus will require the prior written consent of Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC). While we do not expect our board to approve any amendment to or waiver of the letter agreement or registration rights agreement prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to or waivers of such agreements. Any such amendments or waivers would not require approval from our shareholders and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
Certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions, including those related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the sale of private placement warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances), may be amended if approved by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in a general meeting, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our ordinary shares (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of the holders of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting). Our initial shareholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Our ability to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business combination behavior may increase our ability to complete our initial business combination with which you do not agree. In certain circumstances, our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
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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.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any 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 shareholders 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. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate.
In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our directors, officers or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that (a) the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correcting any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in this prospectus, or defective provision, (ii) removing or reducing our ability to redeem the public warrants, or (iii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants, (b) the warrant agreement may be amended by the parties thereto with the vote or written consent of the registered holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants and private placement warrants, voting together as a single class, to allow for the warrants to be or continue to be, as applicable, classified as equity in the company’s financial statements, and (c) all other modifications or amendments, including any modification or amendment to increase the warrant price or shorten the exercise period, (i) with respect to the terms of the public warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the public warrants, requires the vote or written consent of the registered holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants and (ii) with respect to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants requires the vote or written consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding private placement warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
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A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike some blank check companies, if
(i) we issue additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per ordinary share;
(ii) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the 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 described below under “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share 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. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
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 district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants 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 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 (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 (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 and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
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We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant if, among other things, the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares 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 — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within any 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the public warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to: (1) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so; (2) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants; or (3) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us.
Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We will be issuing warrants to purchase 8,333,333 Class A ordinary shares (or up to 10,062,500 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full), at a price of $11.50 per whole share (subject to adjustment as provided herein), as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing in a private placement an aggregate of 9,000,000 (or 10,050,000 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. Our initial shareholders currently hold 5,031,250 Class B ordinary shares (up to 656,250 of which are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised). The Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers make any working capital loans, up to $2,000,000 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. To the extent we issue Class A ordinary shares to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants or conversion rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the business combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering except that, (1) the private placement warrants will not be redeemable by us; (2) the private placement warrants (and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) may be subject to certain transfer restrictions contained in the letter agreement by and among the company, the sponsor and any other parties thereto, as amended from time to time; (3) the private placement warrants may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) the holders of private placement warrants (including the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants) are entitled to registration rights.
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 some 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 warrants will trade. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one whole warrant to purchase one 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
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a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for a third of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if they included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
The determination of the offering price of our units and the size of this offering is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.
Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriters. In determining the size of this offering, management held customary organizational meetings with representatives of the underwriters, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of this offering, prices and terms of the units, including the Class A ordinary shares and warrants underlying the units, include:
• the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies;
• prior offerings of those companies;
• our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values;
• a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions;
• our capital structure;
• an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies;
• general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and
• other factors as were deemed relevant.
Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.
There is currently no market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
There is currently no market for our securities. Shareholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following this offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States),
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or PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of any second quarter of a fiscal year, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the end of such fiscal year. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending 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
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our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.
Our corporate affairs will be governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States.
The courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (1) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (2) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.
Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A ordinary shares and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include two-year director terms and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference shares, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
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Members of our team and companies affiliated thereof have been, and may from time to time be, involved in legal proceedings or governmental investigations unrelated to our business.
Members of our team have been involved in a wide variety of businesses. Such involvement has, and may lead to, media coverage and public awareness. As a result of such involvement, members of our team and companies affiliated thereof have been, and may from time to time be, involved in legal proceedings or governmental investigations unrelated to our business. Any such proceedings or investigations may be detrimental to our or their reputation or result in other negative consequences or damages, which could negatively affect our ability to identify and complete an initial business combination and may have an adverse effect on the price of our securities.
Our advisory board members are not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial business combination or refer any such opportunities to our company or provide any other services for our company.
Our advisory board members are not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial business combination or refer any such opportunities to our company or provide any other services for our company. Such advisors’ roles with respect to our company is expected to be primarily passive and advisory in nature. Our advisory board members may have fiduciary and/or contractual duties to certain companies but do not have any fiduciary obligations to our company. As a result, our advisory board members may have a duty to offer business combination opportunities to certain other companies before our company. Additionally, certain companies affiliated with our advisory board members may enter into transactions with, provide goods or services to, or receive goods or services from an entity with which we seek to complete our initial business combination. Transactions of these types may present a conflict of interest because our sponsors’ advisors may directly or indirectly receive a financial benefit as a result of such transaction.
After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all or substantially all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all or substantially all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.
If our team pursues a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If our team pursues a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign market, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
• costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets;
• rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;
• complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;
• laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;
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• tariffs and trade barriers;
• regulations related to customs and import/export matters;
• longer payment cycles;
• tax consequences, such as tax law changes, including termination or reduction of tax and other incentives that the applicable government provides to domestic companies, and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;
• currency fluctuations and exchange controls;
• rates of inflation;
• challenges in collecting accounts receivable;
• cultural and language differences;
• employment regulations;
• crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars;
• deterioration of political relations with the United States;
• obligatory military service by personnel; and
• government appropriation of assets.
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination or, if we complete such initial business combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
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 target is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination target, 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 target. 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 holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial business combination, any or all of our management could resign from their positions as officers of the company, and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination could remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with U.S. securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
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After our initial business combination, our results of operations and prospects could be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political, social and government policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.
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USE OF PROCEEDS
We are offering 17,500,000 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 Exercise of Option to Purchase Additional Units | | With Full Exercise of Option to Purchase Additional Units |
Gross proceeds | | | | | | | | |
Gross proceeds from units offered to public(1) | | $ | 175,000,000 | | | $ | 201,250,000 | |
Gross proceeds from private placement warrants offered in the private placement | | | 9,000,000 | | | | 10,050,000 | |
Total gross proceeds | | $ | 184,000,000 | | | $ | 211,300,000 | |
Estimated offering expenses(2) | | | | | | | | |
Underwriting commissions (excluding deferred portion)(3) | | $ | 3,500,000 | | | $ | 4,025,000 | |
Legal fees and expenses | | | 350,000 | | | | 350,000 | |
Accounting fees and expenses | | | 75,000 | | | | 75,000 | |
Printing expenses | | | 25,000 | | | | 25,000 | |
SEC expenses | | | 29,383 | | | | 29,383 | |
FINRA expenses | | | 60,157 | | | | 60,157 | |
Nasdaq listing fees | | | 75,000 | | | | 75,000 | |
Miscellaneous expenses(5) | | | 35,460 | | | | 35,460 | |
Total estimated offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) | | $ | 650,000 | | | $ | 650,000 | |
Proceeds after estimated offering expenses | | $ | 179,850,000 | | | $ | 206,625,000 | |
Held in trust account(3) | | $ | 178,500,000 | | | $ | 205,275,000 | |
% of public offering size | | | 102 | % | | | 102 | % |
Not held in trust account(2) | | $ | 1,350,000 | | | $ | 1,350,000 | |
The following table shows the use of the approximately $1,350,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account(6).
| | Amount | | % of Total |
Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses in connection with any business combination(7) | | $ | 350,000 | | 25.93 | % |
Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations | | | 150,000 | | 11.11 | % |
Payment for office space, administrative and support services(8) | | | 270,000 | | 20.00 | % |
Nasdaq continued exchange listing fees | | | 58,000 | | 4.30 | % |
Directors and officers insurance premiums(4) | | | 450,000 | | 33.33 | % |
Other miscellaneous expenses | | | 72,000 | | 5.33 | % |
Total | | $ | 1,350,000 | | 100.00 | % |
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(1) Includes amounts payable to public shareholders 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 $300,000 as described in this prospectus. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $1,350,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) and amounts not held in the trust account. As of September 30, 2021, there was $102,802 outstanding under the promissory note. These expenses are estimates only. In the event that offering expenses are less than as 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 underwriters have agreed to defer underwriting commissions equal to 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering. Upon completion of our initial business combination, $6,125,000, which constitutes the underwriters’ deferred commissions (or $7,043,750 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) will be paid to the underwriters from the funds held in the trust account, and the remaining funds, less amounts used to pay redeeming
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shareholders, will be released to us and can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial business combination occurs or for general corporate purposes, including payment of principal or interest on indebtedness incurred in connection with our initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other companies or for working capital. The underwriters will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions.
(4) This amount represents the approximate amount of director and officer liability insurance premiums we anticipate paying following the completion of this offering and until we complete a business combination.
(5) Includes organizational and administrative expenses and may include amounts related to above-listed expenses in the event actual amounts exceed estimates.
(6) 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 a business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify an acquisition 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. Based on current interest rates, we estimate that the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $89,250 per year; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. This estimate assumes an interest rate of 0.05% per annum based on current yields of securities in which the trust account may be invested. 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 directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may 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 $2,000,000 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 issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor 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.
(7) 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.
(8) The amount represents applicable fees and expenses for two years following this offering.
Nasdaq listing rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $178,500,000 (or $201,250,000 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full), including $6,125,000 (or $7,043,750 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions, will, upon the consummation of this offering, be placed in a trust account located in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. The funds in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Based on current interest rates, we estimate that the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $89,250 per year, assuming an interest rate of 0.05% per year. We will not be permitted to withdraw any of the principal or interest held in the trust account except for the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes, if any. The funds held in the trust account will not otherwise be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to 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 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Based on current interest rates, we expect that interest earned on the trust account will be sufficient to pay taxes.
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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 and to pay the deferred underwriting commissions. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, 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 the redemption of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We believe that amounts not held in trust will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. This belief is based on the fact that while we may begin preliminary due diligence of a target business in connection with an indication of interest, we intend to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective business combination, only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of 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 team or any of their respective affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to loan funds to, or otherwise invest in, us.
We will enter into a support services agreement pursuant to which we will pay our sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office space, support and administrative services. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Support Services Agreement.” Upon the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021, and the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $2,000,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) and amounts not held in the trust account. As of September 30, 2021, we have borrowed $102,802 under the promissory note.
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 directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may 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 $2,000,000 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 issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may also purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Please see “Proposed Business — Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a description of how such persons will determine from which shareholders to seek to acquire shares. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. However, such persons have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are
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prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
We may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions and the agreement for our initial business combination may require as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights so that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement or any net worth or cash requirements, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination, and may instead search for an alternate business combination (including, potentially, with the same target).
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to 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 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote described in clause (2) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or 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.
Our initial shareholders, directors and officers 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 public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination or certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as described elsewhere in this prospectus. In addition, our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if our initial shareholders acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
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DIVIDEND POLICY
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of 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 at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any share dividends in the foreseeable future, except if we increase the size of this offering, in which case we will effect a capitalization or other appropriate mechanism immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation 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.
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DILUTION
The difference between the public offering price per Class A ordinary share, 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 ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of warrants, including the private placement warrants, which would cause the actual dilution to the public shareholders to be higher, particularly where a cashless exercise is utilized. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of Class A ordinary shares which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of issued and outstanding ordinary shares.
At September 30, 2021, our net tangible book deficit was $(735,871), or approximately $(0.17) per ordinary share. After giving effect to the sale of 17,500,000 Class A ordinary shares included in the units we are offering by this prospectus (or 20,125,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units 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 $5,000,001 or $0.94 per share (or $5,000,001 or $0.82 per share if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full), representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of 16,540,786 Class A ordinary shares, which is the maximum number of shares of Class A ordinary shares, that may be redeemed for cash to effect a business combination, that may be redeemed for cash, or 19,075,712 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) of $1.11 per share (or $0.97 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) to our initial shareholders as of the date of this prospectus and an immediate dilution to public shareholders from this offering of $10.00 per share. Total dilution to public shareholders from this offering will be $9.06 per share (or $9.18 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full).
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). Accordingly, we have calculated pro forma net tangible book value in the table below assuming that holders of approximately 94.52% 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.
The following table illustrates the dilution to the public shareholders on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units or the private placement warrants:
| | Without Exercise of Option to Purchase Additional Units | | With Full Exercise of Option to Purchase Additional Units |
Public offering price | | $ | 10.00 | | | $ | 10.00 | |
Net tangible book deficit before this offering | | $ | (0.17 | ) | | $ | (0.15 | ) |
Increase attributable to public shareholders | | $ | 1.11 | | | $ | 0.97 | |
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants | | $ | 0.94 | | | $ | 0.82 | |
Dilution to public shareholders | | $ | 9.06 | | | $ | 9.18 | |
Percentage of dilution to public shareholders | | | 90.60 | % | | | 91.80 | % |
For purposes of presentation, we have reduced our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units) by $168,716,013 because holders of up to approximately 94.52% 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 calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering.
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The following table sets forth information with respect to our initial shareholders and the public shareholders:
| | Shares Purchased | | Total Consideration | | Average Price Per Share |
| | Number | | Percentage | | Amount | | Percentage | |
Initial Shareholders(1)(2) | | 4,375,000 | | 20.0 | % | | $ | 25,000 | | 0.01 | % | | $ | 0.006 |
Public Shareholders | | 17,500,000 | | 80.0 | % | | $ | 175,000,000 | | 99.99 | % | | $ | 10.00 |
| | 21,875,000 | | 100.00 | % | | $ | 175,025,000 | | 100.00 | % | | | |
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(1) Assumes the full forfeiture of 656,250 shares that are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised.
(2) Assumes conversion of Class B ordinary shares into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis. The dilution to public shareholders would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B ordinary shares result in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon such conversion.
The pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering is calculated as follows, subject to assumption price above:
| | Without Exercise of Option to Purchase Additional Units | | With Full Exercise of Option to Purchase Additional Units |
Numerator: | | | | | | | | |
Net tangible book deficit before this offering | | $ | (735,871 | ) | | $ | (735,871 | ) |
Net proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement warrants(1) | | | 179,850,000 | | | | 206,625,000 | |
Plus: Offering costs paid in advance, excluded from tangible book value before this offering | | | 726,886 | | | | 726,886 | |
Less: Deferred underwriting commissions | | | (6,125,000 | ) | | | (7,043,750 | ) |
Less: Assumed maximum proceeds available for redemption to effect a business combination | | | (168,716,014 | ) | | | (194,572,264 | ) |
| | $ | 5,000,001 | | | $ | 5,000,001 | |
Denominator: | | | | | | | | |
Class B ordinary shares outstanding prior to this offering | | | 5,031,250 | | | | 5,031,250 | |
Class B ordinary shares forfeited if the option to purchase additional units is not exercised(2) | | | (656,250 | ) | | | — | |
Class A ordinary shares included in the units offered | | | 17,500,000 | | | | 20,125,000 | |
Less: Maximum shares that may be redeemed to effect a business combination | | | (16,540,786 | ) | | | (19,075,712 | ) |
| | | 5,334,214 | | | | 6,080,538 | |
____________
(1) Expenses applied against gross proceeds include offering expenses of $650,000 and underwriting commissions of $3,500,000 (or $4,025,000 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) (excluding deferred underwriting fees). See “Use of Proceeds.”
(2) Assumes that 656,250 founder shares are surrendered to us for no consideration.
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CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our capitalization at September 30, 2021, and as adjusted to give effect to the sale of our 17,500,000 units in this offering for $175,000,000 (or $10.00 per unit) and the sale of 9,000,000 private placement warrants for $9,000,000 (or $1.00 per warrant) and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities:
| | September 30, 2021 |
| | Actual | | As Adjusted(3) |
Note payable to related party(1) | | $ | 102,802 | | | $ | — | |
Deferred underwriting commissions | | | — | | | | 6,125,000 | |
Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption; -0- and 16,540,786 shares, actual and as adjusted, respectively(2) | | | — | | | | 158,704,703 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Shareholders’ equity: | | | | | | | | |
Preference shares, $0.0001 par value, 5,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted | | | — | | | | — | |
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 500,000,000 shares authorized; 0 shares issued and outstanding | | | — | | | | — | |
Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 50,000,000 shares authorized; 5,031,250 and 4,375,000 shares issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted, respectively(3) | | | 503 | | | | 437 | |
Additional paid-in capital(4) | | | 24,497 | | | | 15,044,860 | |
Accumulated deficit(5) | | | (33,985 | ) | | | (33,985 | ) |
Total shareholders’ equity | | $ | (8,985 | ) | | $ | 15,011,312 | |
Total capitalization | | $ | 93,817 | | | $ | 179,841,015 | |
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(1) Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of September 30, 2021, the company has borrowed $102,802 under the promissory note.
(2) Upon the completion of our initial business combination, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), subject to the limitations described herein whereby our net tangible assets will be maintained at a minimum of $5,000,001 following such redemptions, and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed business combination. The as adjusted amount is presented net of proceeds allocated to the public warrants and net of allocated transaction costs related to this offering. The Class A ordinary shares contain redemption rights that make them redeemable by our public shareholders. Accordingly, they are classified within temporary equity in accordance with the guidance provided in ASC 480-10-S99-3A, and will be subsequently accredited at redemption value.
(3) Assumes the full forfeiture of 656,250 shares that are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised. The proceeds of the sale of such shares will not be deposited into the trust account, the shares will not be eligible for redemption from the trust account nor will they be eligible to vote upon the initial business combination.
(4) The “as adjusted” additional paid-in capital includes the excess of proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants over their estimated fair value at issuance as a deemed capital contribution from our sponsor and the allocation of the fair value of the public warrants from the total proceeds of this offering.
(5) The “as adjusted” accumulated deficit includes the deficit incurred prior to this offering.
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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Overview
We are a newly incorporated blank check company, incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to a business combination with us. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our shares, debt or a combination of cash, shares and debt.
The issuance of additional ordinary shares or preference shares in a business combination:
• may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares;
• may subordinate the rights of holders of ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our ordinary shares;
• could cause a change of control if a substantial number of our ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present directors and officers;
• may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;
• may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, ordinary shares and/or warrants; and
• may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants. Similarly, if we issue debt or otherwise incur significant indebtedness, it could result in:
• default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
• acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;
• our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt 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 ordinary shares;
• using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
• limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
• increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and
• limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
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As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at September 30, 2021 we had no cash, a working capital deficit of $735,871 and deferred offering costs of $726,886. Further, we expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. 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 result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. We expect our expenses to increase substantially after the closing of this offering.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to the completion of this offering through $25,000 paid by the sponsor to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in exchange for the issuance of the founder shares to our sponsor and up to $300,000 in loans from our sponsor under an unsecured promissory note. As of September 30, 2021, we had borrowed $102,802 under the promissory note. We estimate that the net proceeds from (1) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $650,000 and underwriting commissions of $3,500,000 (or $4,025,000 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full), excluding deferred underwriting commissions of $6,125,000 (or $7,043,750 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full), and (2) the sale of the private placement warrants for a purchase price of $9,000,000 (or $10,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) will be $251,300,000 (or $288,800,000 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full). Of this amount, $178,500,000 or $201,250,000 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full, including $6,125,000 (or $7,043,750 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions will be deposited into the trust account. The funds in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries. The remaining $1,350,000 will not be held in the trust account. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $650,000 we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $650,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and excluding deferred underwriting commissions) to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay taxes, if any. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. We expect the interest earned on the amount in the trust account will be sufficient to pay our taxes. We expect the only taxes payable by us out of the funds in the trust account will be income and franchise taxes, if any. To the extent that our ordinary shares or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us $1,350,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account. 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, structure, negotiate and complete a business combination, and to pay taxes to the extent the interest earned on the trust account is not sufficient to pay our taxes.
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In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may 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 $2,000,000 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 issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor 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 in connection with any business combinations; $150,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $58,000 for continued exchange listing fees; $270,000 for office space, administrative and support services; $450,000 for directors and officers insurance premiums and approximately $72,000 for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves net of estimated 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 entered into an agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision would be determined based on the terms of the specific business combination and the amount of our available funds at the time. Our forfeiture of such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise) could result in our not having sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, prospective target businesses.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination.
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 reporting 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 qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we 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 has our independent registered public accounting firm tested our systems, of internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system
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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 expenses in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.
Once our management’s report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent registered public accounting firm to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The independent registered public accounting firm 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 bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. 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 April 3, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in exchange for the issuance of 7,187,500 founder shares to our sponsor, or approximately $0.004 per share. In November 2021, our sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 2,156,250 founder shares for no consideration, thereby reducing the aggregate number of founder shares outstanding to 5,031,250, resulting in an effective purchase price paid for the founder shares of approximately $0.005 per share. The purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. Our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Up to 656,250 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised.
We will enter into a support services agreement pursuant to which we will also pay our sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Our sponsor, directors and officers, 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 by us to our sponsor, directors, officers or our or any of their respective
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affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 and the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $650,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account. As of September 30, 2021, we have borrowed $102,802 under the promissory note.
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 directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may 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 $2,000,000 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 issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor 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 has committed to purchase an aggregate of 9,000,000 (or 10,050,000 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($9,000,000 in the aggregate or $10,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will adjust the number of private placement warrants purchased to account for the change in upfront underwriting discount to be paid upon the closing of this offering. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering except that: (1) the private placement warrants will not be redeemable by us; (2) the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants may be subject to certain transfer restrictions contained in the letter agreement by and among the company, the sponsor and any other parties thereto, as amended from time to time; (3) the private placement warrants may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) the holders of private placement warrants (including the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants) are entitled to registration rights.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement that we will enter into with our initial shareholders 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 provides that we will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement 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 “Principal Shareholders — Registration Rights.”
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 is included in this prospectus as we have conducted no operations to date.
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JOBS Act
On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things: (1) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; (2) 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; (3) 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 (4) disclose certain executive compensation-related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the Chief Executive Officer’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.
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PROPOSED BUSINESS
General
We are a newly organized blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.
We intend to focus our search for a target business in global consumer-focused industries, including companies that participate in the lifestyle, technology, healthcare and wellness sectors, but may also pursue an initial business combination of any business where we believe the expertise of our management team, our advisory board and our independent directors will provide us with a competitive advantage. We plan to evaluate businesses in high growth sectors with a substantial addressable market, which may be undergoing disruption as a result of technologies or data insights. We are particularly focused on companies that are involved with branded lifestyle, luxury, pet, nutritional and consumer categories. We are also focused on wellness services or products including those related to beauty and fitness and certain categories of healthcare, including technology-enabled services, pharmaceutical value chain, medical devices and equipment, diagnostics and digital and consumer health. These companies may market directly to consumers or through business-to-business distribution channels. We believe that substantial capital needs related to expansion and the adoption of new technologies to business processes, coupled with required ownership transitions in companies in our target sectors, will result in an active and attractive environment for acquisitions. Members of our sponsor are affiliated with Meadow Lane, originally established as an investment office for family members of our Chief Executive Officer.
