As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on November 24, 2021
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
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FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
____________________________________
Ahren Acquisition Corp.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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Cayman Islands | | 6770 | | 98-1594455 |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | | (Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) | | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
Ahren Acquisition Corp
Boundary Hall, Cricket Square, Grand Cayman, KY1-1102, Cayman Islands
Tel: (646) 480-0033
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
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Donald J. Puglisi
Puglisi & Associates
850 Library Avenue, Suite 204
Newark, Delaware 19711
Tel: 302-738-6680
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
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Copies to:
Stuart Bressman Joel Rubinstein White & Case LLP 1221 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10020 Tel: (212) 819-8200 | | Jack Marriott Maples and Calder 11th Floor, 200 Aldersgate Street London EC1A 4HD United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20 7466-1624 | | Jonathan Ko R. William Burns Paul Hastings LLP 515 South Flower Street Twenty-Fifth Floor Los Angeles, California 90071 Tel: (213) 683-6000 |
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Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box. ☐
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer | | ☐ | | Accelerated filer | | ☐ |
Non-accelerated filer | | ☒ | | Smaller reporting company | | ☒ |
| | | | Emerging growth company | | ☒ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
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CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
Title of Each Class of Security Being Registered | | Amount Being Registered | | Proposed Maximum Offering Price per Security(1) | | Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(1) | | Amount of Registration Fee |
Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share, $0.0001 par value, and one-half of one redeemable warrant(2) | | 28,750,000 Units | | $ | 10.00 | | $ | 287,500,000.00 | | $ | 26,651.25 | |
Class A ordinary shares included as part of the units(3) | | 28,750,000 shares | | | — | | | — | | | — | (4) |
Redeemable warrants included as part of the units(3) | | 14,375,000 warrants | | | — | | | — | | | — | (4) |
Class A ordinary shares underlying redeemable warrants included as part of the units(3) | | 14,375,000 shares | | $ | 11.50 | | $ | 165,312,500.00 | | $ | 15,324.47 | |
Total | | | | | | | $ | 452,812,500 | | $ | 41,975.72 | |
The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
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The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED NOVEMBER 24, 2021
P R E L I M I N A R Y P R O S P E C T U S
$250,000,000
Ahren Acquisition Corp.
25,000,000 Units
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Ahren Acquisition Corp. is a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company and incorporated 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 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.
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 described herein. 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 our liquidation, as described herein. The underwriters have a 45-day option from the date of this prospectus to purchase up to an additional 3,750,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.
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 as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then 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 and on the conditions described herein. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or such other time period in which we must complete an initial business combination pursuant to an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, which we refer to as the completion window, 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and certain conditions as further described herein.
Certain qualified institutional buyers or institutional accredited investors (who will have an indirect interest in the securities owned by our sponsor and who are not affiliated with any member of our management team) (the “anchor investors”) have expressed to us an interest in purchasing an aggregate of up to approximately $89 million of units in this offering at the offering price, and we have agreed to direct the underwriters to offer to the anchor investors such amount of units. Because these expressions of interest are not binding agreements or commitments to purchase, anchor investors may determine to purchase more, fewer or no units in this offering. In addition, the underwriters may determine to sell more, fewer or no units to our anchor investors. If an anchor investor does not submit a firm order to the underwriters to purchase the units for which it has indicated an interest in this offering, such anchor investor shall forfeit its indirect interest in founder shares. For a discussion of certain additional arrangements with our anchor investors, see “Summary — The Offering — Expressions of Interest.”
Our sponsor, AACS LP, has committed to purchase an aggregate of 13,250,000 warrants (or 14,750,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option 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 $13,250,000 in the aggregate (or $14,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering.
Our initial shareholders, which include our sponsor, currently own an aggregate of 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares, up to 937,500 of which will be surrendered to us for no consideration after the closing of this offering depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised, which will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to the adjustments described herein. Prior to the closing of our initial business combination, only holders of our Class B ordinary shares will be entitled to vote on the appointment and removal of directors or continuing the company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including any special resolution required to amend the constitutional documents of the Company or to adopt new constitutional documents of the Company, in each case, as a result of the Company approving a transfer by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands). On any other matters 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.
Currently, there is no public market for our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants. We intend to apply to have our units listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”), under the symbol “AHRNU”. We expect that our units will be listed on Nasdaq on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq. We expect the Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units to begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“Citigroup”), as representative of the underwriters, informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our satisfaction of certain conditions as described further herein. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “AHRN” and “AHRNW”, respectively.
We are an “emerging growth company” and a “smaller reporting company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 39 for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.
Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
| | Per Unit | | Total |
Public offering price | | $ | 10.00 | | $ | 250,000,000 |
Underwriting discounts and commissions(1)(2) | | $ | 0.55 | | $ | 13,750,000 |
Proceeds, before expenses, to us | | $ | 9.45 | | $ | 236,250,000 |
Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $255,000,000, or $293,250,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.20 per unit in either case), will be deposited into a trust account located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, after deducting $5,000,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions payable upon the closing of this offering (or $5,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and an aggregate of $3,250,000 to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following the closing of this offering.
Citigroup and Lazard are acting as our financial advisors in connection with this offering.
The underwriters are offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. The underwriters expect to deliver the units to the purchasers on or about , 2021.
Sole Book-Running Manager
Citigroup
, 2021
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We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with information that is different from or inconsistent with that contained in this prospectus. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.
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SUMMARY
This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. As this is a summary, it does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making an investment decision. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing.
Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus or the context otherwise requires, references to:
• “we,” “our,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to Ahren Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company;
• “anchor investors” are to certain qualified institutional buyers or institutional accredited investors (who will have an indirect interest in the securities owned by our sponsor) and who are not affiliated with any member of our management team, who may (but are not required to) purchase up to an aggregate of approximately $89 million of units in this offering, as further described herein;
• “Companies Act” are to the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time;
• “completion window” are to (i) the period of 18 months from the closing of this offering in which we must complete an initial business combination or (ii) such other time period in which we must complete an initial business combination pursuant to an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association;
• “founder shares” are to Class B ordinary shares initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to this offering and the Class A ordinary shares that will be issued upon the automatic conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination as described herein;
• “initial shareholders” are to holders of our founder shares prior to this offering;
• “management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors (including our director nominees who will become directors upon consummation of this offering);
• “ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares and our Class B ordinary shares;
• “public shares” are to 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);
• “public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial shareholders and management team to the extent our initial shareholders and members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that each initial shareholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public shareholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares;
• “public warrants” are to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market);
• “private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering;
• “Ahren’s Science Partners” or “Science Partners” are to Alice Newcombe-Ellis’ co-founding science partners of Ahren LP;
• “sponsor” are to AACS LP, a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership; and
• “warrants” are to our public warrants and private placement warrants.
Any conversion of the Class B ordinary shares described in this prospectus will take effect as a redemption of Class B ordinary shares and an issuance of Class A ordinary shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law.
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Any forfeiture of shares, and all references to forfeiture of shares, described in this prospectus shall take effect as a surrender of shares for no consideration as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Any share dividend described in this prospectus will take effect as a share capitalization 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 over-allotment option.
A letter from our CEO
We stand at a key moment in history, where exponential technological advances are delivering transformational disruption across industries and sectors which will affect everyone. It is our future. Rapid change is a reality.
These advances also represent a highly profitable investment opportunity. The time to capture this opportunity is now. Despite the extraordinary technological advances, so far large parts of the investment community have focused on less scientifically advanced domains such as social media and the sharing economy. We believe that a generational opportunity exists to invest in the finest deep technology and deep science to generate transformational progress, accelerating the globally leading companies of the future. That acceleration in deep technology and deep science has been, and will continue to be, fuelled by the present pandemic, and we believe that typically in times of crisis arise the strongest investment opportunities.
In 2017, my co-founding Science Partners and I established Ahren LP, or Ahren, an investment fund with a highly differentiated approach to capitalize on this opportunity. Ahren leverages a strong partnership between its investment talent and its founding Science Partners, an elite group of Cambridge University’s finest minds and most successful commercial technologists and scientists. Ahren was designed and created as a powerful investment vehicle to lead this change and harness it for good. Ahren invests in companies that it believes will penetrate, or create, massive markets. Ahren helps ensure its investors are the disruptors, not the disrupted. Ahren screens for deep technology and deep science, and invests for vast scale and profitability.
Ahren focuses on four domains: Planet & Efficient Energy; Brain & Artificial Intelligence; Genetics & Platform Technologies; and Space, Robotics & Physics. The strategy has an overarching theme: to invest at the intersection of deep technology and deep science in opportunities that are transformational and highly commercial. That “intersection” is an operative word: we believe wholeheartedly that the future will be cross-domain.
Ahren seeks to invest only where it believes it has an edge: (i) access edge, where it is able to achieve privileged sourcing as result of a trusted global network including Nobel Laureates, preeminent technology company leaders, unicorn founding technologists and leading business thinkers; (ii) diligence edge, via significant expertise to assess both technical and commercial risk and invest in complexity; and (iii) success impact edge, where it is able to add meaningful value to the companies in which it invests. As a result, Ahren believes it is a highly attractive partner to both the companies that it invests in and their founders.
Ahren’s co-founding Science Partners are intrinsic to the model and deeply committed to Ahren’s success: from sourcing investment opportunities from their networks, to nucleation of opportunities from scratch; in the all-important thorough diligence of deep technology and deep science companies; and in mentoring and support they provide to Ahren’s entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs come to Ahren as a group they trust and respect and that can have a differentiated impact on their success.
Since Ahren was established, it has invested in several companies across its four domains, from nucleating businesses with its founding Science Partners and other entrepreneurs, to backing late stage technology unicorns. Each is a cutting-edge technology in a multi-billion-dollar market. Ahren is doing its utmost to support the superb teams of these transformative companies to prosper, succeed and change the world for the better.
Ahren Acquisition Corp., an affiliate of Ahren, was established, because we see meaningful benefits for exceptional later stage deep technology and deep science companies in pursuing a business combination with a SPAC, including: (i) access to significant capital required to swiftly accelerate development and scale up a technology, enabling a company to “win big”; (ii) a more efficient route to a public listing, giving management the space to focus on running their business; and (iii) ability to articulate an exceptional growth story to public market investors.
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Ahren Acquisition Corp.’s approach will be consistent with that of Ahren. We believe the model is ideally suited to provide an edge given its: (i) privileged access to valuable target opportunities with management teams that are highly motivated to engage with our team; (ii) capability to properly diligence and help ensure a strong, credible transaction; and (iii) ability to add meaningful long-term value post transaction and the ability attract an investor group with the same values. By leveraging Ahren’s model and relationships, we believe we are creating a unique opportunity for investors in Ahren Acquisition Corp.
In conclusion, we believe Ahren Acquisition Corp.’s approach is highly differentiated, in terms of quality, approach and culture. We have strong, consistent, and clear values. Our commitment is unwavering. Our goal is to elevate those who share its vision. And ultimately, we believe that real, positively impactful change and outsized risk-adjusted returns are achievable through investing in highest end technology and cutting-edge science.
Alice Newcombe-Ellis
Chief Executive Officer
Our Company
We are a blank check company incorporated on April 1, 2021 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. To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities and activities related to this offering. 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.
Our sponsor is an affiliate of Ahren LP, or Ahren. Ahren is an investment fund that seeks to make transformative investments in companies that will penetrate or create large markets within and among four domains of interest and on a global stage. Ahren was founded in 2017 by technology and disruptive healthcare investor and Founding & General Partner Alice Newcombe-Ellis, alongside co-founding Science Partners that have founded companies and/or whose inventions and technologies are today valued in excess of $100 billion combined. Alice Newcombe-Ellis will be acting as our Chief Executive Officer.
We are motivated to achieve exceptional returns for investors by identifying and completing an initial business combination with a high growth, domain leading company fueled by breakthrough deep technology and/or deep science. The companies that we will target are expected to have the potential to be disruptive and primed for explosive growth and that can change the world for the better, while establishing a position of technological dominance. We believe we are well positioned to pursue initial business combination opportunities within our four domains of interest: Planet & Efficient Energy; Brain & Artificial Intelligence; Genetics & Platform Technologies; and Space, Robotics & Physics.
We believe that we provide: (i) privileged access to valuable target opportunities with a management team that is highly motivated to engage with our team; (ii) capability to properly diligence and help ensure a strong, credible transaction; and (iii) the ability to add meaningful long-term value post-transaction and the ability to attract an investor group with the same values.
While we may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any geography, we will seek to identify differentiated opportunities. In Europe and the UK, where deep technology and deep science are very strong, enterprise valuations are in many cases currently attractive relative to other global locations.
Our Sponsor
Our sponsor is an affiliate of Ahren. Ahren was founded in 2017 by technology and disruptive healthcare investor and Founding & General Partner Alice Newcombe-Ellis, alongside co-founding Science Partners that have founded companies and/or whose inventions and technologies are today valued in excess of $100 billion combined. Ahren was established from first principles with a mission to be disruptive as an investment institution, with a new model — a genuine partnership between the creators of deep technology and deep science, and commercial active, long-term capital, to harness tremendous global talent and build and exponentially accelerate the next generation of great enterprises.
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Ahren’s Science Partners
Ahren’s Science Partners are renowned leaders in their respective scientific fields who have a proven track record in creating, scaling, and exiting breakthrough deep technology and deep science companies. Together they have founded companies and/or been responsible for inventions and technologies that are today valued in excess of $100 billion combined. Ahren Acquisition Corp. intends to leverage Ahren’s Science Partners through our affiliation with Ahren. Listed below, they have extensive access to a global deep technology and deep science network:
Sir Shankar Balasubramanian, Principal inventor of the leading next generation human genome sequencing technology core to all sequencing platforms of Illumina, Inc. (approximately $60 billion market capitalization as of November 12, 2021; Founder of two highly successful companies: Solexa Inc. (sold to Illumina Inc. for approximately $620 million in 2007) and Cambridge Epigenetix Limited (on-going); Jointly awarded the 2020 Millennium Technology Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious science and technology prizes, by Technology Academy Finland; awarded 2022 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences — the world’s largest science prize; Fellow of the Royal Society; Professor of Chemistry and Senior Group Leader at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute.
Professor Roberto Cipolla, Professor of Information Engineering, University of Cambridge; Director of Toshiba’s Cambridge Research Laboratory; Advisor and mentor to several highly successful start-ups; Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering; Distinguished Fellow of The British Machine Vision Association (BMVA); Fellow of The International Association for Pattern Recognition.
Professor John Daugman OBE, Creator of IRIS eye recognition technology, being used to register India’s 1.4 billion citizens and build an approximately $3 billion market; Professor of Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, University of Cambridge; Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering; Institute of Mathematics and its Applications; US National Academy of Investors; awards include the IT Award; Medal of the British Computer Society; “Time 100” Innovator; inducted into the US National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Professor Zoubin Ghahramani, Professor of Information Engineering, University of Cambridge; Deputy Director of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence; Founder of Geometric Intelligence Inc., (sold to Uber Technologies, Inc in 2016); developed Automatic Statistician for Google Inc.; adviser to several highly successful start-ups; former Uber Technologies, Inc. Chief Scientist and Head of AI; now Distinguished Scientist and Senior Research Director at Google Brain; Fellow of the Royal Society and Alan Turing Institute; appointed as one of the first Turing AI World-Leading Research Fellows.
Professor Steve Jackson, Originator of Olaparib cancer therapy, partnered by AstraZeneca plc/Merck & Co., Inc. and valued as an asset at up to $17 billion in 2017; Head of Gurdon Institute’s Cancer Research UK labs; Frederick James Quick Professor of Biology; Founder of KuDOS Pharmaceuticals Limited (sold for $206 million in 2006); Mission Therapeutics Limited (has raised $101 million as of July 6, 2020); Adrestia Therapeutics Ltd (on-going); Awarded 2016 Heineken Prize for Medicine; Fellow of the Royal Society.
Professor Andy Parker, Head of Cavendish Laboratory and Professor of High Energy Physics, University of Cambridge; Founder of the ATLAS experiment for the Large Hadron Collider and former member of the Executive Board; developed silicon detectors, fast electronics, large software systems; Pioneered computational radiotherapy and artificial photosynthesis.
Sir Venki Ramakrishnan, Nobel Prize-winning biologist (2009) for his work on the atomic structure and function of the ribosome; Awarded Heatley Medal of the British Biochemical Society; Knighted in 2012; Former President of the Royal Society; Group leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge; During the summer of 2020, convened the group DELVE and participated in SAGE to provide input into the advice for the pandemic.