We believe that the members of our team have proven themselves to be successful investors, owners, financiers and operators whose strategic skills and extensive network of global relationships will help us identify attractive potential business combination targets in order to pursue significant value creation opportunities. Members of our team have experienced considerable successes as investors in, and operators of, multiple globally successful and consumer-oriented companies. Our team’s collective abilities to establish a vision for the future and then acquire and/or operate and expand a global business, coupled with a disciplined investing framework, have resulted in over $10 billion in value creation to investors and stockholders. Our team has public company leadership experience across multiple market cycles as well as global transactional expertise, including with successful initial public offerings, in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Our record of successfully developing, acquiring and managing the long-term growth of a diverse group of businesses on a global basis, both organically and through acquisitions, is illustrated by our experiences with the following businesses:
• GUS, formerly a publicly traded London-based conglomerate that generated peak revenues of approximately $13 billion in the year immediately prior to the final separation of all of its operating businesses into separate publicly traded companies and was active globally in direct-to-consumer marketing and distribution, financial services, logistics, property, luxury goods and retailing and separated, via initial public offerings, into three separately traded entities:
• Experian, originally established by GUS as Commercial Credit (Nottingham) Limited, it became the largest credit service company in the UK and expanded organically and via $2.7 billion of acquisitions into its current position as the world’s leading information services company with a market value in excess of $34 billion in April 2021,
• Burberry Group plc, the iconic international luxury brand, originally acquired for a nominal amount by GUS and subsequently restructured and repositioned into a global leader with a market value in excess of $11 billion in April 2021, and
• Argos Retail Group, a digital retailing and omni-channel distribution pioneer, acquired for £1.9 billion by GUS, combined with other retailing and mail order divisions, and subsequently acquired by J. Sainsbury plc;
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• Shaklee Corporation, a worldwide direct seller of natural nutrition and green cleaning products with members and distributors in the United States, Japan, Mexico, Malaysia, Canada, Taiwan and China, established in 1956, acquired from a Japanese corporation in 2004, subsequently expanded in multiple geographies including China and currently privately held; and
• Arcade Beauty, a sampling solutions provider established in 1902, acquired from family owners, significantly expanded, subsequently sold and currently privately held.
Based on our experience with these and other companies, and as senior professionals in investment banking and private equity with global financial institutions, we have established ourselves as a trusted, management and founder-friendly counterparty with a history of success developing, acquiring, financing and operating businesses amidst a myriad of significant, cyclical, structural and economic challenges. We believe our experience resonates with management teams, business owners, investors and intermediaries involved with companies that are for sale and enhance our competitive positioning as a potential acquirer. We believe that our competitive positioning is further enhanced by our long-standing relationships with the leaders of global and regional financial institutions and large institutional investors in both the public and private markets.
We believe that there is a significant market opportunity in our target sectors. Over many years, we have observed global consumers as their tastes and desires and the distribution and marketing strategies used to connect with them have evolved. We believe that, on a global basis, the demographics of our target consumer are highly favorable and will be favorable for the foreseeable future. Today, digital engagement with consumers and innovation is paramount. Many companies are focused on using technology and data throughout their interactions with consumers to better deliver desired products and services. Technological innovations in marketing also provide an opportunity for companies to accelerate growth through targeted investments. In addition, we believe that many quality brands and products are under-resourced to compete in the current environment, and would benefit from investment with a global and long-term focus. As a result, we are confident that there are a substantial number of suitable acquisition opportunities. We further believe that there will be significant interest from management teams, owners and investors in our target sectors to engage with our team to achieve a public listing through a business combination with us.
Our team intends to identify businesses that we believe can benefit from our previous experiences and for which there is a clear and convincing vision for the future. We believe that there will be substantial transaction flow with many proprietary opportunities developed by our team and sourced from our unique network of relationships. Our objective is to create value for our shareholders by applying our strategy of identifying promising businesses and leveraging our operational and capital markets expertise to complete a business combination and accelerate future growth.
Past experience or performance of our team and our advisory board and their respective affiliates is not a guarantee of either (1) our ability to successfully identify and execute a transaction or (2) success with respect to any business combination that we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our team or our advisory board or their respective affiliates as indicative of future performance. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to our Team and Their Respective Affiliates and to the Post-Business Combination Company — Past performance of Meadow Lane, our team and their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.”
Our Management Team, Independent Directors and Advisory Board
Our management team and members of our advisory board have worked together extensively for more than 20 years investing in, financing and operating multiple businesses. In addition, over the past five years, our team has sourced, on behalf of Meadow Lane, over 500 potential investment opportunities from a global network of intermediaries, investors and operating executives, many of whom worked with our previous companies.
Our Management Team
Craig E. Barnett
Craig Barnett is our Chairman and our Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Barnett has been the Chief Executive Officer of Meadow Lane since 2014 and its associated broker-dealer and predecessor entities since inception and
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established and manages the global investment team. Mr. Barnett has over 35 years of experience in investment banking, private equity and corporate development and is responsible for Meadow Lane’s partnerships with financing and investment firms. Mr. Barnett has advised clients, pursued investments and overseen corporate development and finance activities with aggregate values exceeding $60 billion primarily in the consumer sectors of the global economy in the United States, Europe and Asia. In addition, Mr. Barnett has been highly active in corporate development, financing and acquisitions for GUS, Experian, Burberry, Argos, Arcade and Shaklee. Previously, Mr. Barnett was a senior executive in private equity and investment banking. He was a Managing Director with Blackstone, a Managing Director with The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. and a Managing Director with PJ Solomon. Earlier in his career, Mr. Barnett was a Vice President at Lehman Brothers, in London, Tokyo and New York. Mr. Barnett, a graduate of the Wharton School, is active in a number of charitable and community organizations.
Terry Duddy
Terry Duddy is our Vice Chairman and a member of our board of directors. Mr. Duddy has over 30 years of leadership experience with public companies and is a seasoned Chief Executive and digital commerce pioneer. Mr. Duddy has also worked with Meadow Lane principals for over 20 years. Mr. Duddy was a Director and member of the Executive Committee of GUS from 1998 to 2006, having joined as the Chief Executive Officer of Argos. Mr. Duddy was also responsible for the pan-European home shopping division of GUS that, though loss making, was eventually divested for over £800 million. Mr. Duddy was furthermore a member of the Board’s Demerger Committee that presided over the demerger process of GUS that included the successful IPOs of Burberry, Experian and Home Retail Group. As Chief Executive Officer of Argos and its successor independent entity, Home Retail Group, from 1998 to 2014, Mr. Duddy guided the business through both the extensive digital transformation of the industry as well as the downturn of 2009. Argos was the UK’s first multichannel retailer with its e-commerce site and home delivery service launching in 1999 with over 20,000 product lines and a considerable private label brand. Mr. Duddy managed a $2 billion supply chain sourced from China, incubated emerging products, created new marketing technologies including the now ubiquitous and innovative “Click & Collect” sale and mentored a new generation of managers now in industry leadership positions. Most recently, Mr. Duddy was first Senior Independent Director and then Interim Board Chairman of Debenhams plc, which he managed through administration, secured financing for a successful reorganization and recruited a new Board. Mr. Duddy has been a member of True Capital Management’s advisory board since 2014, is the Chairman of London Marathon Events Ltd and is or has been a non-executive director of a number of other companies including Hammerson plc and Majid Al Futtaim Properties LLC.
Martin F. Lewis
Martin Lewis is our Chief Financial Officer and one of our Managing Directors. Mr. Lewis has over 35 years of leadership experience in investment banking. He is the founder and Managing Principal, since 2014, of Gower Advisers, a financial advisory boutique in New York. He has also served as a Managing Principal of Meadow Lane since 2014. Previously, Mr. Lewis was a Managing Director with Greenhill, a founding member of Miller, Buckfire Lewis & Co (now Miller Buckfire), a Managing Director of Wasserstein Perella and a Managing Director of Blackstone. Mr. Lewis was also associated with Chemical Bank in London and New York and with NM Rothschild in London and Mexico. Mr. Lewis qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the UK and graduated with an M.A. from Oxford University.
Scott M. Napolitano
Scott Napolitano is one of our Managing Directors. Mr. Napolitano has over 20 years of experience in investment banking acting as strategic and capital advisor to companies and private equity firms, principally in the healthcare and consumer sectors, evaluating mergers, acquisitions and strategic and financing alternatives. Mr. Napolitano is Managing Member of Scott Michael Partners LLC, an advisory and investment firm he founded in 2020 with a focus on healthcare and technology. Prior to founding Scott Michael Partners LLC, Mr. Napolitano served as a Managing Director with Nomura Securities International from 2014 to 2020 where he was Head of MedTech Investment Banking and Healthcare M&A. Previously, he was a Managing Principal with Meadow Lane. Mr. Napolitano has also held senior investment banking positions with PJ Solomon, where he served as Managing Director and with The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., where he served as Vice President. Mr. Napolitano is a graduate of Columbia University.
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Our Independent Directors
James E. Lieber
James Lieber has more than 25 years of experience in the strategic management of complex international projects and situations for multi-national corporations, investment funds, organizations and high net-worth individuals in Europe and the United States. Mr. Lieber is Founder and President of Lieber Strategies, a consultancy based in Paris. Prior to founding Lieber Strategies in 2005, Mr. Lieber served from 1997 to 2004 as Director of Corporate Affairs at LVMH, working with its chairman, Bernard Arnault, and his executive committee on major strategic projects. Mr. Lieber directed LVMH’s strategy in several multibillion-dollar transactions and business conflicts and managed LVMH’s interests in international trade disputes and European competition clearance situations and other government relations matters. Before joining LVMH, Mr. Lieber practiced law with Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP, where he worked in New York on international securities offerings, privatizations and real estate transactions, and in Paris representing clients in cross-border acquisitions and joint ventures in the media, luxury goods and pharmaceuticals sectors. Mr. Lieber is a director of numerous companies, including LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc., DFS Group and Gabriel Resources Ltd., as well as of Stanhope Capital Group, a private wealth manager with offices in New York, London, Geneva and Paris. He is also a director of the French-American Foundation and a member of Panthera’s Conservation Council. Mr. Lieber is an attorney admitted to practice in the State of New York and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Lieber holds a Juris Doctor degree cum laude from Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, Illinois, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif, and a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, with honors in art history.
Mary C. Tanner will serve as our director upon the completion of this offering. Ms. Tanner has more than 30 years of leadership experience in investment banking and has served as a director on numerous private and public companies. Ms. Tanner is Senior Managing Director of ELSP, of which she is a co-founder. Ms. Tanner specializes in healthcare investment and strategic advisory work, including mergers and acquisitions, licensing, corporate minority strategic investments and fund raising. Ms. Tanner is also an active venture capital investor. Before founding ELSP with her husband and long-standing business partner, Frederick Frank, Ms. Tanner held leadership positions for over 20 years in investment banking at Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and PJ Solomon. Ms. Tanner has directed over 500 mergers and acquisitions, over 130 initial public offerings and hundreds of financings and is highly experienced in mergers involving spinoffs of public companies. Ms. Tanner has significant expertise in life sciences, traditional pharmaceutical industries and consumer healthcare. Advisory clients of Ms. Tanner have included Pfizer Inc., Block Drug, Amgen Inc., Rhône-Poulenc S.A., Marion Merrell Dow, Inc., BASF SE, Sanofi S.A., Revlon, Inc., Fabergé and L’Oréal S.A. Ms. Tanner was a 10-year member of the board of directors of Lineagen, Inc., a molecular diagnostic company, which was merged with Bionano Genomics, Inc. in 2021, and she was Chair of its Audit and Compliance Committee. As a member of the board of directors of Genticel, S.A., an immune oncology company in France, she assisted in merging the company with Genkyotex, a Swiss/French publicly listed company, in a cross-border transaction with Calliditas Therapeutics AB, a Swedish, Nasdaq-listed company. Previously, for a decade, she served on the board of directors of Evotec SE, a German company which is one of the largest companies in early stage contract research organization research. Ms. Tanner previously served on the board of directors of the consumer products company Block Drug prior to its sale to GlaxoSmithKline plc. Ms. Tanner received a B.A. magna cum laude from Harvard University. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Yale School of Management and is an advisor to the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale and the Yale Center for Biomedical Innovation and Technology.
Laura A. Weil
Laura Weil has over 25 years of corporate leadership experience. Ms. Weil has been an independent director of Carnival Corporation since 2007 and is a member of the audit, compliance and compensation committees. She is also an independent director of Global Fashion Group, SA since 2019. She previously served as a Director of Christopher & Banks Corporation. Ms. Weil is the Founder and has been the Managing Partner of Village Lane Advisory LLC, which specializes in providing executive and strategic consulting services to retailers as well as private equity firms, since 2015. Previously, Ms. Weil was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of New York & Company, Inc., the Chief Executive Officer of Ashley Stewart LLC, the Chief Executive Officer of Urban Brands, Inc., the Chief Operating Officer of AnnTaylor Stores Corporation, the Chief Financial Officer
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of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., and the Vice President Finance and CFO Credit Operations for Macy’s Inc. Ms. Weil was also a senior executive with investment banking firms including Oppenheimer and Lehman Brothers. Ms. Weil Received a B.A. in Art History and Government from Smith College and an MBA from Columbia University Business School.
Our Advisory Board
In addition to our management team and independent directors, we have assembled a distinguished advisory board of accomplished executives that we believe will help position us as a preferred operating partner for potential business combination targets. Our advisory board will expand our sourcing networks and will assist our management team with evaluating business opportunities. In addition, we believe our advisory board’s depth and breadth of experience will enable them to provide critical strategic advice to our eventual target, while best-positioning it for long-term success.
Victor J. Barnett
Victor Barnett has considerable experience as a successful investor in and leader of multiple global businesses. Mr. Barnett was a Director and member of the Executive Committee directing the affairs of GUS for over 20 years. Mr. Barnett also served as the Executive Chairman of Burberry and was the chief visionary for its operational reorganization and transformation. Mr. Barnett also led the global expansion, via $2.7 billion of acquisitions, of Experian. Mr. Barnett was previously a Director of Revlon and of various other private companies.
David C. Blatte
David Blatte has over 30 years of investment banking and private equity investing experience in the consumer and retail industry sectors. He is also a seasoned operating executive in the pet industry. He is the Chairman of Worldwise, Inc., one of the five largest pet accessory companies in the U.S., and was the Founder and CEO of Quaker Pet Group, one of Worldwise’s operating businesses. Mr. Blatte is a former Partner at Centre Partners, a former Partner at Catterton Partners, and a former Managing Director at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp. He holds a B.S. from the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania.
Noah Gottdiener
Noah Gottdiener has 35 years of corporate leadership and investment banking experience. Mr. Gottdiener is the Executive Chairman of Kroll, formerly Duff & Phelps Corp., and chairs Kroll’s board of directors. He served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board from 2004 to 2020. During that time, revenue increased from $30 million in 2004 to over $1 billion. Kroll has nearly 5,000 professionals in 30 countries and territories around the world. Mr. Gottdiener guided Kroll through a series of acquisitions, an initial public offering and a subsequent going private transaction. In April 2020, Mr. Gottdiener led Kroll through a $4.2 billion acquisition by a global investor consortium. Previously, Mr. Gottdiener was a Partner with Thomas Weisel Partners and Furman Selz LLC, and a Managing Director at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., where he began his career. Mr. Gottdiener is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and sits on the Board of Trustees of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). He is a member of the Black Rock Forest Consortium Leadership Council and on the Board of Directors of AZTherapies, Inc. He is a former member of the board of trustees of The Brearley School and the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.
Brandon Ralph
Brandon Ralph is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Unquantifiable, a marketing services consultancy. He has over 20 years of experience navigating consumer content distribution and consumption behavior as a creative leader in omni-channel content-concentric marketing strategies. Mr. Ralph is a Founder and, for seventeen years, was the Chief Creative Officer of Code and Theory, an independent digital first creative agency. At Code and Theory, Mr. Ralph led the creative teams for fashion, lifestyle, media, and entertainment brands for publishers, including Vice, NBC Olympics, The Huffington Post, Bloomberg, and The Verge. He has also been a trusted creative collaborator for Anna Wintour, Arianna Huffington, Tina Brown, David Carey and Tomas Maier. His unique ability to learn customer behaviors and amplify brands has afforded him the opportunity to deliver award-winning strategies across a broad spectrum of industries. Mr. Ralph’s clients have included Bottega Venetta, Hermes, Burger King and Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Mr. Ralph has also served as the Chief Experience Officer and Chief Creative officer of Equinox Fitness Holdings and as the Chief Creative Officer of NJOY.
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Carlos Rohm
Carlos Rohm has been Chief Executive Officer of LCA Capital, a family office with ties to Mexico, since 2007. Previously, Mr. Rohm was a Principal of JPMorgan Partners. Mr. Rohm has been a director of and is a member of the Operating Committee of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico. He is also a director of FIBRA Storage and Liv Capital Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company.
Ronald Stern
Ronald Stern is a highly experienced marketing and operations executive who has also been actively involved in evaluating and pursuing investment opportunities with Meadow Lane. Mr. Stern was the President and a long-time executive of SlimFast prior to its sale for $2.3 billion to Unilever PLC and subsequently served as a Consultant to Unilever. Mr. Stern is an active angel investor in emerging companies and advises a number of consumer-facing and health-oriented businesses.
Jonathan H. Weis
Jonathan Weis has over 30 years of corporate leadership experience. He has been the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Weis Markets, a leading regional supermarket chain with over 23,000 employees and 197 stores, since 2014 and has served in executive capacities with Weis Markets since 1989. Under the leadership of Mr. Weis, Weis Markets has expanded its operations significantly both organically and via acquisition and has maintained its market position in a highly competitive environment. Mr. Weis has also been responsible for establishing and implementing major strategic initiatives that reflect Weis Markets’ focus on understanding continuously evolving consumer perspectives, optimizing organizational issues with respect to human capital and operational capabilities and controlling, increasing and maximizing the considerable intellectual property associated with Weis Markets.
Our Business Strategy and Competitive Advantages
We intend to identify, acquire, and manage a high-quality business that can benefit from our global investment and management experience and capital markets expertise to drive ongoing value creation post-business combination in the public markets. We believe the sourcing, valuation, diligence and execution capabilities of our team will provide us with a significant pipeline of investment opportunities from which to evaluate and select a business that will benefit from our expertise.
We expect that our pipeline will be reflective of large numbers of companies owned by entrepreneurs, venture capital and other private investment funds that are seeking a liquidity event and augmented operating and marketing expertise. In addition, we believe our pipeline could include business combinations with multiple companies in similar industries that result in synergistic benefits. We also believe that large corporations will continue to divest attractive but under-resourced businesses, or the intellectual property associated with such businesses, that need repositioning and are in sectors and with business models that we understand.
We are confident in our reputation of being founder- and management-friendly and believe that our prior successes allow us to present a compelling set of competitive advantages and capabilities that enhance our efforts to complete a business combination:
• Demonstrated management track record. Our team has decades of experience building industry-leading companies that have delivered excellent stockholder value creation over an extended period as we have a history of owning, operating, and financing companies across all stages of the business lifecycle from emerging technology companies to growth-oriented businesses to established franchises. We have identified, developed and acquired multi-billion-dollar businesses that have grown significantly in value through both organic and inorganic strategies. We have also elevated our brands by employing innovative technologies, new marketing tactics, demographic targeting and modern distribution models.
• Differentiated sourcing network. Our team has owned and operated global businesses and has extensive operating and M&A transaction experience across the United States, Europe and Asia, and members of our team have a history of sourcing over 500 potential investment opportunities. Our deep relationships with owners and management teams, public and private companies, private equity investors, intermediaries, and financing providers provides us with a differentiated sourcing network.
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• Value-enhancing operational expertise. Our team has significant experience attracting, enhancing and advising management teams as they embark on growth and ownership transition cycles. We are also highly regarded for having always maintained a focused and concentrated approach to investments rather than the more portfolio-centric strategy favored by many investment firms. Importantly, we have successfully managed businesses through transitional periods of development, including geographic growth and offering expansion by evolving all aspects of strategy and business processes related to sales, marketing, operations, supply chain, systems, infrastructure and personnel. We believe that our combined prior experiences enhance our attractiveness as a partner or buyer derived from our expertise in the following key themes: Partner with Management; Local to Global; Contemporize and Reposition; Adapt to New Technologies or Else; Build and/or Buy; and How and When to go Public. We believe that we are well-positioned to identify management teams, entrepreneurs and business owners who share our vision for long-term, sustainable value creation.
• History of transformational acquisitions. Our team has been involved in noteworthy M&A transactions with our prior businesses, including acquisitions related to Experian, Argos, Arcade and Shaklee and divestitures related to GUS. We have corporate, financial and investment experience with a myriad of transaction structures including initial public offerings, public and private company mergers and acquisitions, founder exits, transformational mergers and divisional combinations and spin-offs.
• Public and capital markets experience. We have a deep understanding of the requirements necessary to operate a growing public company, including accessing capital markets and M&A experience, across business cycles. As a public entity, we believe that we can offer a wide range of advantages to shareholders such as leveraging our team’s collective skills and experience to accelerate profitable growth, broaden access to debt and equity capital providers, provide liquidity alternatives for employees and investors, and provide public currency for future acquisitions. Importantly, we believe that our relationships with financial institutions and leading investors will enhance our ability to consummate a business combination expeditiously.
Upon completion of this offering, our management team, assisted by members of our advisory board and our independent directors, 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 potential opportunities. In addition to any potential target businesses we may identify on our own, we anticipate that other target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including family business owners, entrepreneurs, management teams, investment market participants, private equity and other investment funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.
Our Acquisition Criteria
We believe that our team is well positioned to identify attractive business combination opportunities with a compelling industry backdrop and an opportunity for growth. We expect to favor potential target companies with certain industry and business characteristics that support our level of commitment to the target. Key industry characteristics that are of paramount importance in our considerations include compelling long-term growth prospects, attractive competitive dynamics, and acquisition/consolidation opportunities, in tandem with operating in an industry that exhibits these favorable attributes. Key business characteristics we look for in a target include: durability, market leadership, innovation, and focus on strong business performance through cycles. Target companies should also have a strong management team and innovative products, technologies, marketing strategies, consumer engagement approaches and distribution models.
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 are focused on the long-term growth and potential of our acquisition target, and we will implement the operating improvements that we believe are most likely to yield sustainable growth and maximize value creation. We intend to acquire one or more businesses that:
• address the needs of the global consumer and have established a clear and convincing vision for the future;
• are family or founder-owned, venture or investor-backed, or corporate divestitures;
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• have high potential for future growth in a large addressable market;
• have a strong historical performance and attractive margin profile;
• are led by outstanding management teams;
• would benefit from our team’s expertise as managers, acquirers and financiers to accelerate growth;
• are positioned to benefit from a significant capital infusion to realize strategic initiatives; and
• can deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders across business cycles.