Lord Martin Rees, Former Astronomer Royal and former Master of Trinity College; Awards include Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society; Bruce Medal; Fritz Zwicky Prize; Knighted in 1992; Founder of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk and devotee to innovation with the goal of addressing climate change and protecting the environment; Former President of the Royal Society; former Master of Trinity College, Cambridge.
Sir Gregory Winter, Nobel Prize-winning biologist (2018) and pioneer of technologies for making humanized/human antibodies, such as Herceptin, Keytruda and the world’s best-selling drug Humira ($19.8 billion of sales in 2020, in a $120 billion market); Founder of three companies: Cambridge Antibody Technologies Group plc (sold for £702 million in 2006), Domantis Limited (sold for £230 million in 2007), Bicycle Therapeutics plc (approximately $1.7 billion market capitalization as of November 20, 2021); former Master of Trinity College, Cambridge; Fellow of the Royal Society.
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Ahren’s Track Record
Ahren has a proven track record to screen for deep technology and deep science and invest for scale. By investing in companies that it believes will penetrate, or create, massive markets, Ahren is already producing highly promising returns from a series of investments to date. Ahren has invested across multiple company stages, from nucleation to growth, and across its four domains, including the following selected investments:
Planet & Efficient Energy:
• Zapata Computing, Inc., which is developing powerful quantum computing software, enabling successful deployment no matter the end prevailing hardware solution.
• New Culture, Inc., using precision fermentation to manufacture casein, an essential protein found in cheese, that it uses to produce animal-free mozzarella that has less environmental impact in terms of water and land use and carbon emissions compared to animal-based mozzarella.
Brain & Artificial Intelligence:
• Graphcore Limited, next generation processors to accelerate machine learning, addressing one of the greatest limiting factors to transformational progress in machine learning software by reducing its energy consumption and its compute cost.
• ZOE Global Limited, a digital microbiome company applying advanced science to predict nutrition, with a product that helps customers understand how their bodies respond to food.
• 6degrees.xyz Inc., building a machine-readable model of the world to advance the transformative potential of computer vision, sold to Niantic, Inc. in 2020.
Genetics & Platform Technologies:
• Adrestia Therapeutics Ltd, developing therapeutics to rebalance disease and restore health based on proprietary Disease Rebalancing Platform using the principle of synthetic viability. Ahren co-founded Adrestia Therapeutics Ltd in 2018 with Science Partner Steve Jackson, materially supporting the business’ rapid growth. In 2020, Alice Newcombe-Ellis led negotiations on a co-led Ahren/GlaxoSmithKline plc (“GSK”) equity investment in Adrestia Therapeutics Ltd which was completed alongside a partnership deal with GSK worth up to $1.2 billion.
• Bicycle Therapeutics plc, developing therapies and drug delivery systems for cancer and many other diseases based on an underlying platform technology. In 2019, Bicycle Therapeutics completed an IPO on NASDAQ and has a market capitalization of approximately $1.7 billion as of November 20, 2021.
• Cambridge Epigenetix Limited, pioneering the development of epigenetic technologies based on the breakthrough discovery that DNA can undergo (epigenetic) changes that can be used to generate data-rich diagnostics at population scale to detect the earliest, treatable stages of disease.
• Cellarity, Inc., a pioneering company developing cell behavior targeted medicines at the intersection of machine learning and biology, by pairing computation and machine learning advances with high resolution cell data.
• Edifice Health, Inc., measuring and improving inflammatory health that drives age related diseases, with a state-of-the-art computational ‘omics’ platform built upon 10 years of Stanford University research.
• Mogrify Limited, transforming cell therapy through algorithmic cell conversion, determining the transcription factors required to turn one cell type into another without transition through a stem cell, with myriad applications from restoring sight to osteoarthritis to heart diseases.
• Rubedo Life Sciences, Inc, a longevity therapeutics company, underpinned by a sophisticated bioinformatics platform, that targets cells stressed and damaged by ageing — called senescent cells. It’s pro-drug approach allows the selective targeting of senescent cells and reduces toxic side effects in healthy tissue.
• Switchback Systems, Inc., developing a unique, highly scalable DNA synthesis platform, with a focus on dramatic minimization of time, cost, and waste. Its technology is applicable to a broad range of industries from pharmaceuticals to agriculture to plastics.
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Space, Robotics & Physics:
• Rockley Photonics Limited, a complete photonic platform for multiple applications. In March 2021, the company announced a merger with the SPAC SC Health Corp, valuing the combined business at $1.2 billion.
• Nu Quantum Ltd, building an end-to-end quantum system to enable secure communication, applying fundamental physics to real-world problems in large markets using classical ‘secure keys’ where quantum computing has the potential to render current encryption technologies obsolete.
Our Management Team and Board
Our management team and board of directors have proven themselves to be adept at identifying investment opportunities, negotiating merger transactions and creating significant returns for investors. Our efforts to seek a suitable business combination target will be complemented and augmented by the expertise and network of relationships of our directors. Between them, our directors have significant experience in scientific entrepreneurship, leading public companies, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and public markets investing.
Alice Newcombe-Ellis (Chief Executive Officer), is the Founding and General Partner of Ahren, an investment firm which she established alongside Ahren’s Science Partners in 2017. Alice has over a decade of investing experience, including at TPG Capital LLP (a leading global private equity firm with more than $70 billion of assets under management (“AUM”) as of March 30, 2021) and at Lansdowne Partners LLP (a leading investment firm with more than $11 billion AUM as of November 2020). Alice has had an investing focus predominantly in technology and disruptive healthcare. Alice holds a Double First-Class degree in Mathematics, and Master’s in Mathematics/Physics from the University of Cambridge. Alice was a Fulbright Scholar and a Baker Scholar at Harvard Business School.