These criteria and guidelines 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 criteria and guidelines as well as other considerations, factors, criteria, and guidelines that our team may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria and guidelines in our shareholder 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.
Our Acquisition Process
Our directors and officers presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may need to honor these fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, or in the case of a non-compete restriction, may not present such opportunity to us at all, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Craig E. Barnett intends to devote a majority of his time to our affairs, however, none of our directors or officers are required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our directors or officers will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to our Team and Their Respective Affiliates and to the Post-Business Combination Company — Certain of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.”
Our sponsor is managed by Craig E. Barnett, our Chairman and our Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Barnett is the Chief Executive Officer of Meadow Lane. In addition, our sponsor is owned by entities controlled by Mr. Barnett and the Meadow Lane affiliates. As a result, Mr. Barnett and the Meadow Lane affiliates may exert a substantial influence on other actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including appointment of our directors, amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of major corporate transactions. If our sponsor purchases any Class A ordinary shares in this offering or in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence over such actions. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to our Team and Their Respective Affiliates and to the Post-Business Combination Company — Our sponsor is managed by Craig E. Barnett, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and is owned by Meadow Lane affiliates. As a result, Mr. Barnett and the Meadow Lane affiliates may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, and their interests may differ from your interests.” We do not believe, however, that the duties and obligations of the Meadow Lane affiliates will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination.
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Meadow Lane may become aware of a potential business combination opportunity that may be an attractive opportunity for our company. However, Meadow Lane is not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial business combination or refer any such opportunities to our company or provide any other services to our company. Meadow Lane’s role with respect to our company is expected to be primarily passive and advisory in nature. Meadow Lane may have fiduciary and/or contractual duties to its investment vehicles and to companies in which Meadow Lane has invested. As a result, Meadow Lane may have a duty to offer business combination opportunities to certain other investment vehicles or other entities before other parties, including our company. Additionally, certain companies in which Meadow Lane has invested may enter into transactions with, provide goods or services to, or receive goods or services from an entity with which we seek to complete our initial business combination. Transactions of these types may present a conflict of interest because Meadow Lane may directly or indirectly receive a financial benefit as a result of such transaction.
We believe that any such potential conflicts of interest of Meadow Lane will be naturally mitigated, in part, by the differing nature of targets that Meadow Lane typically considers most attractive for its investment activities, as compared to our activities related to pursuing an initial business combination. Meadow Lane’s investment activities typically involve investing in private companies, and while Meadow Lane may take a company public, it would typically invest in such an entity several years prior to an initial public offering, not at the time of the initial public offering. In contrast, the acquisition targets that we expect to find most attractive would generally have capital structures and existing business operations and infrastructure to go public immediately upon our acquisition. As a result, we may become aware of a potential transaction that is not a fit for the investment activities of Meadow Lane but that is an attractive opportunity for us. Notwithstanding our belief regarding natural mitigation, Meadow Lane may compete with us for acquisition opportunities that fall within Meadow Lane’s investment objectives or strategies. A decision by Meadow Lane to pursue an opportunity would preclude us from pursuing it and could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our partnering transaction.
Our advisory board members are not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial business combination or refer any such opportunities to our company or provide any other services for our company. Such advisors’ roles with respect to our company are expected to be primarily passive and advisory in nature. Our advisory board members may have fiduciary and/or contractual duties to certain companies but do not have any fiduciary obligations to our company. As a result, our advisory board members may have a duty to offer business combination opportunities to certain other companies before our company. Additionally, certain companies affiliated with our advisory board members may enter into transactions with, provide goods or services to, or receive goods or services from an entity with which we seek to complete our initial business combination. Transactions of these types may present a conflict of interest because our advisory board members may directly or indirectly receive a financial benefit as a result of such transaction. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to our Team and Their Respective Affiliates and to the Post-Business Combination Company — Our advisory board members are not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial business combination or refer any such opportunities to our company or provide any other services for our company.”
Past experience or performance of our team and our advisory board and their respective affiliates is not a guarantee of either (1) our ability to successfully identify and execute a transaction or (2) success with respect to any business combination that we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our team or our advisory board or their respective affiliates as indicative of future performance. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to our Team and Their Respective Affiliates and to the Post-Business Combination Company — Past performance of Meadow Lane, our team and their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.”
Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq listing rules require that our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into our initial business combination. We refer to this as the 80% of fair market value test. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Unless we complete our
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initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of fair market value test. If our initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we are not then listed on Nasdaq for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of fair market value test.
Prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, 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 consummation of our initial business combination.
Sourcing of Potential Business Combination Targets
We believe our team’s significant 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 team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships around the world. This network has grown through the activities of our team sourcing, acquiring, financing and selling businesses, our team’s relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of our team in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions.
In addition, members of our team have developed contacts from serving on the boards of directors of several companies.
We believe this network provides our team with a robust and consistent flow of acquisition opportunities which were proprietary or where a limited group of investors were invited to participate in the sale process. We believe that the network of contacts and relationships of our team will provide us with important sources of acquisition opportunities. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, or making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, directors or officers. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested
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directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
As more fully discussed in “Management and Advisors — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our directors and officers currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
Our executive offices are located at 767 Third Avenue, 11th Floor, New York, New York 10017 and our telephone number is (212) 457-1540.
Mail addressed to the company and received at its registered office will be forwarded unopened to the forwarding address supplied by the company to be dealt with. None of the company or its directors, officers, advisors or service providers (including the organization which provides registered office services in the Cayman Islands) will bear any responsibility for any delay howsoever caused with regards to mail reaching the forwarding address.
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 target businesses an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their capital stock, shares or other equity securities in the target business for our shares or for a combination of our shares and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more certain and cost-effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, road show and public reporting efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with shareholders’ interests. It can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. 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 ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 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 ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
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Financial Position
With funds available for a business combination initially in the amount of $178,500,000 assuming no redemptions and after payment of $6,125,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or $205,275,000 assuming no redemptions and after payment of $7,043,750 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full), in each case, after payment of estimated offering expenses of $650,000, 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 ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third-party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our shares, 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, 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 the redemptions of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.
We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account.
In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our tender offer documents or proxy materials disclosing the business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law or we decide to do so for business or other reasons, we would seek shareholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.
Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination
Nasdaq listing rules require that our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into our initial business combination. We refer to this as the 80% of fair market value test. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board 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 or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is
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no assurance that will be the case. 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 solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
In any case, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% 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 which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information, which will be made available to us.
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.
Lack of business diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
• subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination; and
• cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services.
Limited ability to evaluate the target’s management team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. 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 team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
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We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following our initial 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.
Shareholders may not have the ability to approve our initial business combination
We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.
Under Nasdaq listing rules, shareholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
• we issue Class A ordinary shares that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of Class A ordinary shares then-outstanding;
• any of our directors, officers or substantial shareholders (as defined by 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 ordinary shares could result in an increase in issued and outstanding ordinary shares or voting power of 5% or more; or
• the issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control.
The Companies Act and Cayman Islands law do not currently require, and we are not aware of any other applicable law that will require, shareholder approval of our initial business combination.
Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities
In the event we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of securities such persons may purchase. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material non-public information), our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, 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. In the event our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates determine to undertake any such transactions, such transactions could have the effect of influencing the vote necessary to approve such transaction. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions. They will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. Subsequent to the consummation of this offering, we will adopt an insider trading policy which will require insiders to (1) refrain from purchasing securities during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information and (2) clear certain trades prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary.
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In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination. 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 be required to comply with such rules.
The purpose of such transaction could be to (1) vote in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of our initial business combination, (2) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (3) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. This 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 securities and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and/or any of their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated transactions by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders (in the case of public shares) following our mailing of tender offer or proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates enter into a private transaction, they would identify and contact only potential selling or redeeming shareholders 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. Such persons would select the shareholders from whom to acquire shares based on the number of shares available, the negotiated price per share and such other factors as any such person may deem relevant at the time of purchase. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will be restricted from purchasing shares if such purchases do not comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our sponsor, directors, officers and/or any of their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will be restricted unless such purchases are 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, directors, officers and/or any of their affiliates will be restricted from making purchases of ordinary shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act.
Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. At the completion of our initial business combination, we will be required to purchase any ordinary shares properly delivered for redemption and not withdrawn. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no
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redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers 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 public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (1) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination or (2) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder 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 shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would typically require shareholder approval. We intend to conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless shareholder approval is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.
If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
• conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and
• file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our ordinary shares 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 shareholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, 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 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination.
If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
• conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and
• file proxy materials with the SEC.
We expect that a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such shareholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction
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with a proxy solicitation. Although we are not required to do so, we currently intend to comply with the substantive and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any shareholder vote even if we are not able to maintain our Nasdaq listing or Exchange Act registration.
In the event that we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. In such case, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, our initial shareholders have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. Our directors and officers also have agreed to vote in favor of our initial business combination with respect to public shares acquired by them, if any. We expect that at the time of any shareholder vote relating to our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares entitled to vote thereon. Each public shareholder 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. In addition, our initial shareholders, directors and officers 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 public shares held by them in connection with the completion of a business combination.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 following such redemptions. 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: (1) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (2) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (3) 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 public shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
Limitation on redemption upon completion of our initial business combination if we seek shareholder approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to Excess Shares, without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders 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 sponsor or its affiliates to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our sponsor or its affiliates at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with 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 shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
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Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights
We may require our public shareholders 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 initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, rather than simply voting against the 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 whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Pursuant to the tender offer rules, the tender offer period will be not less than 20 business days and, in the case of a shareholder vote, a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such shareholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the 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 used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the shareholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such shareholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the shareholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s shares in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which shareholders were aware they needed to commit before the general meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming holder’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 two business days prior to the scheduled date of the general meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable (unless we elect to allow additional withdrawal rights). 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 shareholders 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.
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If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering.
Extensions of Time to Complete Business Combination
If we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 18 months, the sponsor may cause us to extend the available time to consummate our initial business combination by three months. In order to exercise the extension option, our sponsor must deposit into the trust account $0.05 per share (a total of $875,000, or $1,006,250 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline. The sponsor or its affiliates or designees will receive a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note equal to the amount of any such deposit that will not be repaid in the event that we are unable to close a business combination unless there are funds available outside the trust account to do so. Such note would either be paid upon consummation of our initial business combination, or, at the lender’s discretion, converted upon consummation of our business combination into additional private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant. In the event that we receive notice from the sponsor five days prior to the applicable deadline of its intent to exercise an extension option, we intend to issue a press release announcing such intention to exercise the extension option at least three days prior to the applicable deadline. In addition, we intend to issue a press release the day after the applicable deadline announcing whether the funds were timely deposited. The 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. Any note issued pursuant to such loan would be in addition to any notes issued pursuant to working capital loans made to us.
Redemption of public shares and liquidation if no initial business combination
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we will have only 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such 18-month (or up to 24-month if our sponsor exercises its extension options) period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the 18-month (or up to 24-month if our sponsor exercises its extension options) time period.
Our initial shareholders 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 their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial shareholders acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 18-month (or up to 24-month if our sponsor exercises its extension options) time period.
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to 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 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such
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amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and 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 following such redemptions.
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 $1,350,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, 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 taxes, 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 shareholders 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 shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be substantially less than $10.20. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver only 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 we are unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. 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 registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of 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 and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations. None of our other officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
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In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be substantially less than $10.20 per share.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to $1,350,000 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, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $650,000, 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 $650,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
If we file a winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable insolvency law, and may be included in our insolvency estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any insolvency claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.20 per share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or insolvency laws as a voidable performance. As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to 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 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote described in clause (2) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or 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.
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Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the consummation of our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain a provision which provides that, if we seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (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 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with any such amendment. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that:
• prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we shall either (1) seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which public shareholders may seek to redeem their public shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction, into their pro rata share of 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), or (2) provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to tender their public shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a shareholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), in each case subject to the limitations described herein;
• in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions;
• if we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company;
• if our initial business combination is not consummated within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, then our existence will terminate and we will distribute all amounts in the trust account; and
• prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional ordinary shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares on any initial business combination.
These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote in a general meeting. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we may consummate our initial business combination only if approved by a majority of the ordinary shares voted by our shareholders at a duly held shareholders meeting.
Additionally, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and that 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 memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by the holders of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, 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.
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Comparison of redemption or purchase prices in connection with our initial business combination and if we fail to complete our initial business combination.
The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering.
| | Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination | | Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by our Affiliates | | Redemptions if we fail to 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 shareholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. In either case, our public shareholders 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 consummation of the initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per share), including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and 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 following such redemptions, 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 shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Such purchases will be restricted except 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. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions. | | If we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, we will redeem all public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per share), including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. |
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| | Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination | | Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by our Affiliates | | Redemptions if we fail to Complete an Initial Business Combination |
Impact to remaining shareholders | | The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining shareholders, who will bear the burden of the deferred underwriting commissions and interest withdrawn in order to pay taxes (to the extent not paid from amounts accrued as interest on the funds held in the trust account). | | If the permitted purchases described above are made, there will be no impact to our remaining shareholders because the purchase price would not be paid by us. | | The redemption of our public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our initial shareholders, who will be our only remaining shareholders after such redemptions. |
Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419
The following table compares the terms of this offering to the terms of an offering by a blank check company subject to the provisions of Rule 419. This comparison assumes that the gross proceeds, underwriting commissions and underwriting expenses of our offering would be identical to those of an offering undertaken by a company subject to Rule 419, and that the underwriters will not exercise their option to purchase additional units. 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 | | Nasdaq listing rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. $178,500,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be deposited into a trust account located in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. | | At least $148,837,500 of the offering proceeds, representing the gross proceeds of this offering less allowable underwriting commissions, expenses and company deductions under Rule 419, 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 | | $178,500,000 of the net offering proceeds 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 investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. | | 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. |
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| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
Receipt of interest on escrowed funds | | Interest on proceeds from the trust account to be paid to shareholders is reduced by (1) any taxes paid or payable and (2) in the event of our liquidation for failure to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time, up to $100,000 of net interest that may be released to us should we have no or insufficient working capital to fund the costs and expenses of our dissolution and liquidation. | | Interest 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. |
Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business | | Nasdaq listing rules require that our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into 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 Class A ordinary shares and warrants constituting 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 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC 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 underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units. | | No trading of the units or the underlying ordinary shares 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. |
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| | 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 shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest, which interest shall be net of taxes payable, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by law to hold a shareholder vote. If we are not required by applicable law or stock exchange rules and do not otherwise decide to hold a shareholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, we hold a shareholder 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. Pursuant to the tender offer rules, the tender offer period will be not less than 20 business days and, in the case of a shareholder vote, a final proxy statement would be mailed to public shareholders at least 10 days prior to the shareholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such shareholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we | | A prospectus containing information pertaining to the business combination required by the SEC would be sent to each investor. Each investor would be given the opportunity to notify the company in writing, within a period of no less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of a post-effective amendment to the company’s registration statement, to decide if he, she or it elects to remain a shareholder of the company or require the return of his, her or its investment. If the company has not received the notification by the end of the 45th business day, funds and interest or dividends, if any, held in the trust or escrow account are automatically returned to the shareholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all funds on deposit in the escrow account must be returned to all of the investors and none of the securities are issued. |
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| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
| | receive the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares without voting and, if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. | | |
Business combination deadline | | If we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, we will (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 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 (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. | | If 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. |
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| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
Release of funds | | 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 of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering or with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. | | 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 shareholders holding more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold a shareholder vote | | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect Excess Shares (more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering), without our prior consent. Our public shareholders’ inability to redeem Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and they could suffer a material loss on their investment in us if they sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. | | Most blank check companies provide no restrictions on the ability of shareholders to redeem shares based on the number of shares held by such shareholders in connection with an initial business combination. |
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| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights | | We may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their 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 initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve our initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, 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. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. | | In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, holders could vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holders were seeking to exercise their redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such shareholders to arrange for them to deliver their certificate to verify ownership. |
Competition
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, in the event we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we are obligated to pay cash for our Class A ordinary shares, it will potentially reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination.
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Conflicts of Interest
Our team, in their capacities as directors, officers or employees of our sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our sponsor, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law and any other applicable fiduciary duties. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. For more information, see the section entitled “Management and Advisors — Conflicts of Interest.”
Our directors and officers presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may need to honor these fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, or in the case of a non-compete restriction, may not present such opportunity to us at all, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Team and Their Respective Affiliates and to the Post-Business Combination Company — Certain of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.”
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our directors or officers will 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 registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of 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 and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations.
Facilities
We currently maintain our executive offices at 767 Third Avenue, 11th Floor, New York, New York 10017. The cost for this space is included in the $15,000 per month fee that we will pay our sponsor for office space, administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
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Employees
We currently have three officers and do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Members of our 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 the business combination process.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We will register our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accounting firm.
We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to shareholders to assist them in assessing the target business. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, U.S. GAAP or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with PCAOB standards. 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. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 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 comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. 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 effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, 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 consummation 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 shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
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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 ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 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 ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our team in their capacity as such, and we and the members of our team have not been subject to any such proceeding in the 12 months preceding the date of this prospectus.
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MANAGEMENT AND ADVISORS
Directors, Director Nominees, Officers and Advisors
Name | | Age | | Title |
Craig E. Barnett | | 59 | | Chief Executive Officer and Chairman |
Terry Duddy | | 65 | | Vice Chairman and Director |
Martin F. Lewis | | 67 | | Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer |
Scott M. Napolitano | | 44 | | Managing Director |
James E. Lieber | | 58 | | Director nominee |
Mary C. Tanner | | 70 | | Director nominee |
Laura A. Weil | | 64 | | Director nominee |
Our directors, director nominees and officers are as follows:
Craig E. Barnett has been our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since May 2021. Mr. Barnett has been the Chief Executive Officer of Meadow Lane since 2014 and its associated broker-dealer and predecessor entities since inception and established and manages the global investment team. Mr. Barnett has over 35 years of experience in investment banking, private equity and corporate development and is responsible for Meadow Lane’s partnerships with financing and investment firms. Mr. Barnett has advised clients, pursued investments and overseen corporate development and finance activities with aggregate values exceeding $60 billion primarily in the consumer sectors of the global economy in the United States, Europe and Asia. In addition, Mr. Barnett has been highly active in corporate development, financing and acquisitions for GUS, Experian, Burberry, Argos, Arcade and Shaklee. Previously, Mr. Barnett was a senior executive in private equity and investment banking. He was a Managing Director with Blackstone, a Managing Director with The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. and a Managing Director with PJ Solomon. Earlier in his career, Mr. Barnett was a Vice President at Lehman Brothers, in London, Tokyo and New York. Mr. Barnett, a graduate of the Wharton School, is active in a number of charitable and community organizations. Mr. Barnett was selected to serve on our board of directors due to his over 35 years of experience in corporate development, financing transactions and mergers and acquisitions.
Terry Duddy has been our Vice Chairman and a member of our board of directors since May 2021. Mr. Duddy has over 30 years of leadership experience with public companies and is a seasoned Chief Executive and digital commerce pioneer. Mr. Duddy has also worked with Meadow Lane principals for over 20 years. Mr. Duddy was a Director and member of the Executive Committee of GUS from 1998 to 2006, having joined as the Chief Executive Officer of Argos. Mr. Duddy was also responsible for the pan-European home shopping division of GUS that, though loss making, was eventually divested for over £800 million. Mr. Duddy was furthermore a member of the GUS board of directors’ Demerger Committee that presided over the demerger process of GUS that included the successful IPOs of Burberry, Experian and Home Retail Group. As Chief Executive Officer of Argos and its successor independent entity, Home Retail Group, from 1998 to 2014, Mr. Duddy guided the business through both the extensive digital transformation of the industry as well as the downturn of 2009. Argos was the UK’s first multichannel retailer with its e-commerce site and home delivery service launching in 1999 with over 20,000 product lines and a considerable private label brand. Mr. Duddy managed a $2 billion supply chain sourced from China, incubated emerging products, created new marketing technologies including the now ubiquitous and innovative “Click & Collect” sale and mentored a new generation of managers now in industry leadership positions. Most recently, Mr. Duddy was first Senior Independent Director and then Interim Board Chairman of Debenhams plc, which he managed through administration, secured financing for a successful reorganization and recruited a new Board. Mr. Duddy has been a member of True Capital Management’s advisory board since 2014, is the Chairman of London Marathon Events Ltd and is or has been a non-executive director of a number of other companies including Hammerson plc and Majid Al Futtaim Properties LLC. Mr. Duddy was selected to serve on our board of directors due to his lengthy and comprehensive experience in public company governance as both a director and an executive officer.
Martin F. Lewis has been our Chief Financial Officer and one of our Managing Directors since May 2021. Mr. Lewis has over 35 years of leadership experience in investment banking. He is the founder and Managing Principal, since 2014, of Gower Advisers, a financial advisory boutique in New York. He has also served as a Managing Principal of Meadow Lane since 2014. Previously, Mr. Lewis was a Managing Director with Greenhill, a founding member of Miller, Buckfire Lewis & Co (now Miller Buckfire), a Managing Director of Wasserstein
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Perella and a Managing Director of Blackstone. Mr. Lewis was also associated with Chemical Bank in London and New York and with NM Rothschild in London and Mexico. Mr. Lewis qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the UK and graduated with an M.A. from Oxford University.
Scott M. Napolitano has been one of our Managing Directors since May 2021. Mr. Napolitano has over 20 years of experience in investment banking acting as strategic and capital advisor to companies and private equity firms, principally in the healthcare and consumer sectors, evaluating mergers, acquisitions and strategic and financing alternatives. Mr. Napolitano is Managing Member of Scott Michael Partners LLC, an advisory and investment firm he founded in 2020 with a focus on healthcare and technology. Prior to founding Scott Michael Partners LLC, Mr. Napolitano served as Managing Director with Nomura Securities International from 2014 to 2020 where he was Head of MedTech Investment Banking and Healthcare M&A. Previously, he was a Managing Principal with Meadow Lane. Mr. Napolitano has also held senior investment banking positions with PJ Solomon, where he served as Managing Director and with The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., where he served as Vice President. Mr. Napolitano is a graduate of Columbia University.
James E. Lieber will serve as our director upon the completion of this offering. Mr. Lieber has more than 25 years of experience in the strategic management of complex international projects and situations for multi-national corporations, investment funds, organizations and high net-worth individuals in Europe and the United States. Mr. Lieber is Founder and President of Lieber Strategies, a consultancy based in Paris. Prior to founding Lieber Strategies in 2005, Mr. Lieber served from 1997 to 2004 as Director of Corporate Affairs at LVMH, working with its chairman, Bernard Arnault, and his executive committee on major strategic projects. Mr. Lieber directed LVMH’s strategy in several multi-billion-dollar transactions and business conflicts and managed LVMH’s interests in international trade disputes and European competition clearance situations and other government relations matters. Before joining LVMH, Mr. Lieber practiced law with Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton LLP, where he worked in New York on international securities offerings, privatizations and real estate transactions, and in Paris representing clients in cross-border acquisitions and joint ventures in the media, luxury goods and pharmaceuticals sectors. Mr. Lieber is a director of numerous companies, including LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc., DFS Group and Gabriel Resources Ltd., as well as of Stanhope Capital Group, a private wealth manager with offices in New York, London, Geneva, Paris, Philadelphia and Palm Beach. He is also a director of the French-American Foundation and a member of Panthera’s Conservation Council. Mr. Lieber is an attorney admitted to practice in the State of New York and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Global Advisory Council of the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars. Mr. Lieber holds a Juris Doctor degree cum laude from Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, Illinois, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif, and a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, with honors in art history. Mr. Lieber was selected to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive experience as a strategic advisor to multinational businesses and his experience as a board member of public and private companies.
Mary C. Tanner will serve as our director upon the completion of this offering. Ms. Tanner has more than 30 years of leadership experience in investment banking and has served as a director on numerous private and public companies. Ms. Tanner is Senior Managing Director of ELSP, of which she is a co-founder. Ms. Tanner specializes in healthcare investment and strategic advisory work, including mergers and acquisitions, licensing, corporate minority strategic investments and fund raising. Ms. Tanner is also an active venture capital investor. Before founding ELSP with her husband and long standing business partner, Frederick Frank, Ms. Tanner held leadership positions for over 20 years in investment banking at Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and PJ Solomon. Ms. Tanner has directed over 500 mergers and acquisitions, over 130 initial public offerings and hundreds of financings and is highly experienced in mergers involving spinoffs of public companies. Ms. Tanner has significant expertise in life sciences, traditional pharmaceutical industries and consumer healthcare. Advisory clients of Ms. Tanner have included Pfizer Inc., Block Drug, Amgen Inc., Rhône-Poulenc S.A., Marion Merrell Dow, Inc., BASF SE, Sanofi S.A., Revlon, Inc., Fabergé and L’Oréal S.A. Ms. Tanner was a 10-year member of the board of directors of Lineagen, Inc., a molecular diagnostic company, which was merged with Bionano Genomics, Inc. in 2021, and she was Chair of its Audit and Compliance Committee. As a member of the board of directors of Genticel, S.A., an immune oncology company in France, she assisted in merging the company with Genkyotex, a Swiss/French publicly listed company, in a cross border transaction with Calliditas Therapeutics AB, a Swedish, Nasdaq-listed company. Previously, for a decade, she served on the board of directors of Evotec SE, a German company which is one of the largest companies in early stage contract research organization research. Ms. Tanner previously served on the board of directors of the consumer products company Block Drug prior to its sale to GlaxoSmithKline plc.
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Ms. Tanner received a B.A. magna cum laude from Harvard University. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Yale School of Management and is an advisor to the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale and the Yale Center for Biomedical Innovation and Technology. Ms. Tanner was selected to serve on our board of directors due to her extensive experience directing mergers and acquisitions and serving on public company boards of directors.
Laura A. Weil will serve as our director upon the completion of this offering. Ms. Weil has over 25 years of corporate leadership experience. Ms. Weil has been an independent director of Carnival Corporation since 2007 and is a member of the audit, compliance and compensation committees. She is also an independent director of Global Fashion Group, SA since 2019. She previously served as a Director of Christopher & Banks Corporation. Ms. Weil is the Founder and has been the Managing Partner of Village Lane Advisory LLC, which specializes in providing executive and strategic consulting services to retailers as well as private equity firms, since 2015. Previously, Ms. Weil was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of New York & Company, Inc., the Chief Executive Officer of Ashley Stewart LLC, the Chief Executive Officer of Urban Brands, Inc., the Chief Operating Officer of AnnTaylor Stores Corporation, the Chief Financial Officer of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., and the Vice President Finance and CFO Credit Operations for Macy’s Inc. Ms. Weil was also a senior executive with investment banking firms including Oppenheimer and Lehman Brothers. Ms. Weil received a B.A. in Art History and Government from Smith College and an MBA from Columbia University Business School. Ms. Weil was selected to serve on our board of directors due to her extensive financial expertise and substantial experience in public company governance as a director and an executive officer.
Advisory Board
In addition to our team described above, the following individuals will serve on our advisory board:
Victor J. Barnett has considerable experience as a successful investor in and leader of multiple global businesses. Mr. Barnett was a Director and member of the Executive Committee directing the affairs of GUS for over 20 years. Mr. Barnett also served as the Executive Chairman of Burberry and was the chief visionary for its operational reorganization and transformation. Mr. Barnett also led the global expansion, via $2.7 billion of acquisitions, of Experian. Mr. Barnett was previously a Director of Revlon and of various other private companies.
David C. Blatte has over 30 years of investment banking and private equity investing experience in the consumer and retail industry sectors. He is also a seasoned operating executive in the pet industry. He is the Chairman of Worldwise, Inc., one of the five largest pet accessory companies in the U.S., and was the Founder and CEO of Quaker Pet Group, one of Worldwise’s operating businesses. Mr. Blatte is a former Partner at Centre Partners, a former Partner at Catterton Partners, and a former Managing Director at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp. He holds a B.S. from the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania.
Noah Gottdiener has 35 years of corporate leadership and investment banking experience. Mr. Gottdiener is the Executive Chairman of Kroll, formerly Duff & Phelps Corp., and chairs Kroll’s board of directors. He served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board from 2004 to 2020. During that time, revenue increased from $30 million in 2004 to over $1 billion. Kroll has nearly 5,000 professionals in 30 countries and territories around the world. Mr. Gottdiener guided Kroll through a series of acquisitions, an initial public offering and a subsequent going private transaction. In April 2020, Mr. Gottdiener led Kroll through a $4.2 billion acquisition by a global investor consortium. Previously, Mr. Gottdiener was a Partner with Thomas Weisel Partners and Furman Selz LLC, and a Managing Director at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., where he began his career. Mr. Gottdiener is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and sits on the Board of Trustees of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). He is a member of the Black Rock Forest Consortium Leadership Council and on the Board of Directors of AZTherapies. He is a former member of the board of trustees of The Brearley School and the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.
Brandon Ralph is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Unquantifiable, a marketing services consultancy. He has over 20 years of experience navigating consumer content distribution and consumption behavior as a creative leader in omni-channel content-concentric marketing strategies. Mr. Ralph is a Founder and, for seventeen years, was the Chief Creative Officer of Code and Theory, an independent digital first creative agency. At Code and Theory, Mr. Ralph led the creative teams for over 70 fashion, lifestyle, media, and entertainment brands for publishers, including Vice, NBC Olympics, The Huffington Post, Bloomberg, and The Verge. He has also been a trusted creative collaborator for Anna Wintour, Arianna Huffington, Tina Brown, David Carey and Tomas Maier. His unique ability to learn customer behaviors and amplify brands has afforded him the opportunity to deliver
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award-winning strategies across a broad spectrum of industries. Mr. Ralph’s clients have included Bottega Venetta, Hermes, Burger King and Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Mr. Ralph has also served as the Chief Experience Officer and Chief Creative officer of Equinox Fitness Holdings and as the Chief Creative Officer of NJOY.
Carlos Rohm has been Chief Executive Officer of LCA Capital, a family office with ties to Mexico, since 2007. Previously, Mr. Rohm was a Principal of JPMorgan Partners. Mr. Rohm has been a director of and is a member of the Operating Committee of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico. He is also a director of FIBRA Storage and Liv Capital Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company.
Ronald Stern is a highly experienced marketing and operations executive who has also been actively involved in evaluating and pursuing investment opportunities with Meadow Lane. Mr. Stern was the President and a long-time executive of SlimFast prior to its sale for $2 billion to Unilever PLC and subsequently served as a Consultant to Unilever. Mr. Stern is an active angel investor in emerging companies and advises a number of consumer-facing and health oriented businesses.
Jonathan H. Weis has over 30 years of corporate leadership experience. He has been the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Weis Markets, a leading regional supermarket chain with over 23,000 employees and 197 stores, since 2014 and has served in executive capacities with Weis Markets since 1989. Under the leadership of Mr. Weis, Weis Markets has expanded its operations significantly both organically and via acquisition and has maintained its market position in a highly competitive environment. Mr. Weis has also been responsible for establishing and implementing major strategic initiatives that reflect Weis Markets’ focus on understanding continuously evolving consumer perspectives, optimizing organizational issues with respect to human capital and operational capabilities and controlling, increasing and maximizing the considerable intellectual property associated with Weis Markets.
We currently expect our advisory board members to (i) assist us in sourcing potential business combination targets, (ii) provide their business insights when we assess potential business combination targets and (iii) upon our request, provide their business insights as we work to create additional value in the businesses that we acquire. In this regard, they will fulfill some of the same functions as our board members. However, our advisory board members will not perform board or committee functions, nor will they have any voting or decision making capacity on our behalf. They will also not be subject to the fiduciary requirements to which our board members are subject. We may modify or expand our roster of advisory board members as we source potential business combination targets or create value in businesses that we may pursue or acquire.
Number, Terms of Office and Appointment of Directors and Officers
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we expect that our board of directors will consist of five members. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our founder shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and remove members of the board of directors for any reason, and holders of our public shares will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by the holders of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. Each of our directors will hold office for a two-year term. Subject to any other special rights applicable to the shareholders, any vacancies on our board of directors may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors present and voting at the meeting of our board of directors or by a majority of the holders of our ordinary shares (or, prior to our initial business combination, holders of our founder shares).
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 amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our officers may consist of a Chairman, a Chief Executive Officer, a President, a Chief Operating Officer, a Chief Financial Officer, Vice Presidents, a Secretary, Assistant Secretaries, a Treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
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Director Independence
Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our initial public offering. 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. Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we expect to have three “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules prior to completion of this offering. Our board has determined that each of James E. Lieber, Mary C. Tanner and Laura A. Weil is an independent director under applicable SEC rules and the Nasdaq listing standards.
Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Officer and Director Compensation
None of our directors or officers have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Commencing on the date that our securities are first listed on Nasdaq through the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will pay our sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. Our sponsor, directors and officers, 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 by us to our sponsor, directors, officers or our or any of their affiliates.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other compensation from the combined company. All compensation will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers after the completion of our initial business combination will be determined by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors.
We are not party to any agreements with our directors and officers that provide for benefits upon termination of employment. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business, and we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination should be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Pursuant to Nasdaq listing rules we will establish three standing committees — an audit committee in compliance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act, a compensation committee and a nominating committee, each comprised of independent directors. Under Nasdaq listing rule 5615(b)(1), a company listing in connection with its initial public offering is permitted to phase in its compliance with the independent committee requirements. We do not intend to rely on the phase-in schedules set forth in Nasdaq listing rule 5615(b)(1).
Audit Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish an audit committee of the board of directors. The members of our audit committee will be Mary C. Tanner, James E. Lieber and Laura A. Weil. Mary C. Tanner will serve as chair of the audit committee.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that each of Mary C. Tanner, James E. Lieber and Laura A. Weil qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
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We will adopt an audit committee charter, which will detail the purpose and principal functions of the audit committee, including:
• assisting board oversight of (1) the integrity of our financial statements, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) our independent registered public accounting firm’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent registered public accounting firm;
• the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm and any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us;
• pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures;
• reviewing and discussing with the independent registered public accounting firm all relationships the independent registered public accounting firm has with us in order to evaluate their continued independence;
• setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm;
• setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
• obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent registered public accounting firm describing (1) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues;
• meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent registered public accounting firm, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”;
• reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and
• reviewing with management, the independent registered public accounting firm, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities.
Compensation Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a compensation committee of the board of directors. The members of our compensation committee will be Laura A. Weil, James E. Lieber and Mary C. Tanner. Laura A. Weil will serve as chair of the compensation committee. We will adopt a compensation committee charter, which will detail the purpose and responsibility of the compensation committee, including:
• reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation;
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• reviewing and making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to the compensation, and any incentive-compensation and equity-based plans that are subject to board approval of all of our other officers;
• reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans;
• implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans;
• assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements;
• approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees;
• producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and
• reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors.
The charter will also provide that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, independent legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a nominating and corporate governance committee of the board of directors. The members of our nominating and corporate governance committee will be James E. Lieber, Mary C. Tanner, and Laura A. Weil. James E. Lieber will serve as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee. We will adopt a nominating and corporate governance committee charter, which will detail the purpose and responsibilities of the nominating and corporate governance committee, including:
• identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors, consistent with criteria approved by the board of directors, and recommending to the board of directors candidates for nomination for election at the annual general meeting or to fill vacancies on the board of directors;
• developing and recommending to the board of directors and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines;
• coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the board of directors, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the company; and
• reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary.
The charter will also provide that the nominating and corporate governance committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of, and terminate, any search firm to be used to identify director candidates, and will be directly responsible for approving the search firm’s fees and other retention terms.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our shareholders. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.
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Code of Ethics
Prior to the closing of this offering, we will adopt a code of ethics and business conduct (our “Code of Ethics”) applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We will file a copy of our form of our Code of Ethics as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. You will be able to review this document by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of our 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 “Where You Can Find Additional Information.”
Conflicts of Interest
Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:
• duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the company as a whole;
• duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose;
• duty to not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion;
• duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders;
• duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a conflict between their duty to the company and their personal interests; and
• duty to exercise independent judgment.
In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of care, which is not fiduciary in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the company and the general knowledge, skill and experience which that director has.
As set out above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be forgiven and/or authorized in advance by the shareholders; provided that there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by way of permission granted in the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.
Our team, in their capacities as directors, officers or employees of our sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our sponsor, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law and any other applicable fiduciary duties.
Certain members of our team have fiduciary duties to Meadow Lane and to certain companies in which Meadow Lane has invested. These entities may compete with us for acquisition opportunities. If these entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing such opportunities. None of the members of our team who are also employed by our sponsor or its affiliates have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our officers, directors and members of our Advisory Board have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer, director or strategic advisor of, any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act without our prior written consent, which will not be unreasonably withheld.
Our directors and officers presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may need to honor these fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, or in the case of a non-compete restriction, may not present such
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opportunity to us at all, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. Our Chairman intends to devote a majority of his time to our affairs, however, none of our directors or officers are required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to our Team and Their Respective Affiliates and to the Post-Business Combination Company — Certain of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.”
In addition, our sponsor, its members, our officers or our directors or their respective affiliates may be investors, or have other direct or indirect interests, in a business with which we may enter into a business combination agreement and/or in certain funds or other persons that may purchase shares in this offering or that may otherwise purchase our Class A ordinary shares in the public market.
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our directors or officers will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination.
Our advisory board members are not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial business combination or refer any such opportunities to our company or provide any other services for our company. Such advisors’ roles with respect to our company is expected to be primarily passive and advisory in nature. Our advisory board members may have fiduciary and/or contractual duties to certain companies but do not have any fiduciary obligations to our company. As a result, our advisory board members may have a duty to offer business combination opportunities to certain other companies before our company. Additionally, certain companies affiliated with our advisory board members may enter into transactions with, provide goods or services to, or receive goods or services from an entity with which we seek to complete our initial business combination. Transactions of these types may present a conflict of interest because our advisory board members may directly or indirectly receive a financial benefit as a result of such transaction. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to our Team and Their Respective Affiliates and to the Post-Business Combination Company — Our advisory board members are not under any obligation to source any potential opportunities for our initial business combination or refer any such opportunities to our company or provide any other services for our company.”
Potential investors should also be aware of the following potential conflicts of interest:
• Our Chairman intends to devote a majority of his time to our affairs, however, none of our directors or officers are required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities.
• In the course of their other business activities, our directors and officers may become aware of investment and business opportunities that may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. For a complete description of our management’s other affiliations, see “— Directors, Director Nominees and Officers.”
• Pursuant to a letter agreement entered into with us, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Additionally, our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) after the closing of this offering. However, if our initial shareholders (or any of our directors, officers or affiliates) acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to consummate our
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initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we do not complete our initial business combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. With certain limited exceptions, pursuant to such letter agreement, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell and of their founder shares until the earlier of: (1) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; and (2) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 120 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. With certain limited exceptions, the private placement warrants and the ordinary shares underlying such warrants, will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Since our sponsor and our team may directly or indirectly own ordinary shares and warrants following this offering, our directors and officers may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination.
• Our directors and officers may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether to proceed with a particular business combination.
• Our directors and officers may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such directors and officers was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.
Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our directors, officers and director nominees have similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our directors, officers and director nominees currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
Individual | | Entity | | Entity’s Business | | Affiliation |
Craig E. Barnett | | Meadow Lane Capital | | Investments | | Chief Executive Officer |
| | Barnett & Partners Advisors, LLC | | Advisory services | | Chief Executive Officer |
Terry Duddy | | Majid Al Futtaim Properties LLC | | Property management | | Non-Executive Director |
| | Catch 22 Charity Ltd | | Charity | | Non-Executive Chair |
| | London Marathon Events Ltd | | Charity | | Non-Executive Chair |
Martin F. Lewis | | Meadow Lane Capital | | Investments | | Managing Principal |
| | MM Dillon & Co. | | Advisory services | | Managing Director |
Scott M. Napolitano | | Scott Michael Partners LLC | | Advisory services | | Managing Member |
James E. Lieber | | Lieber Strategies | | Consulting | | Founder and President |
| | LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc. | | Consumer goods | | Director |
| | DFS Group | | Consumer goods | | Director |
| | Gabriel Resources Ltd. | | Mining | | Director |
| | Stanhope Capital Group | | Wealth management | | Director |
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Individual | | Entity | | Entity’s Business | | Affiliation |
Mary C. Tanner | | EVOLUTION Life Sciences Partners | | Advisory services | | Co-Founder and Senior Managing Director |
Laura A. Weil | | Carnival Corporation | | Tourism | | Director |
| | Global Fashion Group, SA | | Consumer goods | | Director |
| | Village Lane Advisory LLC | | Consulting | | Founder and Managing Partner |
Accordingly, if any of the above directors or officers become aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for any of the above entities to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. We do not believe, however, that any of the foregoing fiduciary duties or contractual obligations will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with such a company, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
In addition, our sponsor or any of its affiliates may make additional investments in the company in connection with the initial business combination, although our sponsor and its affiliates have no obligation or current intention to do so. If our sponsor or any of its affiliates elects to make additional investments, such proposed investments could influence our sponsor’s motivation to complete an initial business combination.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote any founder shares (and their permitted transferees will agree) and public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Directors and Officers
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of directors and officers, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide for indemnification of our directors and officers to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect.
We will enter into agreements with our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. We may purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our directors and officers against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our directors and officers.
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Our directors and officers have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced directors and officers.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
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PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus, and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our Class A ordinary shares 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 issued and outstanding ordinary shares;
• each of our directors, officers and director nominees; and
• all our directors, officers and director nominees as a group.
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this prospectus.
The post-offering ownership percentage column below assumes that the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional units, that our sponsor forfeits 656,250 founder shares, and that there are 21,875,000 ordinary shares issued and outstanding after this offering.
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned(2) | | Approximate Percentage of Issued and Outstanding Ordinary Shares |
Before Offering | | After Offering |
Pearl Holdings Sponsor LLC (our sponsor)(3) | | 5,031,250 | | 100 | % | | 20 | % |
Craig E. Barnett(3) | | 5,031,250 | | 100 | % | | 20 | % |
Terry Duddy | | — | | — | | | — | |
Martin F. Lewis | | — | | — | | | — | |
Scott M. Napolitano | | — | | — | | | — | |
James E. Lieber | | — | | — | | | — | |
Mary C. Tanner | | — | | — | | | — | |
Laura A. Weil | | — | | — | | | — | |
All directors, officers and director nominees as a group (7 individuals) | | 5,031,250 | | 100 | % | | 20 | % |
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(1) Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o Pearl Holdings Acquisition Corp, 767 Third Avenue 11th Floor, New York, New York 10017.
(2) Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B ordinary shares. Such ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, as described in the section entitled “Description of Securities.”
(3) Pearl Holdings Sponsor LLC, our sponsor, is the record holder of the 5,031,250 founder shares reported herein, 656,250 of which are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional units in full. The manager of our sponsor is Craig E. Barnett. By virtue of his control over our sponsor, Craig E. Barnett may be deemed to beneficially own shares held by our sponsor.
Immediately after this offering, our initial shareholders will beneficially own 20% of the then issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming our initial shareholders do not purchase any units in this offering) and will have the right to elect all of our directors prior to our initial business combination as a result of holding all of the founder shares. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to appoint any directors to our board of directors prior to our initial business combination. In addition, because of their ownership block, our initial shareholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering.
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Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 9,000,000 (or 10,050,000 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($9,000,000 in the aggregate or $10,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will adjust the number of private placement warrants purchased to account for the change in upfront underwriting discount to be paid upon the closing of this offering. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering except that: (1) the private placement warrants will not be redeemable by us; (2) the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants may be subject to certain transfer restrictions contained in the letter agreement by and among the company, the sponsor and any other parties thereto, as amended from time to time; (3) the private placement warrants may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) the holders of private placement warrants (including the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants) are entitled to registration rights, as described below. The private placement warrants may also be exercised by the initial holders or their permitted transferees for cash or on a cashless basis.
Our sponsor and our directors and officers are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” for additional information regarding our relationships with our promoters.
Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants
The founder shares, private placement warrants and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in the letter agreement with us to be entered into by our initial shareholders. Those lock-up provisions provide that such securities are not transferable or salable (1) in the case of the founder shares, until the earlier of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 120 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property, and (2) in the case of the private placement warrants and the respective Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants, until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except in each case (a) to our directors or officers, any affiliates or family members of any of our directors or officers, any members of our sponsor, or any affiliates of our sponsor, (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or 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 a trust, by distribution to one or more of the permissible beneficiaries of such trust; (e) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (f) by private sales or transfers made in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased; (g) in the event of our liquidation prior to our completion of our initial business combination; (h) by virtue of the laws of its jurisdiction or its organizational documents or operating agreement; or (i) in the event of our completion of a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (f) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions.
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Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, private placement warrants and any warrants that may be issued on conversion of working capital loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the 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 ordinary shares). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period as described under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.” We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
On April 3, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in exchange for the issuance of 7,187,500 founder shares to our sponsor, or approximately $0.004 per share. In November 2021, our sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 2,156,250 founder shares for no consideration, thereby reducing the aggregate number of founder shares outstanding to 5,031,250, resulting in an effective purchase price paid for the founder shares of approximately $0.005 per share. Our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Up to 656,250 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised.
Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 9,000,000 (or 10,050,000 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) private placement warrants for a purchase price of $1.00 per warrant ($9,000,000 in the aggregate or $10,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will adjust the number of private placement warrants purchased to account for the change in upfront underwriting discount to be paid upon the closing of this offering. Each private placement warrant may be exercised for one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by it until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.
As more fully discussed in “Management and Advisors — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our directors and officers currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
We will enter into a support services with our sponsor, pursuant to which we will pay a total of $15,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services to such affiliate. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. Accordingly, in the event the consummation of our initial business combination takes the maximum 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options), our sponsor will be paid a total of $180,000 per year ($15,000 per month) for office space, administrative and support services and will be entitled to be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses.
Our sponsor, directors and officers, 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, directors, officers or our or any of their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 and the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $2,000,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) and amounts not held in the trust account. The value of our sponsor’s interest in this loan transaction corresponds to the principal amount outstanding under any such loan. As of September 30, 2021, there was $102,802 outstanding under the promissory note.
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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 directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may 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 $2,000,000 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 issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
After our initial business combination, members of our team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our shareholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a general meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive officer and director compensation.
We have entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to the founder shares, private placement warrants and warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans (if any), which is described under the heading “Principal Shareholders — Registration Rights.”
Support Services Agreement
We will enter into a support services agreement with our sponsor pursuant to which we will pay a total of $15,000 per month to our sponsor for office space, support and administrative services. Upon the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. Accordingly, in the event the consummation of our initial business combination takes 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options), our sponsor will be paid a total of $270,000 (or $315,000 if our sponsor exercises its extension option) ($15,000 per month) for these services.
Related Party Policy
We have not yet adopted a formal policy for the review, approval or ratification of related party transactions. Accordingly, the transactions discussed above were not reviewed, approved or ratified in accordance with any such policy.
Prior to the closing of this offering, we will adopt our Code of Ethics requiring us to avoid, wherever possible, all conflicts of interests, except under guidelines or resolutions approved by our board of directors (or the appropriate committee of our board of directors) or as disclosed in our public filings with the SEC. Under our Code of Ethics, conflict of interest situations will include any financial transaction, arrangement or relationship (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) involving the company.
In addition, our audit committee, pursuant to a written charter that we will adopt prior to the consummation of this offering, will be responsible for reviewing and approving related party transactions to the extent that we enter into such transactions. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the audit committee present at a meeting at which a quorum is present will be required in order to approve a related party transaction. A majority of the members of the entire audit committee will constitute a quorum. Without a meeting, the unanimous written consent of all of the members of the audit committee will be required to approve a related party transaction. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, directors or officers, or our or any of their respective affiliates.
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These procedures are intended to determine whether any such related party transaction impairs the independence of a director or presents a conflict of interest on the part of a director, employee or officer.
To further minimize conflicts of interest, we have agreed not to consummate an initial business combination with an entity that is affiliated with any of our sponsor, directors or officers unless we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, have obtained an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Furthermore, there will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made by us to our sponsor, directors or officers, or our or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, other than the following payments, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:
• Repayment of an aggregate of up to $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses;
• payment to our sponsor of a total of $15,000 per month for office space, support and administrative services (see “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions — Support Services Agreement”);
• Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination; and
• Repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers 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 $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender.
The above payments may be funded using the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account or, upon completion of the initial business combination, from any amounts remaining from the proceeds of the trust account released to us in connection therewith.
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DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company (company number 373321) and our affairs will be governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act and common law of the Cayman Islands. Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which will be adopted upon the consummation of this offering, we will be authorized to issue 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value each, 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value each, and 5,000,000 undesignated preference shares, $0.0001 par value each. The following description summarizes the material terms of our shares as set out more particularly in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.
Units
Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of the company’s Class A ordinary shares. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder.
The Class A ordinary shares and warrants constituting 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 Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the Class A ordinary shares and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A ordinary shares and warrants. Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least three units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
In no event will the Class A ordinary shares 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 of the company reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering which will include this audited balance sheet. If the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units.
Ordinary Shares
Upon the closing of this offering, 21,875,000 ordinary shares will be issued and outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units and the corresponding forfeiture of 656,250 founder shares by our sponsor), including:
• 17,500,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the units being offered in this offering; and
• 4,375,000 Class B ordinary shares held by our initial shareholders.
If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering.
Class A ordinary shareholders and Class B ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders and vote together as a single class, except as required by law; provided that, prior to our initial business combination, holders of our Class B ordinary shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and remove members of the board of directors for any reason, and holders of our Class A ordinary shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These
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provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by the holders of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. Unless specified in the Companies Act, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our ordinary shares that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our shareholders (other than the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination), and, prior to our initial business combination, the affirmative vote of a majority of our founder shares is required to approve the appointment or removal of directors. Approval of certain actions will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; such actions include amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approving a statutory merger or consolidation with another company. Directors are appointed for a term of two years. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the appointment of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the founder shares voted for the appointment of directors can appoint all of the directors prior to our initial business combination. Our shareholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.
Because our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize the issuance of up to 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, 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 Class A ordinary shares which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our shareholders vote on the business combination to the extent we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or extraordinary general meetings to appoint directors. We may not hold an annual general meeting prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial owner must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Our initial shareholders, directors and officers 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 public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination or certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as described elsewhere in this prospectus. Permitted transferees of our initial shareholders, directors or officers will be subject to the same obligations.
Unlike many blank check companies that hold shareholder 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 applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, if a shareholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, 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 memorandum and articles of association require these tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, a shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other 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 shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. However, the participation of our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates in
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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 shareholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. A quorum for such meeting will be present if the one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares entitled to vote at the meeting are represented in person or by proxy. Our sponsor, officers and directors will count toward this quorum and, pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares and public shares held by them (including any shares purchased in this offering or in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. We intend to give not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the ordinary shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Our shareholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination, and such shareholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such shareholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete the business combination. As a result, such shareholders 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 shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 6,562,501, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the option to purchase additional units is not exercised), or none (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum, being one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares entitled to vote at the meeting, are voted and the option to purchase additional units is not exercised), of the 17,500,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have such initial business combination approved. Our directors and officers have also entered into the letter agreement, imposing similar obligations on them with respect to public shares acquired by them, if any. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares without voting and, if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, we will (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our initial shareholders 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 their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial shareholders, directors acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time period.
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In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our shareholders at such time will be entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of shares, if any, having preference over the ordinary shares. Our shareholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the ordinary shares, except that we will provide our shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.
Founder Shares
The founder shares are designated as Class B ordinary shares and are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of founder shares have the same shareholder rights as public shareholders, except that: (1) prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason; (2) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions contained in a letter agreement that our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into with us; (3) pursuant to such letter agreement, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed to waive: (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to 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 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame); (4) the founder shares will automatically convert into our Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described in more detail below; and (5) the founder shares are entitled to registration rights directors and officers. If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our initial shareholders have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination.
The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which the Class B ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such anti-dilution adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of all ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the completion of this offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in our initial business combination. The term “equity-linked securities” refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for our Class A ordinary shares issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt.
With certain limited exceptions, pursuant to a letter agreement entered into with us, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell and of their founder shares (except to our directors and officers and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor, each of whom will be subject to the same
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transfer restrictions) until the earlier of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 120 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
Register of Members
Under Cayman Islands law, we must keep a register of members and there shall be entered therein:
• the names and addresses of the members, a statement of the shares held by each member, and of the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, on the shares of each member and the voting rights of the shares of each member;
• whether voting rights are attached to the share in issue;
• the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and
• the date on which any person ceased to be a member.
Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (i.e., the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a member registered in the register of members shall be deemed as a matter of Cayman Islands law to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. Upon the closing of this public offering, the register of members shall be immediately updated to reflect the issue of shares by us. Once our register of members has been updated, the shareholders recorded in the register of members shall be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name. However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. If an application for an order for rectification of the register of members were made in respect of our ordinary shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court.
Preference shares
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize 5,000,000 preference shares and provide that preference shares may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors will be authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors will be able to, without shareholder approval, issue preference shares with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the ordinary shares and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preference shares without shareholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preference shares issued and outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any preference shares, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No preference shares are being issued or registered in this offering.
Redeemable Warrants
Public Shareholders’ Warrants
Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share 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, except as described below. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of Class A ordinary shares. 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
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units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least three units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
We will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current 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, including in connection with a cashless exercise permitted as a result of a notice of redemption described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00”. No warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption is available. 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 the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the Class A ordinary share underlying such unit.
We are registering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants in the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part because the warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, which may be within one year of this offering. However, because the warrants will be exercisable until their expiration date of up to five years after the completion of our initial business combination, in order to comply with the requirements of Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act following the consummation of our initial business combination, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 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 Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of the initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. In addition, if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of our public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we elect to do so, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our commercially reasonable 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 Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” less the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the volume weighted average price of the Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants):
• in whole and not in part;
• at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
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• upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and
• if, and only if, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares 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 “— Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within any 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 for cash unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares 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. As a result, we may redeem warrants even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise their warrants.
We have established the $18.00 per share (as adjusted) redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the Class A ordinary shares may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “— Anti-dilution Adjustments”) as well as the $11.50 warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
Beginning on the date the notice of redemption is given until the warrants are redeemed or exercised, holders may elect to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis.
Pursuant to the warrant agreement, references above to Class A ordinary shares shall include a security other than Class A ordinary shares into which the Class A ordinary shares have been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination.
No fractional Class A ordinary shares will be issued upon exercise. If, upon exercise, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the holder. If, at the time of redemption, the warrants are exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares 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 Class A ordinary shares, 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 and Cashless Exercise. If we call the warrants for redemption as described under “— Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00,” our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise his, her or its warrant to do so on a “cashless basis” beginning three business days after the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our shareholders of issuing the maximum number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, all holders of warrants would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) less the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” will mean the average closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of Class A ordinary shares to be received upon exercise of the warrants, including the “fair market value” in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the warrants after our initial business combination. If we call our warrants for redemption
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and our team does not take advantage of this option, our sponsor and its permitted transferees would still be entitled to exercise their private placement warrants for cash or on a cashless basis using the same formula described above that other warrant holders would have been required to use had all warrant holders been required to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, as described in more detail below.
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 9.8% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) of the Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
Anti-dilution Adjustments. If the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares is increased by a capitalization or share dividend payable in Class A ordinary shares, or by a sub-division of Class A ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such capitalization or share dividend, sub-division or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares. A rights offering made to all holders of Class A ordinary shares entitling holders to purchase Class A ordinary shares at a price less than the “historical fair market value” (as defined below) will be deemed a share dividend of a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the product of (1) the number of Class A ordinary shares actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares) and (2) one minus the quotient of (x) the price per Class A ordinary share paid in such rights offering and (y) the historical fair market value. For these purposes, (1) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares, in determining the price payable for Class A ordinary shares, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (2) “historical fair market value” means the volume weighted average price of Class A ordinary shares during the 10-trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the Class A ordinary shares trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.
In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay to all of the holders of Class A ordinary shares a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of Class A ordinary shares on account of such Class A ordinary shares (or other securities into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) any cash dividends or cash distributions which, when combined on a per share basis with all other cash dividends and cash distributions paid on the Class A ordinary shares during the 365-day period ending on the date of declaration of such dividend or distribution does not exceed $0.50 (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) but only with respect to the amount of the aggregate cash dividends or cash distributions equal to or less than $0.50 per share, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (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 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, or (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 Class A ordinary share in respect of such event.
If the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares is decreased by a consolidation, combination or reclassification of Class A ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reclassification or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares.
Whenever the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of Class A ordinary shares so purchasable immediately thereafter.
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In addition, if (x) we issue additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (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 ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described above under “— Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share 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.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such Class A ordinary shares), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a merger or consolidation in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares), 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 our Class A ordinary shares immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares, stock or other equity 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. However, if such holders were entitled to exercise a right of election as to the kind or amount of securities, cash or other assets receivable upon such merger or consolidation, then the kind and amount of securities, cash or other assets for which each warrant will become exercisable will be deemed to be the weighted average of the kind and amount received per share by such holders in such merger or consolidation that affirmatively make such election, and if a tender, exchange or redemption offer has been made to and accepted by such holders (other than a tender, exchange or redemption offer made by the company in connection with redemption rights held by shareholders of the company as provided for in the company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or as a result of the redemption of Class A ordinary shares by the company if a proposed initial business combination is presented to the shareholders of the company for approval) under circumstances in which, upon completion of such tender or exchange offer, the maker thereof, together with members of any group (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act) of which such maker is a part, and together with any affiliate or associate of such maker (within the meaning of Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act) and any members of any such group of which any such affiliate or associate is a part, own beneficially (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) securities representing more than 50% of the aggregate voting power represented by the issued and outstanding equity securities of the company, the holder of a warrant will be entitled to receive the highest amount of cash, securities or other property to which such holder would actually have been entitled as a shareholder if such warrant holder had exercised the warrant prior to the expiration of such tender or exchange offer, accepted such offer and all of the Class A ordinary shares held by such holder had been purchased pursuant to such tender or exchange offer, subject to adjustment (from and after the consummation of such tender or exchange offer) as nearly equivalent as possible to the adjustments provided for in the warrant agreement. Additionally, if less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of Class A ordinary shares in such a transaction is payable in the form of ordinary shares 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 30 days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the per share consideration minus Black-Scholes Warrant Value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant.
The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that (a) the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or
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correcting any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in this prospectus, or defective provision, (ii) removing or reducing our ability to redeem the public warrants, or (iii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants, (b) the warrant agreement may be amended by the parties thereto with the vote or written consent of the registered holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants and private placement warrants, voting together as a single class, to allow for the warrants to be or continue to be classified as equity in the company’s financial statements, and (c) all other modifications or amendments (i) with respect to the terms of the public warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the public warrants, requires the vote or written consent of the registered holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants and (ii) with respect to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants requires the vote or written consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding private placement warrants. 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 holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of ordinary shares and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive Class A ordinary shares. After the issuance of Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by shareholders.
No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade.
We have agreed that, subject to applicable law, any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement 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 we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction will be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. See “Risk Factors — General Risk Factors — 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.” This provision applies to claims under the Securities Act but does not apply to claims under the Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum.
Private Placement Warrants
The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except, among other limited exceptions as described under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants,” to our directors and officers and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor) and they will not be redeemable by us. Our sponsor or its permitted transferees, have the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis and have certain registration rights described herein. Otherwise, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering.
If holders of the private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering his, her or its warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “historical fair market value” (defined below) less the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the historical fair market value. For these purposes, the “historical fair market value” shall mean the average last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent. The reason that we have agreed that these warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our sponsor and its permitted transferees is because it is not known at this time whether they will be affiliated with us following a business combination. If they remain affiliated with us, their ability to sell our securities in the open market will
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be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in place that restrict insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public shareholders who could exercise their warrants and sell the Class A ordinary shares received upon such exercise freely in the open market in order to recoup the cost of such exercise, the insiders could be significantly restricted from selling such securities. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.
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 directors and officers may loan us funds as may be required, although they are under no obligation to advance funds or invest in us. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares 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 at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any share dividends in the foreseeable future, except if we increase the size of this offering, in which case we will effect a capitalization or other appropriate mechanism immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation 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.
Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent
The transfer agent for our ordinary shares 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 shareholders, directors, officers and employees against all liabilities, including judgments, costs and reasonable counsel fees 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.
Certain Differences in Corporate Law
Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Act. The Companies Act is modeled on English Law but does not follow recent English Law statutory enactments, and differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the material differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.
Mergers and Similar Arrangements. In certain circumstances, the Companies Act allows for mergers or consolidations between two Cayman Islands companies, or between a Cayman Islands exempted company and a company incorporated in another jurisdiction (provided that is facilitated by the laws of that other jurisdiction).
Where the merger or consolidation is between two Cayman Islands companies, the directors of each company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation containing certain prescribed information. That plan of merger or consolidation must then be authorized by either (a) a special resolution (usually a majority of 66 2/3% in value who attend and vote at a general meeting) of the shareholders of each company; or (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. No shareholder resolution is required for a merger between a parent company (i.e., a company that owns at least 90% of the issued shares of each class in a subsidiary company) and its subsidiary company. The consent of each holder of a fixed or
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floating security interest of a constituent company must be obtained, unless the court waives such requirement. If the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is satisfied that the requirements of the Companies Act (which includes certain other formalities) have been complied with, the Registrar of Companies will register the plan of merger or consolidation.
Where the merger or consolidation involves a foreign company, the procedure is similar, save that with respect to the foreign company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (1) that the merger or consolidation is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the foreign company and by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is incorporated, and that those laws and any requirements of those constitutional documents have been or will be complied with; (2) that no petition or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up or liquidate the foreign company in any jurisdictions; (3) that no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the foreign company, its affairs or its property or any part thereof; and (4) that no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of the foreign company are and continue to be suspended or restricted.
Where the surviving company is the Cayman Islands exempted company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are further required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (1) that the foreign company is able to pay its debts as they fall due and that the merger or consolidated is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the foreign company; (2) that in respect of the transfer of any security interest granted by the foreign company to the surviving or consolidated company (a) consent or approval to the transfer has been obtained, released or waived; (b) the transfer is permitted by and has been approved in accordance with the constitutional documents of the foreign company; and (c) the laws of the jurisdiction of the foreign company with respect to the transfer have been or will be complied with; (3) that the foreign company will, upon the merger or consolidation becoming effective, cease to be incorporated, registered or exist under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction; and (4) that there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation.
Where the above procedures are adopted, the Companies Act provides for a right of dissenting shareholders to be paid a payment of the fair value of his or her shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, that procedure is as follows: (a) the shareholder must give his or her written objection to the merger or consolidation to the constituent company before the vote on the merger or consolidation, including a statement that the shareholder proposes to demand payment for his or her shares if the merger or consolidation is authorized by the vote; (b) within 20 days following the date on which the merger or consolidation is approved by the shareholders, the constituent company must give written notice to each shareholder who made a written objection; (c) a shareholder must within 20 days following receipt of such notice from the constituent company, give the constituent company a written notice of his or her intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of his or her shares; (d) within seven days following the date of the expiration of the period set out in paragraph (b) above or seven days following the date on which the plan of merger or consolidation is filed, whichever is later, the constituent company, the surviving company or the consolidated company must make a written offer to each dissenting shareholder to purchase his or her shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agrees to the price within 30 days following the date on which the offer was made, the company must pay the shareholder such amount; and (e) if the company and the shareholder fails to agree to a price within such 30-day period, within 20 days following the date on which such 30-day period expires, the company (and any dissenting shareholder) must file a petition with the Cayman Islands Grand Court to determine the fair value and such petition must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the dissenting shareholders with whom agreements as to the fair value of their shares have not been reached by the company. At the hearing of that petition, the court has the power to determine the fair value of the shares together with a fair rate of interest, if any, to be paid by the company upon the amount determined to be the fair value. Any dissenting shareholder whose name appears on the list filed by the company may participate fully in all proceedings until the determination of fair value is reached. These rights of a dissenting shareholder are not to be available in certain circumstances, for example, to dissenters holding shares of any class in respect of which an open market exists on a recognized stock exchange or recognized interdealer quotation system at the relevant date or where the consideration for such shares to be contributed are shares of any company listed on a national securities exchange or shares of the surviving or consolidated company.
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Moreover, Cayman Islands law also has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances, such schemes of arrangement will generally be more suited for complex mergers or other transactions involving widely held companies, commonly referred to in the Cayman Islands as a “scheme of arrangement” which may be tantamount to a merger. In the event that a merger was sought pursuant to a scheme of arrangement (the procedures of which are more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States), the arrangement in question must be approved by a majority in number of each class of shareholders and creditors with whom the arrangement is to be made and who must in addition represent three-fourths in value of each such class of shareholders or creditors, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meeting summoned for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder would have the right to express to the court the view that the transaction should not be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it is satisfied that:
• we are not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of our corporate authority and we have complied with the statutory provisions as to majority vote;
• the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question;
• the arrangement is such as a business-person would reasonably approve; and
• the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act or that would amount to a “fraud on the minority.”
If a scheme of arrangement or takeover offer (as described below) is approved, any dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights, which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of U.S. corporations, providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares.
Squeeze-out Provisions. When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares to whom the offer relates within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, but this is unlikely to succeed unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith, collusion or inequitable treatment of the shareholders.
Further, transactions similar to a merger, reconstruction and/or an amalgamation may in some circumstances be achieved through other means to these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, through contractual arrangements, of an operating business.
Shareholders’ Suits. Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, is not aware of any reported class action having been brought in a Cayman Islands court. Derivative actions have been brought in the Cayman Islands courts, and the Cayman Islands courts have confirmed the availability of such actions. In most cases, we will be the proper plaintiff in any claim based on a breach of duty owed to us, and a claim against (for example) our directors or officers usually may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based both on Cayman Islands authorities and on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority and applied by a court in the Cayman Islands, exceptions to the foregoing principle apply in circumstances in which:
• a company is acting, or proposing to act, illegally or beyond the scope of its authority;
• the act complained of, although not beyond the scope of the authority, could be effected if duly authorized by more than the number of votes that have actually been obtained; or
• those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.”
A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed.
Enforcement of Civil Liabilities. The Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides less protection to investors. Additionally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the federal courts of the United States.
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The courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (1) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state and (2) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, and or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
Special Considerations for Exempted Companies. We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except for the exemptions and privileges listed below:
• an exempted company does not have to file an annual return of its shareholders with the Registrar of Companies;
• an exempted company’s register of members is not open to inspection;
• an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting;
• an exempted company may issue shares with no par value;
• an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 20 years in the first instance);
• an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands;
• an exempted company may register as a limited duration company; and
• an exempted company may register as a segregated portfolio company.
“Limited liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).
Our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of the holders of a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting) cannot be amended without a special resolution. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a resolution is deemed to be a special resolution where it has been approved by either (1) holders of at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s ordinary shares at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given or (2) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders. Other than as described above, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that special resolutions must be approved either by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders.
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Our initial shareholders, who collectively will beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that:
• if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 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 (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law;
• prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional ordinary shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares on any initial business combination;
• although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our officers, we are not prohibited from doing so. In the event we enter into such a transaction, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such a 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;
• if a shareholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other 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;
• as long as our securities are listed on Nasdaq, our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into our initial business combination;
• if our shareholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (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 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares; and
• we will not effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
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In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 following such redemptions.