Elliot Richmond (Chief Financial Officer), was previously a Partner and Managing Director at Moelis & Company. Elliot has 20 years of investment banking experience advising companies across a broad range of industries and transactions, including greater than $75 billion of domestic and cross-border mergers & acquisitions and equity offerings. Prior to joining Moelis & Company in 2011, Elliot was Director of UK Investment Banking and Head of UK ECM at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. In 2013, Elliot was honored by Financial News’ “40 Under 40 Rising Stars in Investment Banking”. Elliot holds a B.Sc. in Economics from University College London.
Sir Shankar Balasubramanian (our Science Partner and Ahren Science Partner), is the principal inventor of the leading next generation human genome sequencing technology core to all sequencing platforms of Illumina, Inc. (approximately $60 billion market capitalization as of November 12, 2021); Founder of two highly successful companies: Solexa Inc. (sold to Illumina Inc. for approximately $620 million in 2007) and Cambridge Epigenetix Limited (on-going); Jointly awarded the 2020 Millennium Technology Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious science and technology prizes, by Technology Academy Finland; awarded 2022 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences — the world’s largest science prize; Fellow of the Royal Society; Professor of Chemistry and Senior Group Leader at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute.
Jeremy Darroch (Independent Director), responsible for building Sky plc and leading the company through the $40 billion takeover of Sky plc by Comcast. He has extensive experience in building large businesses, identifying strategic M&A opportunities and negotiating deals. He has been a champion of ESG initiatives as CEO of Sky plc and Executive Chairman of Sky Group Limited. He joined British Sky Broadcasting Group plc as CFO in 2004 and was appointed CEO in 2007. Jeremy became Group CEO of Sky plc following the acquisition of Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland in 2014. He became Executive Chairman of Sky Group Limited in 2021. Jeremy is an Ambassador of World Wide Fund for Nature. He was previously Chair of Business in the Community, a Senior Independent Director of Burberry Group plc, a Non-Executive Director and the Chairman of the Audit Committee of Marks and Spencer Group plc, a Council Member of the National Centre for Universities and Business and trustee of the Youth Sport Trust. Jeremy holds a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Hull.
Kathleen Hughes (Independent Director), 30 years’ experience at tier one global investment banks and was named “Investment Woman of the Year — Large Firms” by Investment Week twice (2018, 2019) and one of the “100 Most Influential People in Finance” by Treasury & Risk Magazine (2011). Experienced in building and restructuring senior management teams, developing and promoting next generation leaders and successfully implementing strategic investment plans. Prior to her recent retirement from The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (tenure from 2010 to 2021),
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Kathleen was the global head of the Liquidity Solutions client business and the interim head of the EMEA retail client business. Previously, Kathleen was the head of Global Liquidity sales for EMEA at J.P. Morgan Asset Management (from 2005 to 2010). Kathleen served on the Goldman Sachs Sustainable Finance Steering Group, the Goldman Sachs EMEA Inclusion and Diversity Committee and the Investment Management division’s Inclusion and Diversity council. Kathleen was a member of the Diversity Project Advisory Council and was a committee member of the CFA UK Diversity and Inclusion Network. Since 2019 Kathleen has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Richmond where she sits on several committees and is a member of the Executive Advisory Council of the Robins School of Business. Kathleen holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Richmond.
Uwe Krüger (Independent Director), an experienced academic, investor, and technology business executive, and was awarded the ACE European Chief Executive Officer of the Year award in 2016. Since 2018, Uwe has been Head of Industrials, Business Services, Energy & Environment and Head Europe, Middle East & Africa at Temasek International Pte. Ltd., a leading globally diversified investment company headquartered in Singapore with a net portfolio of S$306 billion as of March 31, 2020. In addition to a series of additional executive roles at private and public firms in both Europe and the United States, Uwe was also an Operations Director and Senior Advisor with TPG Capital based in London and San Francisco. Uwe currently serves on the board of several international companies. Alongside his career, Uwe has had a longstanding commitment to academia and cutting-edge research, having worked on various research assignments at Columbia University, New York and Ecole Normale Superieur, Paris. Uwe holds an Honorary Professorship of Physics at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, where he lectures, and also holds an Honorary Doctorate at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. Uwe holds several degrees from the University of Frankfurt, including: a B.Sc. in Business Administration; a B.Sc. and Master’s in Physics; and a Ph.D. in Complex System Theory and Brain Research.
Donald (“Don”) McLellan (Independent Director), is Partner at BDT & Company, LLC. Prior to joining BDT at its formation in 2009, Don was Interim Capital Purchase Program Director for the United States Department of Treasury as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program from October 2008 to 2009. Previously Don had a longstanding career at Motorola, Inc. from 1996 to 2008, including as Senior Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions and Strategy. Don holds a J.D degree from the University of Chicago Law School, an M.A in Social Science from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. in Behavioral Science from the University of Chicago. Don is International Co-Chairman of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars National Cabinet.
Our Strategy
Our business strategy is to identify and complete a business combination with a high growth, domain leading company fuelled by a transformational breakthrough in deep technology and deep science that can change the world for the better.
We will focus primarily on growth-stage companies where the business model is relatively de-risked and we may provide access to capital as well as strategic and operational assistance regarding optimized execution and positioning in public markets. We believe access to growth capital for companies in these spaces is historically limited at the stage between typical venture investments and traditional IPO revenue levels required to readily access public markets. As such, we believe that many outstanding companies are slowed in their growth and maturation during this stage as they seek additional capital from private sources. This provides an attractive opportunity as we may provide both capital and business expertise.