The Companies Act permits a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands to amend its memorandum and articles of association with the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of such company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares attending and voting at a general meeting. A company’s articles of association may specify that the approval of a higher majority is required but, provided the approval of the required majority is obtained, any Cayman Islands exempted company may amend its memorandum and articles of association regardless of whether its memorandum and articles of association provide otherwise. Accordingly, although we could amend any of the provisions relating to our proposed offering, structure and business plan which are contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we view all of these provisions as binding obligations to our shareholders and neither we, nor our directors or officers, will take any action to amend or waive any of these provisions unless we provide dissenting public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares.
Anti-Money Laundering — Cayman Islands
If any person in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or money laundering or is involved with terrorism or terrorist financing and property and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of business in the regulated sector, or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) the Financial Reporting Authority of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering, or (ii) a police officer of the rank of constable or higher, or the Financial Reporting Authority, pursuant to the Terrorism Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and property. Such a report shall not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.
Data Protection — Cayman Islands
We have certain duties under the Data Protection Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands (the “Data Protection Act”) based on internationally accepted principles of data privacy.
Privacy Notice
Introduction
This privacy notice puts our shareholders on notice that through your investment in the Company you will provide us with certain personal information that constitutes personal data within the meaning of the Data Protection Act (“personal data”). In the following discussion, the “company” refers to us and our affiliates and/or delegates, except where the context requires otherwise.
Investor Data
We will collect, use, disclose, retain and secure personal data to the extent reasonably required only and within the parameters that could be reasonably expected during the normal course of business. We will only process, disclose, transfer or retain personal data to the extent legitimately required to conduct our activities of on an ongoing basis or to comply with legal and regulatory obligations to which we are subject. We will only transfer personal data in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act, and will apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of the personal data and against the accidental loss, destruction or damage to the personal data.
In our use of this personal data, we will be characterized as a “data controller” for the purposes of the Data Protection Act, while our affiliates and service providers who may receive this personal data from us in the conduct of our activities may either act as our “data processors” for the purposes of the Data Protection Act or may process personal information for their own lawful purposes in connection with services provided to us.
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We may also obtain personal data from other public sources. Personal data includes, without limitation, the following information relating to a shareholder and/or any individuals connected with a shareholder as an investor: name, residential address, email address, contact details, corporate contact information, signature, nationality, place of birth, date of birth, tax identification, credit history, correspondence records, passport number, bank account details, source of funds details and details relating to the shareholder’s investment activity.
Who this Affects
If you are a natural person, this will affect you directly. If you are a corporate investor (including, for these purposes, legal arrangements such as trusts or exempted limited partnerships) that provides us with personal data on individuals connected to you for any reason in relation your investment in the company, this will be relevant for those individuals and you should transmit the content of this Privacy Notice to such individuals or otherwise advise them of its content.
How the Company May Use a Shareholder’s Personal Data
The company, as the data controller, may collect, store and use personal data for lawful purposes, including, in particular:
• where this is necessary for the performance of our rights and obligations under any purchase agreements;
• where this is necessary for compliance with a legal and regulatory obligation to which we are subject (such as compliance with anti-money laundering and FATCA/CRS requirements); and/or
• where this is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests and such interests are not overridden by your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms.
Should we wish to use personal data for other specific purposes (including, if applicable, any purpose that requires your consent), we will contact you.
Why We May Transfer Your Personal Data
In certain circumstances we may be legally obliged to share personal data and other information with respect to your shareholding with the relevant regulatory authorities such as the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority or the Tax Information Authority. They, in turn, may exchange this information with foreign authorities, including tax authorities.
We anticipate disclosing personal data to persons who provide services to us and their respective affiliates (which may include certain entities located outside the United States, the Cayman Islands or the European Economic Area), who will process your personal data on our behalf.
The Data Protection Measures We Take
Any transfer of personal data by us or our duly authorized affiliates and/or delegates outside of the Cayman Islands shall be in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act.
We and our duly authorized affiliates and/or delegates shall apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of personal data, and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.
We shall notify you of any personal data breach that is reasonably likely to result in a risk to your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms or those data subjects to whom the relevant personal data relates.
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Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our authorized but unissued ordinary shares and preference shares are available for future issuances without shareholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved ordinary shares and preference shares could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Securities Eligible for Future Sale
Immediately after this offering we will have 21,875,000 (or 35,937,500 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) ordinary shares issued and outstanding. Of these shares, the 17,500,000 Class A ordinary shares (or 20,125,000 shares if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units 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 (4,375,000 founder shares if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is not exercised and 5,031,250 founder shares if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) and all of the outstanding private placement warrants (9,000,000 warrants if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is not exercised and 10,050,000 warrants if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) are restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering, and are subject to transfer restrictions as set forth elsewhere in this prospectus.
Rule 144
Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities provided that (1) 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 (2) 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 12 months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale.
Persons who have beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares or warrants for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:
• 1% of the total number of ordinary shares then issued and outstanding, which will equal 218,750 shares immediately after this offering (or 251,563 if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional units in full); or
• the average weekly reported trading volume of the ordinary shares during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale.
Sales 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;
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• the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and material required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than 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 shareholders will be able to sell their founder shares and our sponsor will be able to sell its private placement warrants, 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 any warrants that may be issued on conversion of working capital loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the 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 ordinary shares). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period as described under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.” We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Listing of Securities
We intend to apply to list our Class A ordinary shares, units and warrants on Nasdaq under the symbols “PRLH,” “PRLHU” and “PRLHW,” respectively. We expect that our units will be listed on Nasdaq promptly on or after the effective date of the registration statement. Following the date the Class A ordinary shares and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed separately and as a unit on Nasdaq. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq.
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INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The following summary of Cayman Islands and U.S. federal income tax considerations relevant to an investment in our units, ordinary shares and warrants is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this prospectus, all of which are subject to change. This summary does not deal with all possible tax consequences relating to an investment in our ordinary shares and warrants, such as the tax consequences under state, local and other tax laws.
Prospective investors should consult their professional advisors on the possible tax consequences of buying, holding or selling any securities under the laws of their country of citizenship, residence or domicile.
Cayman Islands Taxation
The following is a discussion on certain Cayman Islands income tax consequences of an investment in our securities. The discussion is a general summary of present law, which is subject to prospective and retroactive change. It is not intended as tax advice, does not consider any investor’s particular circumstances, and does not consider tax consequences other than those arising under Cayman Islands law.
Under Existing Cayman Islands Laws
Payments of dividends and capital in respect of our securities will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of a dividend or capital to any holder of the securities nor will gains derived from the disposal of the securities be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporate tax. The Cayman Islands currently has no income, corporate or capital gains tax and no estate duty, inheritance tax or gift tax.
No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of warrants. An instrument of transfer in respect of a warrant is stampable if executed in or brought into the Cayman Islands.
No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of our securities or on an instrument of transfer in respect of our securities.
The Company has been incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company with limited liability and, as such, has applied for and received an undertaking from the Financial Secretary of the Cayman Islands in the following form:
The Tax Concessions Act
(As Revised)
Undertaking as to Tax Concessions
In accordance with the provision of section 6 of The Tax Concessions Act (As Revised), the Financial Secretary undertakes with the company:
1. that no law which is hereafter enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to the company or its operations; and
2. in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall be payable:
2.1. on or in respect of the shares, debentures or other obligations of the company; OR
2.2. by way of the withholding in whole or part, of any relevant payment as defined in Section 6(3) of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised).
These concessions shall be for a period of 20 years from the date hereof.
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U.S. Federal Income Taxation
General
The following discussion summarizes U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to the ownership and disposition of our units (each consisting of one ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant) that are purchased in this offering by U.S. Holders (as defined below) and Non-U.S. Holders (as defined below). Because the components of a unit are generally separable at the option of the holder, the holder of a unit generally should be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as the owner of the underlying ordinary share and warrant components of the unit.
This discussion is limited to certain U.S. federal income tax considerations to beneficial owners of our securities who are initial purchasers of a unit pursuant to this offering and hold the unit and each component of the unit as capital assets within the meaning of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). This discussion assumes that the ordinary shares and warrants will trade separately and that any distributions made (or deemed made) by us on our ordinary shares and any consideration received (or deemed received) by a holder in consideration for the sale or other disposition of our securities will be in U.S. dollars. This discussion is a summary only and does not consider all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to the ownership and disposition of a unit by a prospective investor in light of its particular circumstances, including:
• financial institutions or financial services entities;
• broker-dealers;
• taxpayers that are subject to the mark-to-market accounting rules;
• tax-exempt entities;
• governments or agencies or instrumentalities thereof;
• insurance companies;
• regulated investment companies;
• real estate investment trusts;
• controlled foreign corporations;
• passive foreign investment companies;
• expatriates or former long-term residents of the United States;
• persons that actually or constructively own five percent or more of our shares by vote or value;
• persons that acquired our securities pursuant to an exercise of employee share options, in connection with employee share incentive plans or otherwise as compensation;
• persons that hold our securities as part of a straddle, constructive sale, hedging, conversion or other integrated or similar transaction; or
• U.S. Holders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar.
The discussion below is based upon the provisions of the Code, the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof, all as of the date hereof, and such provisions may be repealed, revoked, modified or subject to differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis, so as to result in U.S. federal income tax consequences different from those discussed below. Furthermore, this discussion does not address any aspect of U.S. federal non-income tax laws, such as gift, estate or Medicare contribution tax laws, or state, local or non-U.S. tax laws.
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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, there can be no assurance that future legislation, regulations, administrative rulings or court decisions will not adversely affect the accuracy of the statements in this discussion.
As used herein, the term “U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of units, ordinary shares or warrants who or that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
• an individual citizen or resident of the United States;
• a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) that is created or organized (or treated as created or organized) in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia;
• an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or a trust if (A) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (B) it has in effect a valid election to be treated as a U.S. person.
If a beneficial owner of our securities is not described as a U.S. Holder and is not an entity treated as a partnership or other pass-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, such owner will be considered a “Non-U.S. Holder.” The U.S. federal income tax consequences applicable specifically to Non-U.S. Holders are described below under the heading “Non-U.S. Holders.”
This discussion does not consider the tax treatment of partnerships or other pass-through entities or persons who hold our securities through such entities. If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is the beneficial owner of our securities, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Partnerships holding our securities and partners in such partnerships are urged to consult their own tax advisors.
THIS DISCUSSION IS ONLY A SUMMARY OF THE U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES. EACH PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR IN OUR SECURITIES IS URGED TO CONSULT ITS OWN TAX ADVISOR WITH RESPECT TO THE PARTICULAR TAX CONSEQUENCES TO SUCH INVESTOR OF THE OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES, INCLUDING THE APPLICABILITY AND EFFECT OF ANY U.S. FEDERAL NON-INCOME, STATE, LOCAL, AND NON-U.S. TAX LAWS.
Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit
There is no statutory, administrative or judicial authority directly addressing the treatment, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, of securities with terms substantially the same as the units, 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 ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant to acquire one ordinary share. We intend to treat the acquisition of a unit in this manner and, by purchasing a unit, you agree to adopt such treatment 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 ordinary share and the fraction of a warrant that comprise the unit based on their respective relative fair market values at the time of issuance. A holder’s initial tax basis in the ordinary share and the fraction of a warrant included in each unit should equal the portion of the purchase price of the unit allocated thereto. Any disposition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a disposition of the ordinary share and the warrant comprising the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated between the ordinary share and the fraction of a warrant based on their respective relative fair market values at the time of disposition. The separation of the ordinary share and the fraction of a warrant comprising a unit should not be a taxable event for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
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The foregoing treatment of our ordinary shares 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 holder is advised to consult its own tax advisor regarding the risks associated with an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit) and regarding an allocation of the purchase price among the ordinary share and the warrant that comprise a unit. The balance of this discussion generally assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
U.S. Holders
Taxation of Distributions
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally will be required to include in gross income as dividends the amount of any distribution paid on our ordinary shares. A distribution on such shares generally will be treated as a dividend for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent the distribution is paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles). Such dividends paid by us will be taxable to a corporate U.S. Holder at regular rates and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to domestic corporations in respect of dividends received from other domestic corporations.
Distributions in excess of such earnings and profits generally will be applied against and reduce the U.S. Holder’s basis in its ordinary shares (but not below zero) and, to the extent in excess of such basis, will be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of such ordinary shares.
With respect to non-corporate U.S. Holders, dividends will be taxed at the lower applicable long-term capital gains rate (see “— Taxation on the Disposition of Ordinary Shares and Warrants” below) only if our ordinary shares are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States and certain other requirements are met, including that we are not classified as a PFIC during the taxable year in which the dividend is paid or the preceding taxable year. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability of the lower rate for any dividends paid with respect to our ordinary shares.
Possible Constructive Distributions
The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of shares for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events. An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. However, the U.S. Holders of the warrants would 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 ordinary shares 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 our ordinary shares which is taxable to the holders of such ordinary shares as a distribution. Such constructive distribution would be subject to tax 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.
Taxation on the Disposition of Ordinary Shares and Warrants
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, upon a sale or other taxable disposition of our ordinary shares or warrants which, in general, would include a redemption of ordinary shares as described below, and including as a result of a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination within the required time period, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss. The amount of gain or loss recognized generally will be equal to the difference between (1) the sum of the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in such disposition (or, if the ordinary shares 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 ordinary shares or warrants based upon the then fair market values of the ordinary shares and the warrants included in the units) and (2) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its ordinary shares or warrants so disposed of. A U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its ordinary shares or warrants generally will equal the U.S. Holder’s acquisition cost (that is, the portion of the purchase price of a unit allocated to an ordinary share or warrant, as described above under
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“— Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) reduced by any prior distributions treated as a return of capital. See “— Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant” below for a discussion regarding a U.S. Holder’s basis in an ordinary share acquired pursuant to a warrant.
Long-term capital gains recognized by non-corporate U.S. Holders are generally subject to U.S. federal income tax at a reduced rate of tax. Capital gain or loss will generally constitute long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares or warrants exceeds one year. It is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to the ordinary shares described in this prospectus may prevent a U.S. Holder from satisfying the applicable holding period requirements for this purpose. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to various limitations that are not described herein because a discussion of such limitations depends on each U.S. Holder’s particular facts and circumstances.
Redemption of Ordinary Shares
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, if a U.S. Holder’s ordinary shares are redeemed pursuant to the exercise of a shareholder redemption right or if we purchase a U.S. Holder’s ordinary shares in an open market transaction (in either case referred to herein as a “redemption”), such redemption will be subject to the following rules for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If the redemption qualifies as a sale of the ordinary shares under Section 302 of the Code, the tax treatment of such redemption will be as described under “— Taxation on the Disposition of Ordinary Shares and Warrants” above. Whether a redemption of our shares qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely on the total number of our ordinary shares treated as held by such U.S. Holder (including any shares constructively owned as a result of, among other things, owning warrants). The redemption of ordinary shares generally will be treated as a sale or exchange of the ordinary shares (rather than as a distribution) if the receipt of cash upon the redemption (1) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to a U.S. Holder, (2) results in a “complete termination” of such holder’s interest in us or (3) is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to such holder. These tests are explained more fully below.
In determining whether any of the foregoing tests are satisfied, a U.S. Holder must take into account not only our ordinary shares actually owned by such holder, but also our ordinary shares that are constructively owned by such holder. A U.S. Holder may constructively own, in addition to our ordinary shares owned directly, ordinary shares owned by related individuals and entities in which such holder has an interest or that have an interest in such holder, as well as any ordinary shares such holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which would generally include ordinary shares which could be acquired pursuant to the exercise of the warrant. In order to meet the substantially disproportionate test, the percentage of our issued and outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by a U.S. Holder immediately following the redemption of our ordinary shares must, among other requirements, be less than 80% of the percentage of our issued and outstanding voting and ordinary shares actually and constructively owned by such holder immediately before the redemption. Prior to our initial business combination the ordinary shares may not be treated as voting shares for this purpose and, consequently, this substantially disproportionate test may not be applicable. There will be a complete termination of a U.S. Holder’s interest if either (1) all of our ordinary shares actually and constructively owned by such U.S. Holder are redeemed or (2) all of our ordinary shares actually owned by such U.S. Holder are redeemed and such holder is eligible to waive, and effectively waives, in accordance with specific rules, the attribution of shares owned by family members and such holder does not constructively own any other shares. The redemption of the ordinary shares will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend if such redemption results in a “meaningful reduction” of a 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 shareholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” U.S. Holders should consult with their own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of an exercise of the redemption right.
If none of the foregoing tests are satisfied, then the redemption may be treated as a distribution and the tax effects will be as described under “— Taxation of Distributions,” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis a U.S. Holder has in the redeemed ordinary shares will be added to the adjusted tax basis in such holder’s remaining ordinary shares. If there are no remaining ordinary shares, a U.S. Holder should consult its own tax advisors as to the allocation of any remaining basis.
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Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below and except as discussed below with respect to the cashless exercise of a warrant, a U.S. Holder generally will not recognize gain or loss upon the exercise of a warrant. An ordinary share acquired pursuant to the exercise of a warrant for cash generally will have a tax basis equal to the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrant, increased by the amount paid to exercise the warrant. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary share will commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant; in either case, the holding period will not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the warrant. If a warrant is allowed to lapse unexercised, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize a capital loss equal to such holder’s tax basis in the warrant.
The tax consequences of a cashless exercise of a warrant are not clear under current U.S. federal income tax law. A cashless exercise may be tax-free, either because the exercise is not a realization event or because the exercise is treated as a “recapitalization” within the meaning of Section 368(a)(1)(e) of the Code. Although we expect a U.S. Holder’s cashless exercise of our warrants (including after we provide notice of our intent to redeem warrants for cash) to be treated as a recapitalization, a cashless exercise could alternatively be treated as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized.
In either tax-free situation, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the ordinary shares received generally would equal the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants. If a cashless exercise is not treated as a realization event, it is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares would be treated as commencing on the date of exercise of the warrant or the following day. If a cashless exercise is treated as a recapitalization, the holding period of the ordinary shares would include the holding period of the warrants.
If a cashless exercise is treated as a taxable exchange a U.S. Holder could be deemed to have surrendered warrants with an aggregate fair market value equal to the exercise price for the total number of warrants to be exercised. The U.S. Holder would recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the fair market value of the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in such warrants. In this case, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the ordinary shares received would equal the sum of the U.S. Holder’s initial investment in the warrants exercised (i.e., the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for the units that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “— Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price of such warrants. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares would commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant.
Because of 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.
Subject to the PFIC rules described below, if we redeem warrants for cash pursuant to the redemption provisions described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Shareholders’ Warrants” or if we purchase warrants in an open market transaction, such redemption or purchase generally will be treated as a taxable disposition to the U.S. Holder, taxed as described above under “— Taxation on the Disposition of Ordinary Shares and Warrants.”
Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules
A foreign (i.e., non-U.S.) corporation will be a PFIC for U.S. tax purposes if at least 75% of its gross income in a taxable year, including its pro rata share of the gross income of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, is passive income. Alternatively, a foreign corporation will be a PFIC if at least 50% of its assets in a taxable year of the foreign corporation, ordinarily determined based on fair market value and averaged quarterly over the year, including its pro rata share of the assets of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, are held for the production of, or produce, passive income. Passive income generally includes dividends, interest, rents and royalties (other than rents or royalties derived from the active conduct of a trade or business) and gains from the disposition of passive assets.
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Because we are a blank check company, with no current active business, we believe that it is likely that we will meet the PFIC asset or income test for our current taxable year. However, pursuant to a start-up exception, a corporation will not be a PFIC for the first taxable year the corporation has gross income (the “start-up year”), if (1) no predecessor of the corporation was a PFIC; (2) the corporation satisfies to the IRS that it will not be a PFIC for either of the two taxable years following the start-up year; and (3) the corporation is not in fact a PFIC for either of those years. The application of the start-up exception to us is uncertain and will not be known until after the close of our current taxable year and, possibly, after the close of our two subsequent taxable years. After the acquisition of a company or assets in a business combination, we may still meet one of the PFIC tests depending on the timing of the acquisition and the amount of our passive income and assets as well as the passive income and assets of the acquired business.
If the company that we acquire in a business combination is a PFIC, then we will likely not qualify for the start-up exception and will be a PFIC for our current taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for our current taxable year or any future taxable year, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Accordingly, there can be no assurance with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any future taxable year.
If we are determined to be a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder of our ordinary shares or warrants and, in the case of our ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder did not make either a timely qualified electing fund (“QEF”) election or a mark-to-market election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder held (or was deemed to hold) ordinary shares, as described below, such holder generally will be subject to special rules with respect to:
• any gain recognized by the U.S. Holder on the sale or other disposition of its ordinary shares or warrants; and any “excess distribution” made to the U.S. Holder (generally, any distributions to such U.S. Holder during a taxable year of the U.S. Holder that are greater than 125% of the average annual distributions received by such U.S. Holder in respect of the ordinary shares during the three preceding taxable years of such U.S. Holder or, if shorter, such U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares).
Under these rules,
• the U.S. Holder’s gain or excess distribution will be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares and warrants;
• the amount allocated to the U.S. Holder’s taxable year in which the U.S. Holder recognized the gain or received the excess distribution, or to the period in the U.S. Holder’s holding period before the first day of our first taxable year in which we are a PFIC, will be taxed as ordinary income;
• the amount allocated to other taxable years (or portions thereof) of the U.S. Holder and included in its holding period will be taxed at the highest tax rate in effect for that year and applicable to the U.S. Holder; and
• the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed in respect of the tax attributable to each such other taxable year of the U.S. Holder.
In general, if we are determined to be a PFIC, a U.S. Holder may avoid the PFIC tax consequences described above with respect to our ordinary shares (but not our warrants) by making a timely QEF election (if eligible to do so) to include in income its pro rata share of our net capital gains (as long-term capital gain) and other earnings and profits (as ordinary income), on a current basis, in each case whether or not distributed, in the taxable year of the U.S. Holder in which or with which our taxable year ends.
A U.S. Holder generally may make a separate election to defer the payment of taxes on undistributed income inclusions under the QEF rules, but if deferred, any such taxes will be subject to an interest charge. A U.S. Holder may not make a QEF election with respect to its warrants to acquire our ordinary shares. As a result, if a U.S. Holder sells or otherwise disposes of such warrants (other than upon exercise of such warrants), any gain recognized generally will be subject to the special tax and interest charge rules treating the gain as an excess distribution, as described above, if we were a PFIC at any time during the period the U.S. Holder held the warrants. If a U.S. Holder that exercises such warrants properly makes a QEF election with respect to the newly acquired ordinary shares (or has previously made a QEF election with respect to our ordinary shares), the QEF election will apply to the newly acquired ordinary shares, but the adverse tax consequences relating to PFIC shares, adjusted to take into account
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the current income inclusions resulting from the QEF election, will continue to apply with respect to such newly acquired ordinary shares (which will generally be deemed to have a holding period for purposes of the PFIC rules that includes the period the U.S. Holder held the warrants), unless the U.S. Holder makes a purging election. One type of purging election creates a deemed sale of such shares at their fair market value. Any gain recognized in this deemed sale will be subject to the special tax and interest charge rules treating the gain as an excess distribution, as described above. As a result of this election, the U.S. Holder will have additional basis (to the extent of any gain recognized on the deemed sale) and, solely for purposes of the PFIC rules, a new holding period in the ordinary shares acquired upon the exercise of the warrants. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors as to the application of the rules governing purging elections to their particular circumstances (including a potential separate “deemed dividend” purging election that may be available if we are a controlled foreign corporation).