Our strategy is underpinned by several elements that have also been successfully utilized by Ahren:
• Focus on high-end deep technology and deep science: Our focus will be on ground-breaking, transformational business opportunities. Due to the transformational nature of these businesses and the difficult to access science and technology, they may operate in nascent markets with high barriers to entry, but we need to believe the end addressable market can sustain a multi-billion-dollar company.
• Take considered, rewarded risk: We believe that a diligently selected, highly ambitious business often presents a more attractive risk-reward proposition than a business with more modest and mainstream aspirations. We believe our diligence process enables considered technical risk assessment, allowing us to invest in businesses that others may not be able to.
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• Invest in disruptive innovation: We will seek business combination opportunities in sectors where there is a potential for disruptive innovation. This will mean the business is better positioned to take on existing players and competitors in its industry or sector.
• Build long term symbiotic relationships with company founders: We believe we can achieve a competitive advantage by working with founder zealots, who as well as being exceptionally talented also have deep passion and drive to create world-changing businesses.
Competitive Advantages
Ahren Acquisition Corp.’s approach will be consistent with that of Ahren, which is based on five critical differentiating features:
1. Our unique team and network: Ahren is a genuine partnership between commercial, technological and investment talent, which provides access to global science network and attracts the highest caliber entrepreneurial talent representing a powerful sourcing mechanism. Ahren’s co-founding Science Partners, include Nobel Laureates and entrepreneurs who have founded companies and/or whose inventions and technologies are today valued in excess of $100 billion combined. Our deep technical diligence reduces risk and enables investment in complexity. Importantly, our team covers the full ‘value chain’ or ‘life-cycle’ from early-stage research, early-stage investing, commercialization, growth/private equity through to public markets. We believe this is critical to guide progress through to successful outcome.
2. Strong relationships with domain relevant corporates: Ahren has a mutually beneficial relationship with its corporate limited partners, which are globally-leading multi-billion dollar firms in Ahren’s investment domains. They help provide rapid diligence support, and for Ahren’s portfolio companies, relevant industry expertise and potential access to billions of customers. In return, Ahren provides them with unparalleled access and insight into the future disruptive trends. Ahren’s global network extends beyond corporates to Google Brain, The Royal Society, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (“CIFAR”) and the Alan Turing Institute.
3. Our commercial engine: building, not just investing: Consistent with Ahren’s philosophy, we believe in active capital, engendering explosive disruptive growth and technological dominance. We believe that holding investments through commercialization delivers the greatest returns for investors. As a result, we expect that we will be an attractive partner for target management and will work with management to improve the business post business combination. We expect both factors to enhance returns for our investors.
4. Cross-domain insight, expertise, and commitment: We believe the future will be at an intersection of several disciplines, no single one alone. We believe we are well positioned to identify and assess highly promising targets across a range of deep technology and deep science domains, providing flexibility to invest in the most attractive investment opportunities globally with a focus on seeking differentiated opportunities. In Europe and the UK, where deep technology and deep science are very strong, enterprise valuations are in many cases currently attractive relative to other global locations.
5. Strong, shared values: We expect to operate with strong shared values with our business partner, to change world for the better: addressing the pressing needs of humanity by developing products of great value to society, and hence returns for investors. These include accomplishment & delivery: we will do what we say we will do with our target companies; trusted partnership: we consider investors, portfolio company founders and teams our trusted partners, truly motivating and incentivizing founders and management teams to succeed; honesty & dignity: we act with honesty and treat others with dignity; grace & kindness: we believe there is nothing as powerful or persuasive. We expect the founders of our target companies will be highly driven by values. Increasingly, we believe doing the right thing for society will be concomitant with commercial success.
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Acquisition Criteria
Consistent with our business strategy and investment approach, we expect to pursue initial business combination opportunities where the target business is fueled by breakthrough deep technology and deep science, and where it can be shaped using disruptive innovation theory to dominate high growth addressable markets that are sufficiently large to sustain multi-billion-dollar companies. Specifically, we seek to identify and acquire a company operating within any or all of our four domains of interest: Brain & Artificial Intelligence, Genetics & Platform Technologies, Planet & Efficient Energy, and Space, Robotics & Physics. We intend to target companies with an enterprise value in the range of $1 to $5 billion. We expect to be guided by our aforementioned investment approach when evaluating potential business combination opportunities, but we may decide to complete our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet some or all of these criteria.
We seek to identify and acquire a company that we believe:
• Offers a potential scientific advantage, differentiated technology, or other competitive advantage in the markets in which they operate and can benefit from access to capital and our management team and board of directors’ industry relationships and expertise.
• Has access to a large potential market opportunity which we believe will create the opportunity for significant growth. This includes both markets undergoing secular growth and those with underexploited growth opportunities.
• Is at an inflection point where our expertise can be leveraged to foster growth and improve financial performance. The company would have a clear path to commercialization, be recently commercialized or could benefit from our team’s expertise in sales growth.
• Has strong and experienced management teams and key personnel who will benefit from the leadership and strategic vision of our management team.
• Would benefit from access to additional growth capital and being publicly traded.
• Will offer attractive risk-adjusted equity returns for our shareholders.
The criteria above are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management team and board of directors and Ahren’s Science Partners may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials that we would file with the SEC.
In addition to any potential business combination candidates we may identify on our own, we anticipate that other target business combination candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.
Our Acquisition Process
We will apply a rigorous investment process drawing on the expertise and experience of our management team and board of directors, who between them have led multi-billion dollar companies, negotiated major transactions and invested billions on behalf of investors. We will apply a process that we believe is reliable, repeatable, consistent and thorough in evaluating business combination opportunities.
The process comprises: opportunity sourcing, screening and evaluation and selection; and post business combination value add.
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Opportunity Sourcing
We will take a proactive approach to sourcing investment opportunities.