The QEF election is made on a shareholder-by-shareholder basis and, once made, can be revoked only with the consent of the IRS. A U.S. Holder generally makes a QEF election by attaching a completed IRS Form 8621 (Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund), including the information provided in a PFIC Annual Information Statement, to a timely filed U.S. federal income tax return for the tax year to which the election relates. Retroactive QEF elections generally may be made only by filing a protective statement with such return and if certain other conditions are met or with the consent of the IRS. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a retroactive QEF election under their particular circumstances.
In order to comply with the requirements of a QEF election, a U.S. Holder must receive a PFIC Annual Information Statement from us. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the IRS may require, including a PFIC Annual Information Statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a QEF election. However, there is no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of our status as a PFIC in the future or of the required information to be provided.
If a U.S. Holder has made a QEF election with respect to our ordinary shares, and the special tax and interest charge rules do not apply to such shares (because of a timely QEF election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) such shares or a purge of the PFIC taint pursuant to a purging election, as described above), any gain recognized on the sale of our ordinary shares generally will be taxable as capital gain and no interest charge will be imposed under the PFIC rules. As discussed above, U.S. Holders of a QEF are currently taxed on their pro rata shares of its earnings and profits, whether or not distributed. In such case, a subsequent distribution of such earnings and profits that were previously included in income generally should not be taxable as a dividend to such U.S. Holders. The tax basis of a U.S. Holder’s shares in a QEF will be increased by amounts that are included in income, and decreased by amounts distributed but not taxed as dividends, under the above rules.
Although a determination as to our PFIC status will be made annually, an initial determination that our company is a PFIC will generally apply for subsequent years to a U.S. Holder who held ordinary shares or warrants while we were a PFIC, whether or not we meet the test for PFIC status in those subsequent years. A U.S. Holder who makes the QEF election discussed above for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) our ordinary shares, however, will not be subject to the PFIC tax and interest charge rules discussed above in respect to such shares. In addition, such U.S. Holder will not be subject to the QEF inclusion regime with respect to such shares for any taxable year of us that ends within or with a taxable year of the U.S. Holder and in which we are not a PFIC. On the other hand, if the QEF election is not effective for each of our taxable years in which we are a PFIC and the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) our ordinary shares, the PFIC rules discussed above will continue to apply to such shares unless the holder makes a purging election, as described above, and pays the tax and interest charge with respect to the gain inherent in such shares attributable to the pre-QEF election period.
Alternatively, if a U.S. Holder, at the close of its taxable year, owns shares in a PFIC that are treated as marketable stock, the U.S. Holder may make a mark-to-market election with respect to such shares for such taxable year. If the U.S. Holder makes a valid mark-to-market election for the first taxable year of the U.S. Holder in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) ordinary shares in us and for which we are determined to be a PFIC, such holder generally will not be subject to the PFIC rules described above in respect to its ordinary shares. Instead, in general, the U.S. Holder will include as ordinary income each year the excess, if any, of the fair market value of its ordinary shares at the end of its taxable year over the adjusted basis in its ordinary shares. Such a U.S. Holder also
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will be allowed to take an ordinary loss in respect of the excess, if any, of the adjusted basis of its ordinary shares over the fair market value of its ordinary shares at the end of its taxable year (but only to the extent of the net amount of previously included income as a result of the mark-to-market election). Such U.S. Holder’s basis in its ordinary shares will be adjusted to reflect any such income or loss amounts, and any further gain recognized on a sale or other taxable disposition of the ordinary shares will be treated as ordinary income. Currently, a mark-to-market election may not be made with respect to our warrants.
The mark-to-market election is available only for stock that is regularly traded on a national securities exchange that is registered with the SEC, including Nasdaq, or on a foreign exchange or market that the IRS determines has rules sufficient to ensure that the market price represents a legitimate and sound fair market value. If made, a mark-to-market election would be effective for the taxable year for which the election was made and for all subsequent taxable years unless the ordinary shares ceased to qualify as “marketable stock” for purposes of the PFIC rules or the IRS consented to the revocation of the election. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a mark-to-market election in respect to our ordinary shares under their particular circumstances.
If we are a PFIC and, at any time, have a foreign subsidiary that is classified as a PFIC, U.S. Holders generally would be deemed to own a portion of the shares of such lower-tier PFIC, and generally could incur liability for the deferred tax and interest charge described above if we receive a distribution from, or dispose of all or part of our interest in, the lower-tier PFIC or the U.S. Holders otherwise were deemed to have disposed of an interest in the lower-tier PFIC. We will endeavor to cause any lower-tier PFIC to provide to a U.S. Holder the information that may be required to make or maintain a QEF election with respect to the lower-tier PFIC. However, there is no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of the status of any such lower-tier PFIC. In addition, we may not hold a controlling interest in any such lower-tier PFIC and thus there can be no assurance we will be able to cause the lower-tier PFIC to provide the required information. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the tax issues raised by lower-tier PFICs.
A U.S. Holder that owns (or is deemed to own) shares in a PFIC during any taxable year of the U.S. Holder, may have to file an IRS Form 8621(whether or not a QEF or mark-to-market election is made) and such other information as may be required by the U.S. Treasury Department.
The rules dealing with PFICs and with the QEF and mark-to-market elections are very complex and are affected by various factors in addition to those described above. Accordingly, U.S. Holders of our ordinary shares or warrants should consult their own tax advisors concerning the application of the PFIC rules to our ordinary shares or warrants under their particular circumstances.
Tax Reporting
Certain U.S. Holders who are individuals and certain entities will be required to report information with respect to such U.S. Holder’s investment in “specified foreign financial assets,” which may include an interest in us, on IRS Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets), subject to certain exceptions. Persons who are required to report specified foreign financial assets and fail to do so may be subject to substantial penalties. Potential investors are urged to consult their tax advisers regarding the foreign financial asset and other reporting obligations and their application to an investment in our securities.
Non-U.S. Holders
Dividends (including constructive distributions treated as dividends) paid or deemed paid to a Non-U.S. Holder in respect to its ordinary shares generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax, unless the dividends are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains in the United States).
In addition, a Non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any gain attributable to a sale or other disposition of our ordinary shares and warrants (including a redemption or cashless exercise of warrants to the extent such disposition may otherwise be treated as taxable) unless such gain is effectively connected with its conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty,
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is attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains in the United States) or the Non-U.S. Holder is an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of sale or other disposition and certain other conditions are met (in which case, such gain from United States sources generally is subject to tax at a 30% rate or a lower applicable tax treaty rate).
Dividends (including constructive distributions treated as dividends) and gains that are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base in the United States) generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the same regular U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to a comparable U.S. Holder and, in the case of a Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, also may be subject to an additional branch profits tax at a 30% rate or a lower applicable tax treaty rate.
The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of shares for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events. An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. However, the Non-U.S. Holders of the warrants would 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 ordinary shares 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 our ordinary shares which is taxable to the holders of such ordinary shares as a distribution. Such constructive distribution would be subject to tax as if the Non-U.S. Holders of the warrants received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interest.
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UNDERWRITING
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC (“Morgan Stanley”) is acting as book-running manager of the offering and as representative of the underwriters named below. Subject to the terms and conditions of the underwriting agreement dated the date of this prospectus, each underwriter named below has severally agreed to purchase, and we have agreed to sell to that underwriter, the number of units set forth opposite the underwriter’s name.
Underwriter | | Number of Units |
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC | | 17,500,000 |
Total | | 17,500,000 |
The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the units included in this offering are subject to approval of legal matters by counsel and to other conditions. The underwriters are obligated to purchase all of the units (other than those covered by the option to purchase additional units described below) if they purchase any of the units.
Units sold by the underwriters to the public will initially be offered at the initial public offering price set forth on the cover of this prospectus. Any units sold by the underwriters to securities dealers may be sold at a discount from the initial public offering price not to exceed $0.12 per unit. After the initial public offering, if all of the units are not sold at the initial offering price, the underwriters may change the offering price and the other selling terms. The underwriters reserve the right to reject, cancel or modify any order in whole or in part. The underwriters have advised us that they do not intend to make sales to discretionary accounts.
If the underwriters sell more units than the total number set forth in the table above, we have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 45 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to 2,625,000 additional units at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The underwriters may exercise this option solely for the purpose of covering options to purchase additional units, if any, in connection with this offering. Any units issued or sold under the option will be issued and sold on the same terms and conditions as the other units that are the subject of this offering.
The following table shows the underwriting discounts and commissions that we are to pay to the underwriters in connection with this offering. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units ($0.35 per unit, or $6,125,000 (or $7,043,750 if the option to purchase additional units is exercised in full), of deferred underwriting commissions will be paid to the underwriters upon the completion of our initial business combination.
| | Per Unit(1) | | Total(1) |
| | Without Option to Purchase Additional Units | | With Option to Purchase Additional Units | | Without Option to Purchase Additional Units | | With Option to Purchase Additional Units |
Underwriting Discounts and Commissions paid by us | | $ | 0.55 | | $ | 0.55 | | $ | 9,625,000 | | $ | 11,068,750 |
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(1) Includes $0.35 per unit, or $6,125,000 (or $7,043,750 if the option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) in the aggregate, payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank N.A. as described herein. The deferred commissions will be released to the underwriters only on completion of an initial business combination, in an amount equal to $0.35 multiplied by the number of Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in this offering, as described in this prospectus.
We estimate that our portion of the total expenses of this offering payable by us will be $650,000, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions. We have agreed to reimburse the underwriters for all expenses and fees related to the review by FINRA, not to exceed $25,000.
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We, our sponsor and our officers and directors have agreed that we will not offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, without the prior written consent of Morgan Stanley for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus, any units, warrants, Class A ordinary shares or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, Class A ordinary shares; provided, however, that we may (1) issue and sell the private placement warrants; (2) issue and sell the additional units to cover our underwriter’s option to purchase additional units (if any); (3) register with the SEC pursuant to the registration rights agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, the resale of the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, the founder shares and the forward purchase securities; and (4) issue securities in connection with our initial business combination, including the forward purchase securities. However, the foregoing shall not apply to the forfeiture of any founder shares pursuant to their terms or any transfer of founder shares to any current or future independent director of the Company (as long as such current or future independent director is subject to the terms of the letter agreement, filed herewith, at the time of such transfer; and as long as, to the extent any Section 16 reporting obligation is triggered as a result of such transfer, any related Section 16 filing includes a practical explanation as to the nature of the transfer). Morgan Stanley in its sole discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice, other than in the case of our sponsor, officers and directors, which shall be with notice.
Our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their (i) founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalization, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 120 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, amalgamation, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property, or (ii) private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion or exercise thereof) until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares.
The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required because of any of those liabilities.
We will apply to have our units listed on Nasdaq, under the symbol “PRLHU” promptly after the effective date of the registration statement and, once the Class A ordinary shares and warrants begin separate trading, to have the Class A ordinary shares and warrants listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “PRLH” and “PRLHW,” respectively.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our securities. Consequently, the initial public offering price for the units was determined by negotiations between us and the underwriters.
Among the factors considered in determining the initial public offering price were the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies, prior offerings of those companies, our management, our capital structure and currently prevailing general conditions in equity securities markets, including current market valuations of publicly traded companies considered comparable to our company. We cannot assure you, however, that the price at which the units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants will sell in the public market after this offering will not be lower than the initial public offering price or that an active trading market in our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants will develop and continue after this offering.
If we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of this offering, the trustee and the underwriters have agreed that: (1) they will forfeit any rights or claims to their deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, including any
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accrued interest thereon, then in the trust account; and (2) the deferred underwriters’ discounts and commissions will be distributed on a pro rata basis, together with any interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to fund our working capital requirements, subject to an annual limit of $701,250, and/or to pay our taxes (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) to the public shareholders.
In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell units in the open market. Purchases and sales in the open market may include short sales, purchases to cover short positions, which may include purchases pursuant to the option to purchase additional units and stabilizing purchases, in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
• Short sales involve secondary market sales by the underwriters of a greater number of units than they are required to purchase in the offering.
• “Covered” short sales are sales of units in an amount up to the number of units represented by the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units.
• “Naked” short sales are sales of units in an amount in excess of the number of units represented by the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units.
• Covering transactions involve purchases of units either pursuant to the option to purchase additional units or in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover short positions.
• To close a naked short position, the underwriters must purchase units in the open market after the distribution has been completed. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering.
• To close a covered short position, the underwriters must purchase units in the open market after the distribution has been completed or must exercise the option to purchase additional units. In determining the source of units to close the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase units through the option to purchase additional units.
• Stabilizing transactions involve bids to purchase units so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum.
Purchases to cover short positions and stabilizing purchases, as well as other purchases by the underwriters for their own accounts, may have the effect of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the units. They may also cause the price of the units to be higher than the price that would otherwise exist in the open market in the absence of these transactions. The underwriters may conduct these transactions in the over-the-counter market or otherwise. If the underwriters commence any of these transactions, they may discontinue them at any time.
We are not under any contractual obligation to engage any of the underwriters to provide any services for us after this offering and have no present intent to do so. However, any of the underwriters may introduce us to potential target businesses or assist us in raising additional capital in the future. If any of the underwriters provide services to us after this offering, we may pay such underwriter fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arm’s-length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with any of the underwriters and no fees for such services will be paid to any of the underwriters prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of this prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriter’s compensation in connection with this offering and we may pay the underwriters of this offering or any entity with which they are affiliated, a finder’s fee or other compensation for services rendered to us in connection with the completion of a business combination.
The underwriters and their affiliates have engaged in, and may in the future engage in, investment banking and other commercial dealings in the ordinary course of business with us or our affiliates, including in connection with acting in an advising capacity or as a potential financing source in conjunction with our potential acquisition of a company. They have received, or may in the future receive, customary fees and commissions for these transactions.
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In addition, in the ordinary course of their business activities, the underwriters and their affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers. Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of ours or our affiliates. The underwriters and their affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the websites maintained by one or more of the underwriters, or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering and one or more of the underwriters participating in this offering may distribute prospectuses electronically. The underwriters may agree to allocate a number of units to underwriter and selling group members for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the underwriters and selling group members that will make internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.
The units are offered for sale in the United States, Europe, Asia and other jurisdictions where it is lawful to make such offers.
Each of the underwriters has represented and agreed that it has not offered, sold or delivered and will not offer, sell or deliver any of the units directly or indirectly, or distribute this prospectus or any other offering material relating to the units, in or from any jurisdiction except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations thereof and that will not impose any obligations on us except as set forth in the underwriting agreement.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the European Economic Area
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 the Prospectus Regulation;
(b) to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under the Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriters for any such offer; or
(c) in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation,
provided that no such offer of units shall require the issuer or the underwriters to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any 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.
The representative and its affiliates will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations, acknowledgments and agreements.
This prospectus has been prepared on the basis that any offer of units in any member state will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Directive from the requirement to publish a prospectus for offers of units. Accordingly, any person making or intending to make an offer in that member state of units which are the subject of the offering contemplated in this prospectus may only do so in circumstances in which no obligation arises for the company or any of the representatives to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive in relation to such offer. Neither the company nor the representative have authorized, nor do they authorize, the making of any offer of units in circumstances in which an obligation arises for the company or the representative to publish a prospectus for such offer.
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For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer of units to the public” in relation to any units in any member state means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe the units, as the same may be varied in that member state by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that member state, the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC (as amended) and includes any relevant implementing measure in each member state.
The above selling restriction is in addition to any other selling restrictions set out below.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the United Kingdom
In relation to the United Kingdom, no units 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 units that either (i) has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority, or (ii) is to be treated as if it had been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority in accordance with the transitional provision in Regulation 74 of the Prospectus (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, except that offers of units may be made to the public in the United Kingdom at any time under the following exemptions under the UK Prospectus Regulation:
(a) to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation;
(b) 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 Representative for any such offer; or
(c) in any other circumstances falling within section 86 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended (the “FSMA”),
provided that no such offer of units shall require the issuer or the underwriters 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 any units 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 units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any units, 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.
Each underwriter has represented and agreed that:
(a) it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the FSMA) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of any units in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply to the issuer; and
(b) it has complied, and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to any units in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.
Notice to Residents of Japan
The underwriters will not offer or sell any of our units directly or indirectly in Japan or to, or for the benefit of any Japanese person or to others, for re-offering or re-sale directly or indirectly in Japan or to any Japanese person, except in each case pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Securities and Exchange Law of Japan and any other applicable laws and regulations of Japan. For purposes of this paragraph, “Japanese person” means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan.
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Notice to Residents of Hong Kong
The underwriters and each of their affiliates have not (1) offered or sold, and will not offer or sell, in Hong Kong, by means of any document, our units other than (A) to “professional investors” “as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap.571) of Hong Kong and any rules made under that Ordinance or (B) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32 of Hong Kong) or which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of that Ordinance or (2) issued or had in its possession for the purposes of issue, and will not issue or have in its possession for the purposes of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere any advertisement, invitation or document relating to our units which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to our securities which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance and any rules made under that Ordinance. The contents of this document have not been reviewed by any regulatory authority in Hong Kong. You are advised to exercise caution in relation to the offer. If you are in any doubt about any of the contents of this document, you should obtain independent professional advice.
Notice to Residents of Singapore
This prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units has not been and will not be registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and the units will be offered in Singapore pursuant to exemptions under Section 274 and Section 275 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “Securities and Futures Act”). Accordingly our units may not be offered or sold, or be the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, nor may this prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units be circulated or distributed, whether directly or indirectly, to the public or any member of the public in Singapore other than (a) to an institutional investor or other person specified in Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, (b) to a sophisticated investor, and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the Securities and Futures Act or (c) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the Securities and Futures Act.
Notice to Residents of Germany
Each person who is in possession of this prospectus is aware that no German sales prospectus (Verkaufsprospekt) within the meaning of the Securities Sales Prospectus Act (Wertpapier- Verkaufsprospektgesetz, the “Act”) of the Federal Republic of Germany has been or will be published with respect to our units. In particular, each underwriter has represented that it has not engaged and has agreed that it will not engage in a public offering (offentliches Angebot) within the meaning of the Act with respect to any of our units otherwise then in accordance with the Act and all other applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
Notice to Residents of France
The units are being issued and sold outside the Republic of France and that, in connection with their initial distribution, it has not offered or sold and will not offer or sell, directly or indirectly, any units to the public in the Republic of France, and that it has not distributed and will not distribute or cause to be distributed to the public in the Republic of France this prospectus or any other offering material relating to the units, and that such offers, sales and distributions have been and will be made in the Republic of France only to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) in accordance with Article L.411-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code and decrét no. 98-880 dated October 1, 1998.
Notice to Residents of the Netherlands
Our units may not be offered, sold, transferred or delivered in or from the Netherlands as part of their initial distribution or at any time thereafter, directly or indirectly, other than to, individuals or legal entities situated in The Netherlands who or which trade or invest in securities in the conduct of a business or profession (which includes banks, securities intermediaries (including dealers and brokers), insurance companies, pension funds, collective investment institution, central governments, large international and supranational organizations, other institutional investors and other parties, including treasury departments of commercial enterprises, which as an ancillary activity
173
regularly invest in securities; hereinafter, “Professional Investors”); provided that in the offer, prospectus and in any other documents or advertisements in which a forthcoming offering of our units is publicly announced (whether electronically or otherwise) in The Netherlands it is stated that such offer is and will be exclusively made to such Professional Investors. Individual or legal entities who are not Professional Investors may not participate in the offering of our units, and this prospectus or any other offering material relating to our units may not be considered an offer or the prospect of an offer to sell or exchange our units.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the Cayman Islands
No invitation, whether directly or indirectly, may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for our units.
Notice to Canadian Residents
Resale Restrictions
The distribution of units in Canada is being made only in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia on a private placement basis exempt from the requirement that we prepare and file a prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each province where trades of these securities are made. Any resale of the units in Canada must be made under applicable securities laws which may vary depending on the relevant jurisdiction, and which may require resales to be made under available statutory exemptions or under a discretionary exemption granted by the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authority. Purchasers are advised to seek legal advice prior to any resale of the securities.
Representations of Canadian Purchasers
By purchasing units in Canada and accepting delivery of a purchase confirmation, a purchaser is representing to us and the dealer from whom the purchase confirmation is received that:
• the purchaser is entitled under applicable provincial securities laws to purchase the units without the benefit of a prospectus qualified under those securities laws as it is an “accredited investor” as defined under National Instrument 45-106 — Prospectus Exemptions;
• the purchaser is a “permitted client” as defined in National Instrument 31-103 — Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations;
where required by law, the purchaser is purchasing as principal and not as agent; and
• the purchaser has reviewed the text above under Resale Restrictions.
Conflicts of Interest
Canadian purchasers are hereby notified that the underwriters are relying on the exemption set out in section 3A.3 or 3A.4, if applicable, of National Instrument 33-105 — Underwriting Conflicts from having to provide certain conflict of interest disclosure in this document.
Statutory Rights of Action
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if the prospectus (including any amendment thereto) such as this document contains a misrepresentation; provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory.
The purchaser of these securities in Canada should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
174
Enforcement of Legal Rights
All of our directors and officers as well as the experts named herein may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible for Canadian purchasers to effect service of process within Canada upon us or those persons. All or a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of those persons may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible to satisfy a judgment against us or those persons in Canada or to enforce a judgment obtained in Canadian courts against us or those persons outside of Canada.
Taxation and Eligibility for Investment
Canadian purchasers of units should consult their own legal and tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences of an investment in the units in their particular circumstances and about the eligibility of the units for investment by the purchaser under relevant Canadian legislation.
175
LEGAL MATTERS
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Los Angeles, California, is acting as counsel in connection with the registration of our securities under the Securities Act, and as such, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to units and warrants. Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to the ordinary shares and matters of Cayman Islands law. In connection with this offering, Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett LLP, New York, New York, is acting as counsel to the underwriters.
EXPERTS
The financial statements of Pearl Holdings Acquisition Corp as of April 3, 2021 and for the period from March 23, 2021 (inception) through April 3, 2021 appearing in this prospectus and in the registration statement have been so included in reliance on the report of BDO USA, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, appearing elsewhere herein and in the registration statement, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting. The report on the financial statements contains an explanatory paragraph regarding the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.
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 of which this prospectus forms a part 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.
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PEARL HOLDINGS ACQUISITION CORP
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
| | Page |
Audited Financial Statements of Pearl Holdings Acquisition Corp: | | |
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm | | F-2 |
Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2021 (Unaudited) and April 3, 2021 | | F-3 |
Statements of Operations for the Period from March 23, 2021 (Inception) through September 30, 2021 (Unaudited) and for the Period from March 23, 2021 (Inception) through April 3, 2021 | | F-4 |
Statements of Changes in Shareholder’s Deficit for the Period from March 23, 2021 (Inception) through September 30, 2021 (Unaudited) and for the Period from March 23, 2021 (Inception) through April 3, 2021 | | F-5 |
Statements of Cash Flows for the Period from March 23, 2021 (Inception) through September 30, 2021 (Unaudited) and for the Period from March 23, 2021 (Inception) through April 3, 2021 | | F-6 |
Notes to Financial Statements | | F-7 |
F-1
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Shareholders and Board of Directors
Pearl Holdings Acquisition Corp
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Pearl Holdings Acquisition Corp (the “Company”) as of April 3, 2021, the related statements of operations, shareholders’ equity and cash flows for the period from March 23, 2021 (inception) through April 3, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of April 3, 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from March 23, 2021 (inception) through April 3, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Going Concern Uncertainty
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, as of April 3, 2021, the Company does not have sufficient cash and working capital to sustain its operations and the Company’s ability to execute its business plan is dependent upon its completion of the proposed initial public offering described in Note 3 to the financial statements. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Notes 1 and 3. 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 and in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. 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/ BDO USA, LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2021.
Charlotte, North Carolina
May 18, 2021, except for Notes 3, 4, and 7, as to which the date is October 21, 2021
F-2
PEARL HOLDINGS ACQUISITION CORP
BALANCE SHEETS
| | September 30, 2021 | | April 3, 2021 |
| | (Unaudited) | | (Audited) |
Assets | | | | | | | | |
Deferred offering costs | | $ | 726,886 | | | $ | 194,016 | |
Prepaid expenses | | | 1,500 | | | | — | |
Total Assets | | $ | 728,386 | | | $ | 194,016 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Liabilities and Shareholder’s Deficit: | | | | | | | | |
Accrued offering costs and expenses | | $ | 634,569 | | | $ | 190,054 | |
Promissory note – related party | | | 102,802 | | | | — | |
Total Current Liabilities | | | 737,371 | | | | 190,054 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Commitments and Contingencies (see note 5) | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
Shareholder’s Deficit | | | | | | | | |
Preference shares, $0.0001 par value; 5,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding | | | — | | | | — | |
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding | | | — | | | | — | |
Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 50,000,000 shares authorized; 5,031,250 shares issued and outstanding(1) | | | 503 | | | | 719 | |
Additional paid-in capital | | | 24,497 | | | | 24,281 | |
Accumulated deficit | | | (33,985 | ) | | | (21,038 | ) |
Total shareholder’s deficit | | | (8,985 | ) | | | 3,962 | |
Total Liabilities and Shareholder’s Deficit | | $ | 728,386 | | | $ | 194,016 | |
____________
(1) Includes up to 656,250 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the option to purchase additional units is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 8). On April 3, 2021, the Sponsor paid $25,000 in consideration for an aggregate of 7,187,500 founder shares. In November 2021, the Sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 2,156,250 founder shares for no consideration, thereby reducing the aggregate number of founder shares outstanding to 5,031,250. All shares and related amounts have been retroactively adjusted to reflect to forfeiture.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-3
PEARL HOLDINGS ACQUISITION CORP
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
| | For the Period from March 23, 2021 (Inception) through September 30, 2021 | | For the Period from March 23, 2021 (Inception) through April 3, 2021 |
| | (Unaudited) | | (Audited) |
Formation and operating costs | | $ | 33,985 | | | $ | 21,038 | |
Net loss | | $ | (33,985 | ) | | $ | (21,038 | ) |
| | | | | | | | |
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding(1) | | | 4,375,000 | | | | 4,375,000 | |
Basic and diluted net loss per share | | $ | (0.01 | ) | | $ | (0.00 | ) |
____________
(1) Excludes up to 656,250 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the option to purchase additional units is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 8). On April 3, 2021, the Sponsor paid $25,000 in consideration for an aggregate of 7,187,500 founder shares. In November 2021, the Sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 2,156,250 founder shares for no consideration, thereby reducing the aggregate number of founder shares outstanding to 5,031,250. All shares and related amounts have been retroactively adjusted to reflect to forfeiture.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-4
PEARL HOLDINGS ACQUISITION CORP
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDER’S DEFICIT
| | Class B Ordinary shares | | Additional Paid-In Capital | | Accumulated Deficit | | Shareholder’s Deficit |
| | Shares(1) | | Amount | |
Balance as of March 23, 2021 (inception) | | — | | $ | — | | $ | — | | $ | — | | | $ | — | |
Class B ordinary shares issued to Sponsor(1) | | 5,031,250 | | | 503 | | | 24,497 | | | | | | | 25,000 | |
Net loss | | | | | | | | | | | (21,038 | ) | | | (21,038 | ) |
Balance as of April 3, 2021 (Audited) | | 5,031,250 | | $ | 503 | | $ | 24,497 | | $ | (21,038 | ) | | $ | 3,962 | |
Net loss | | | | | | | | | | | (12,947 | ) | | | (12,947 | ) |
Balance as of September 30, 2021 (Unaudited) | | 5,031,250 | | $ | 503 | | $ | 24,497 | | $ | (33,985 | ) | | $ | (8,985 | ) |
____________
(1) Includes up to 656,250 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the option to purchase additional units is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 8). On April 3, 2021, the Sponsor paid $25,000 in consideration for an aggregate of 7,187,500 founder shares. In November 2021, the Sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 2,156,250 founder shares for no consideration, thereby reducing the aggregate number of founder shares outstanding to 5,031,250. All shares and related amounts have been retroactively adjusted to reflect to forfeiture.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-5
PEARL HOLDINGS ACQUISITION CORP
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
| | For the Period from March 23, 2021 (Inception) through September 30, 2021 | | For the Period from March 23, 2021 (Inception) through April 3, 2021 |
| | (Unaudited) | | (Audited) |
Cash flows from operating activities: | | | | | | | | |
Net loss | | $ | (33,985 | ) | | $ | (21,038 | ) |
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | | | | | | | | |
Formation costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of Class B ordinary shares | | | 15,082 | | | | 15,082 | |
Changes in current assets and liabilities: | | | | | | | | |
Accrued expenses | | | 18,903 | | | | 5,956 | |
Net cash used in operating activities | | | — | | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Cash flows from financing activities: | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
Net cash used in operating activities | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
Net change in cash | | | — | | | | — | |
Cash, beginning of the period | | | — | | | | — | |
Cash, end of the period | | $ | — | | | $ | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: | | | | | | | | |
Non-cash financing transaction: | | | | | | | | |
Deferred offering costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of Class B ordinary shares | | $ | 25,000 | | | $ | 25,000 | |
Deferred offering costs included in accrued offering costs and expenses | | $ | 600,584 | | | $ | 184,098 | |
Deferred offering costs paid by Sponsor under the promissory note | | $ | 101,302 | | | $ | — | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-6
PEARL HOLDINGS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Organization and Business Operations
Pearl Holdings Acquisition Corp (the “Company”) is a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on March 23, 2021. The Company was incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company has not selected any specific Business Combination target and the Company has not, nor has anyone on its behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any Business Combination target with respect to an initial Business Combination with the Company. While the Company may pursue an initial Business Combination target in any industry or geographic location, the Company intend to focus its search for a target business operating in the lifestyle, health and wellness and technology sectors.
As of September 30, 2021, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from March 23, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and the Proposed Public Offering (as defined 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 (as defined below). The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
The Company’s Sponsor is Pearl Holdings Sponsor LLC, a Cayman Islands limited liability company (the “Sponsor”). The Company’s ability to commence operations is contingent upon obtaining adequate financial resources through a Proposed Public Offering of 17,500,000 units at $10.00 per unit (the “Units”) (or 20,125,000 Units if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full), which is discussed in Note 3 (the “Proposed Public Offering”), and the sale of 9,000,000 Private Placement Warrants (or 10,050,000 Private Placement Warrants if the option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) (the “Private Placement Warrants”) to the Sponsor, at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the Proposed Public Offering. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Proposed Public Offering and the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be generally applied toward consummating a Business Combination (less deferred underwriting commissions).
The Company’s Business Combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the Trust Account (as defined below) (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust) at the time of the signing a definitive agreement in connection with the initial Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination.
Upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, management has agreed that an aggregate of $10.00 per Unit sold in the Proposed Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will be deposited into a trust account (the “Trust Account”) and will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Based on current interest rates, the Company estimate that the interest earned on the Trust Account will be approximately $89,250 per year, assuming an interest rate of 0.05% per year. the Company will not be permitted to withdraw any of the principal or interest held in the Trust Account except for the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes, if any. The funds held in the Trust Account will not otherwise be released from the Trust Account until the earliest of: (1) the completion of the initial Business Combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to
F-7
PEARL HOLDINGS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Organization and Business Operations (cont.)
allow redemption in connection with the initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Company’s public shares if the Company do not complete its initial Business Combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity; and (3) the redemption of the public shares if the Company has not completed an initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of the Company’s creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of the public shareholders.
The Company will provide the public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of the initial Business Combination either: (1) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (2) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a proposed Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its 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 the Company to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. The shareholders will be entitled to redeem their shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of its initial Business Combination, including interest (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the Trust Account is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share. The per-share amount the Company will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters.
The ordinary shares subject to redemption will be recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering subsequently accreted to redemption value, in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” In such case, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks shareholder approval, a majority of the issued and outstanding shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination.
The Company will have only 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering (the “Combination Period”) to complete the initial Business Combination. If the Company is unable to complete the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company remaining shareholders and its board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the Company’s warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete its initial Business Combination within the Combination Period.
The initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with the Company, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of the initial Business Combination or certain amendments to the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as described elsewhere in this prospectus. In addition, the initial shareholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account
F-8
PEARL HOLDINGS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Organization and Business Operations (cont.)
with respect to their founder shares if the Company fails to complete its initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if the initial shareholders acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such public shares if the Company fails to complete its initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame.
The Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than its independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account due to reductions in the value of the Trust Assets, in each case net of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account and except as to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Proposed Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company has not independently verified whether the Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that the Sponsor’s only assets are securities of the Company and, therefore, the Sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. The Company has not asked the Sponsor to reserve for such obligations.
Risks and Uncertainties
Management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations, the close of its Proposed Public Offering and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Going Concern Consideration
As of September 30, 2021, the Company had $0 in cash and a working capital deficit of $735,871 (excluding deferred offering costs). The Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its financing and acquisition plans. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management plans to address this uncertainty through a Proposed Public Offering as discussed in Note 3. There is no assurance that the Company’s plans to raise capital or to consummate a Business Combination will be successful within the Combination Period. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Revision
The Company inappropriately recorded legal costs related to the Sponsor as of April 3, 2021. This resulted in Deferred offering costs and Accrued offering costs and expenses to be overstated by an immaterial amount of approximately $16,000. The Balance Sheet as of April 3, 2021 has been adjusted to reflect this matter.
Note 2 — Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“US GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
F-9
PEARL HOLDINGS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 2 — Significant Accounting Policies (cont.)
Unaudited Interim Financial Statements
The accompanying unaudited financial statements are presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC. In the opinion of the Company, the unaudited financial statements contain all adjustments, consisting of only normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair statement of its financial position as of September 30, 2021, and its results of operations for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and for the period from March 23, 2021 (Inception) to September 30, 2021. Certain information or footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP have been omitted, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC for interim financial reporting. Accordingly, they do not include all the information and footnotes necessary for a complete presentation of financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.
Emerging Growth Company Status
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act of 2012, (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did not have any cash or cash equivalents as of September 30, 2021 and April 3, 2021.
F-10
PEARL HOLDINGS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 2 — Significant Accounting Policies (cont.)
Deferred Offering Costs
Deferred offering costs consist of legal expenses incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Proposed Public Offering and that will be charged to shareholder’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.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
FASB ASC 820, “Fair value Measurement,” defines fair value as the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants.
Fair value measurements are classified on a three-tier hierarchy as follows:
• Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical instruments in active markets;
• Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable such as quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and
• Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions, such as valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable.
In many cases, a valuation technique used to measure fair value includes inputs from multiple levels of the fair value hierarchy described above. The lowest level of significant input determines the placement of the entire fair value measurement in the hierarchy.
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet, primarily due to its short-term nature.
Net Loss Per Ordinary Share
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC 260, “Earnings Per Share.” Net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period, excluding ordinary shares subject to forfeiture. Weighted average shares were reduced for the effect of an aggregate of 656,250 Class B ordinary shares that are subject to forfeiture if the option to purchase additional units is not exercised by the underwriters (see Note 8). As of September 30, 2021 and April 3, 2021, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into ordinary shares and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted loss per share is the same as basic loss per share for the period presented.
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under FASB ASC 740, “Income Taxes” (“ASC 740”). Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statements carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
F-11
PEARL HOLDINGS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 2 — Significant Accounting Policies (cont.)
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. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. As of September 30, 2021 and April 3, 2021, there were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
The Company is considered to be an exempted Cayman Islands company with no connection to any other taxable jurisdiction and is presently not subject to income taxes or income tax filing requirements in the Cayman Islands or the United States. As such, the Company’s tax provision was zero for the period presented.
Recent Accounting Standards
In August 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-06, Debt — Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40) (“ASU 2020-06”) to simplify accounting for certain financial instruments. ASU 2020-06 eliminates the current models that require separation of beneficial conversion and cash conversion features from convertible instruments and simplifies the derivative scope exception guidance pertaining to equity classification of contracts in an entity’s own equity. The new standard also introduces additional disclosures for convertible debt and freestanding instruments that are indexed to and settled in an entity’s own equity. ASU 2020-06 amends the diluted earnings per share guidance, including the requirement to use the if-converted method for all convertible instruments. ASU 2020-06 is effective January 1, 2022 and should be applied on a full or modified retrospective basis, with early adoption permitted beginning on January 1, 2021. The Company is currently assessing the impact, if any, that ASU 2020-06 would have on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
Note 3 — Proposed Public Offering
In the Proposed Public Offering, the Company will offer for sale up to 17,500,000 Units (or 20,125,000 Units if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full), at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit that the Company is offering has a price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share, and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 8). Each warrant will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination and will expire five years after the completion of the initial Business Combination, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
Note 4 — Private Placement
The Company’s Sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 9,000,000 Private Placement Warrants (or 10,050,000 warrants if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, or $9,000,000 in the aggregate (or $10,050,000 if the underwriters’ over- allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of the Proposed Public Offering.
F-12
PEARL HOLDINGS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 4 — Private Placement (cont.)
A portion of the proceeds from the Private Placement Warrants will be added to the proceeds from the Proposed Public Offering to be held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will be used to fund the redemption of the public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law), and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
The Sponsor, officers and directors of the Company have entered into a letter agreement with the Company, pursuant to which they have agreed (A) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares they hold in connection with the completion of the Company’s initial business combination, (B) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares they hold in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the Company’s initial business combination or to redeem 100% of the Company’s public shares if the Company has not consummated an initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering or with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (C) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if the Company fails to complete an initial business combination within 18 months (or up to 24 months if our sponsor exercises its extension options) from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering or during any Extension Period, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if the Company fails to complete an initial business combination within such time period, and (iii) the founder shares are automatically convertible into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of an initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described in the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation. If the Company submits an initial business combination to the Company’s public shareholders for a vote, the Company’s initial shareholders have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after the Proposed Public Offering in favor of the initial business combination.
Note 5 — Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On April 3, 2021, the Sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, to purchase an aggregate of 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share. In November 2021, our sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 2,156,250 founder shares for no consideration, thereby reducing the aggregate number of founder shares outstanding to 5,031,250, resulting in an effective purchase price paid for the founder shares of approximately $0.005 per share (see Note 8). Of the founder shares outstanding, 656,250 founder shares are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised.
The initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (1) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination; or (2) subsequent to the initial Business Combination (i) if the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) 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 complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of the public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of the initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares.
F-13
PEARL HOLDINGS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 5 — Related Party Transactions (cont.)
Promissory Note — Related Party
On April 1, 2021, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of the Proposed Public Offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 or the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. The loan would be repaid upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering out of the offering proceeds not held in the Trust Account. As of September 30, 2021 and April 3, 2021, the Company had $102,802 and no borrowings, respectively, under the promissory note.
Working Capital Loans
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (the “Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes the initial Business Combination, the Company will repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. Up to $2,000,000 of such Working Capital 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 issued to the Sponsor. The terms of the Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. As of September 30, 2021 and April 3, 2021, no such Working Capital Loans were outstanding.
Administrative Service Fee
Commencing on the date that the Company’s securities are first listed on the NASDAQ through the earlier of consummation of the initial Business Combination and the liquidation, the Company has agreed to pay the Sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office space, utilities, administrative and support services.
Note 6 — Commitments and Contingencies
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, Private Placement Warrants and any warrants that may be issued on conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the founder shares) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of the Proposed Public Offering requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion to the Class A ordinary shares). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the Company’s completion of the initial Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period as described under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.” The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such.
Underwriting Agreement
The underwriters have a 45-day option from the date of the Proposed Public Offering to purchase up to an additional 2,625,000 Units to cover over-allotments, if any.
F-14
PEARL HOLDINGS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 6 — Commitments and Contingencies (cont.)
The underwriters will be entitled to a cash underwriting discount of two percent (2%) of the gross proceeds of the Proposed Public Offering, or $3,500,000 (or up to $5,500,000 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full). Additionally, the underwriters will be entitled to a deferred underwriting discount of 3.5% of the gross proceeds of the Proposed Public Offering, or $6,125,000 (or up to $7,043,750 if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) held in the Trust Account upon the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Note 7 — Shareholder’s Equity
Preference Shares — The Company is authorized to issue a total of 5,000,000 preference shares at par value of $0.0001 each. As of September 30, 2021 and April 3, 2021, there were no shares of preference shares issued or outstanding.
Class A Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue a total of 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares at par value of $0.0001 each. As of September 30, 2021 and April 3, 2021, there were no shares of Class A ordinary shares issued or outstanding.
Class B Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue a total of 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares at par value of $0.0001 each. As of September 30, 2021 and April 3, 2021, the Company issued 5,031,250 Class B ordinary shares to its initial shareholders for $25,000, or approximately $0.005 per share. The Founder Shares include an aggregate of up to 656,250 shares subject to forfeiture if the option to purchase additional units is not exercised by the underwriters in full. On April 3, 2021, the Sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain offering and formation costs in exchange for an aggregate of 7,187,500 founder shares. In November 2021, the sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 2,156,250 founder shares for no consideration, thereby reducing the aggregate number of founder shares outstanding to 5,031,250, resulting in an effective purchase price paid for the founder shares of approximately $0.005 per share (see Note 8).
The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of the initial Business Combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in the Proposed Public Offering and related to the closing of the initial Business Combination, the ratio at which the Class B ordinary shares will convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such anti-dilution adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of all ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering plus all Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial Business Combination, excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination. The term “equity-linked securities” refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for the Class A ordinary shares issued in a financing transaction in connection with the initial Business Combination, including, but not limited to, a private placement of equity or debt.
Warrants — No warrants are outstanding as of September 30, 2021 and April 3, 2021. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment.
In addition, if (x) the Company issue additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of the initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the
F-15
PEARL HOLDINGS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 7 — Shareholder’s Equity (cont.)
total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the initial Business Combination on the date of the completion of the initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummate its initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share 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.
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00.
Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants):
• in whole and not in part;
• at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
• upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and
• if, and only if, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares 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 “— Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.
The “fair market value” of the Class A ordinary shares shall mean the volume weighted average price of the Class A ordinary shares as reported during 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 warrant redemption features used in some other blank check offerings. The Company will provide its warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10-trading day period described above ends.
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Proposed Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants may be exercised for cash or on a cashless basis and will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or such purchasers’ permitted transferees. The Private Placement Warrants shall not become Public Warrants as a result of any transfer of the Private Placement Warrants, regardless of the transferee.
If a tender offer, exchange or redemption offer shall have been made to and accepted by the holders of the Class A ordinary shares and upon completion of such offer, the offeror owns beneficially securities representing more than 50% of the aggregate voting power represented by the issued and outstanding equity securities of the Company, the holder of the warrant shall be entitled to receive the highest amount of cash, securities or other property to which such holder would actually have been entitled as a shareholder if such warrant had been exercised, accepted such offer and all of the Class A ordinary shares held by such holder had been purchased pursuant to the offer. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of the Class A ordinary shares in the applicable event is payable in the form of common equity in the successor entity that is listed on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, and if the holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within thirty days following the public disclosure of the consummation of the applicable event by the Company, the warrant price shall be reduced by an amount equal to the difference (but in no event less than zero) of (i) the warrant price in effect prior to such reduction minus (ii) (A) the Per Share Consideration (as defined in the warrant agreement) minus (B) the value of the warrant based on the Black-Scholes Warrant Value (as defined in the warrant agreement).
F-16
PEARL HOLDINGS ACQUISITION CORP
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 8 — Subsequent Events
For the audited financial statements, management evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after April 3, 2021, the balance sheet date, up to May 18, 2021, the date that the audited financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, the Company did not identify any other subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
For the unaudited interim financial statements, management evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after September 30, 2021, the interim balance sheet date, up to November 23, 2021, the date the unaudited interim financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, other than as noted below, management did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
November 2021, our sponsor surrendered an aggregate of 2,156,250 founder shares for no consideration, thereby reducing the aggregate number of founder shares outstanding to 5,031,250, resulting in an effective purchase price paid for the founder shares of approximately $0.005 per share. Of the 5,031,250 founder shares, 656,250 are subject to forfeiture depending on whether the over-allotment option is exercised by the underwriter.
F-17
17,500,000 Units
Pearl Holdings Acquisition Corp
__________________________________
PROSPECTUS
DECEMBER 14, 2021
__________________________________
Morgan Stanley
Until January 8, 2022 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade our ordinary shares, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.
No dealer, salesperson or any other person is authorized to give any information or make any representations in connection with this offering other than those contained in this prospectus and, if given or made, the information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by us. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security other than the securities offered by this prospectus, or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities by anyone in any jurisdiction in which the offer or solicitation is not authorized or is unlawful.