Opportunities may be discovered via our rigorous, systematic process of deep domain landscaping exercises, followed by extensive discussion and debate with our team and Ahren’s Science Partners, and then identifying specific domains of future potential explosive growth and technological dominance.
Opportunities may also be generated through Ahren’s portfolio of investee companies, where strong existing relationships would position us favorably. We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event that we seek to complete a business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that our business combination is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view. In the event that we seek such a business combination, we expect that the independent members of our board of directors would be involved in approving the transaction.
In addition, we may also source opportunities through Ahren’s Science Partners and their extensive science network. Ahren’s Science Partners have unrivalled access and deep relationships with the key, world-leading scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators that have commercialized opportunities in our domains of interest, across the globe. As a result, we expect to attract interesting potential opportunities, as a result of being a trusted and respected group. In addition, Ahren’s Science Partners nucleate companies from scratch, to which we have privileged access. We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with any of Ahren’s Science Partners. In the event that we seek to complete a business combination with a business that is affiliated with an Ahren Science Partner, we, or a committee of independent directors will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that our business combination is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view. In the event that we seek such a business combination, we expect that the independent members of our board of directors would be involved in approving the transaction.
Ahren holds periodic invite-only Symposia, to which it invites company founders, renowned technologists and scientists, select business and thought leaders, and exceptional investors. Unique sourcing opportunities for us may arise from these full value-chain discussions and debates.
Screening, Evaluation and Selection
The screening phase is based on a clear checklist of criteria and desired characteristics spread across underlying science and technology, our competitive edge, disruption potential and strategic considerations and people.
The evaluation and selection processes will hinge on identifying and analyzing the key issues that we expect to drive value creation. It will isolate the most crucial issues that are most critical to success, and these will be analyzed and debated deeply. We will pay particular attention to what we see differently from others regarding the drivers.
Our Board will meet regularly to review and take decisions on initial business combination opportunities.
An investment memorandum for each investment proposal will be circulated in advance by our supporting team. The decision-making process will take into account:
• Rigorous evaluation analysis prepared by our supporting team.
• Deep assessment of the quality and cutting-edge nature of the science and technology.
• Business and market opportunity assessment, to ensure the opportunity upside is sufficiently large, that the business fits with our thesis and that we are able to meaningfully add value.
Post Business Combination Value-Add
We intend to have an ongoing, supportive relationship with the target company post business combination, providing active value-add to accelerate growth.
Our team, and that of Ahren, contains investment and operations professionals with entrepreneurial expertise to help with strategy, recruitment and people management, organizational structure and operating model, financial planning and partnering, and scaling of production, in addition to key strategic questions.
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In addition, we are strongly positioned to provide expert technical input, including from Ahren’s Science Partners, to assist the target company in understanding opportunities and threats from the latest developments in the relevant scientific area. Many of Ahren’s Science Partners are successful entrepreneurs themselves and are able to bring the benefit of that experience to help the business scale-up successfully, for example by advising on partnering and manufacturing options.
Notwithstanding our management team and board of directors’, and Ahren’s Science Partners past experiences, past performance is not a guarantee: (i) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination; or (ii) that we will provide an attractive return to our shareholders from any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team and board of directors, and Ahren’s Science Partners performance as indicative of our future performance.
Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account). Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it likely that our board of directors will be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the target’s assets or prospects. Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
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 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 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, or 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 the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our 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 taken into account for purposes of the 80% of net assets test described above. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or Ahren’s Science Partners, or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors or Ahren’s Science Partners. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated (as defined in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) with our sponsor, officers or directors or Ahren’s Science Partners, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions stating that the consideration to be paid by us in 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.
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Members of our management team and board of directors will directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to at least one other entity pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such other entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will 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 the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
In addition, our sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other special purpose acquisition company with which they may become involved. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination target. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Prior to the date of this prospectus, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or 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 a tech-first company and accordingly we do not maintain a headquarters. Our telephone number is (646) 480-0033.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly 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 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 the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will 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 will be payable: (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations; or (ii) 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 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, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act,
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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 Class A ordinary shares that are held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30; and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” will have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which: (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $250 million as of the prior June 30; and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the prior June 30.
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The offering
In making your decision on whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of the members of our management team and board of directors and Ahren’s Science Partners, 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”.
Securities offered: | | 25,000,000 units, 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: “AHRNU” Class A Ordinary Shares: “AHRN” Warrants: “AHRNW” |
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 comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Citigroup Global Markets Inc. 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 two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination. |
Separate trading of the Class A 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 reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
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Units: | | |
Number outstanding before this offering | | 0
|
Number outstanding after this offering | | 25,000,000(1)
|
Ordinary shares: | | |
Number outstanding before this offering | | 7,187,500(2)(3)
|
Number outstanding after this offering | | 31,250,000(1)(3)(4)
|
Warrants: | | |
Number of private placement warrants to be sold in a private placement simultaneously with this offering | |
13,250,000(1)
|
Number of warrants to be outstanding after this offering and the private placement | |
25,750,000(1)(5)
|
Exercisability: | | Each whole warrant offered in this offering is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share. Only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. |
Exercise price: | | $11.50 per share, subject to adjustments as described herein. In addition, if (x) we issue additional Class A 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 Class A 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 initial shareholders or their affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our initial shareholders 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 (including from such issuances and this offering), and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), |
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| | 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, then 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, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” and “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described adjacent to the caption “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. |
Exercise period: | | The warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; provided that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the 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). If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. The registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part registers the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants. 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 best 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 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, as specified in the warrant agreement. Because the warrants are not exercisable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, we do not currently intend to update the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part or file a new registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until after the initial business combination has been consummated. 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 our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. Notwithstanding the above, 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 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, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. |
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| | 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):
• in whole and not in part; • at a price of $0.01 per warrant; • upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, which we refer to as the 30-day redemption period; and • if, and only if, the last reported sale price (the “closing price”) of our Class A 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 — Warrants — Public Warrants — Redemption Procedures — Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. We will not redeem the warrants as described above unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, except if the warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act. 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. Except as described below, none of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees. |
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00 | |
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants:
• in whole and not in part; • at a price of $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined by reference to the table set forth under “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants” based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares (as defined below) except as otherwise described in “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants”; |
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| | • if, and only if, the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per public share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants — Redemption Procedures — Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within the 30-trading day period ending three trading days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and • if the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants — Redemption Procedures — Anti-dilution Adjustments”), the private placement warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants, as described above. The “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares for the above purpose shall mean the volume-weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares 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 typical warrant redemption features used in other blank check company offerings. We will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10 trading day period described above ends. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment). 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 Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the holder. Please see the section entitled “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants” for additional information. |
Founder shares: | | On April 12, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our offering costs in exchange for 7,187,500 founder shares. Subsequently, our sponsor transferred 50,000 founder shares to each of Jeremy Darroch, Kathleen Hughes, Uwe Krüger and Donald McLellan, resulting in our sponsor holding 6,987,500 founder shares. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of this offering would be a maximum of 28,750,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering. Up to 937,500 of the founder shares will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised. If we increase or decrease the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, we will effect a share capitalization or a share |
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| | repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial shareholders, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering (assuming our initial shareholders do not purchase any units in this offering). Any conversion of Class B ordinary shares described herein will take effect as a redemption of Class B ordinary shares and an issuance of Class A ordinary shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. The founder shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, except that: • prior to the closing of our initial business combination, only holders of Class B ordinary shares will be entitled to vote on the appointment and removal of directors or continuing the company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including any special resolution required to amend the constitutional documents of the Company or to adopt new constitutional documents of the Company, in each case, as a result of the Company approving a transfer by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands); • the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; • the founder shares are entitled to registration rights; • our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to: (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to 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 have not consummated an initial business combination within the completion window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; (iii) 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 completion window, 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; and (iv) vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. |
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Transfer restrictions on founder shares: | | If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of one a majority of our ordinary shares which are represented in person or by proxy and are voted at a general meeting of the company. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 9,375,001, or 37.5%, (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised) of the 25,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the parties to the letter agreement do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares). In the event that our anchor investors purchase $89 million of units in this offering and vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we would need 475,751, or 1.9%, (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the remaining 16,100,750 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the parties to the letter agreement do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares). However, because our anchor investors are not obligated to continue owning any public shares following the closing and are not obligated to vote any public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that any of these anchor investors will be shareholders at the time our shareholders vote on our initial business combination, and, if they are shareholders, we cannot assure you as to how such anchor investors will vote on any business combination. Assuming that only the holders of one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, representing a quorum under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, vote their ordinary shares at a general meeting of the company, we will not need any public shares in addition to our founder shares to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to approve an initial business combination.
The founder shares are automatically convertible into our Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights.” Our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of: (i) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; or (ii) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property; except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances as described herein under “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”. Any permitted transferees will 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. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if: (1) the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds |
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| | $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or; (2) if we consummate a transaction after our initial business combination which results in our shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property, the founder shares will be released from the lock-up. |
Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights: | | The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, 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 connection with our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the total number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by public shareholders), including the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans; provided that such conversion of founder shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.
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Appointment of directors; voting: | | Holders of record of our Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. Unless specified in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or as required by the Companies Act or stock exchange rules, an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company is generally required to approve any matter voted on by our shareholders. Approval of certain actions require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of at least two-thirds of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, 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. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the appointment of directors, meaning, following our initial business combination, the holders of more than 50% of our ordinary shares voted for the appointment of directors can elect all of the directors. Prior to the closing of our initial business combination, only holders of our Class B ordinary shares will be entitled to vote on the appointment and removal of directors or continuing the company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including any special resolution required to amend the constitutional documents of the Company or to adopt new constitutional |
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| | documents of the Company, in each case, as a result of the Company approving a transfer by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands). Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association relating to the rights of holders of Class B ordinary shares to appoint directors may be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares which are represented in person or by proxy and are voted at our 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 the founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote. If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. In such case, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 9,375,001, or 37.5%, (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted, and the over-allotment option is not exercised) of the 25,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the parties to the letter agreement do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares). In the event that our anchor investors purchase $89 million of units in this offering and vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we would need 475,751, or 1.9%, (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted, and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the remaining 16,100,750 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the parties to the letter agreement do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares). However, because our anchor investors are not obligated to continue owning any public shares following the closing and are not obligated to vote any public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that any of these anchor investors will be shareholders at the time our shareholders vote on our initial business combination, and, if they are shareholders, we cannot assure you as to how such anchor investors will vote on any business combination. Assuming that only the holders of one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, representing a quorum under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, vote their ordinary shares at a general meeting of the company, we will not need any public shares in addition to our founder shares to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to approve an initial business combination. |
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Expressions of Interest: | | Our anchor investors have expressed to us an interest in purchasing an aggregate of up to approximately $89 million (or approximately 36%) of the units in this offering at the offering price (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) and we have agreed to direct the underwriters to offer to the anchor investors such amount of units. Further, each of the anchor investors has entered into a separate agreement with our sponsor pursuant to which such anchor investor has agreed to purchase an indirect interest in founder shares and private placement warrants. Each anchor investor has agreed with our sponsor that, if such anchor investor does not submit a firm order to the underwriter to purchase the number of units for which it has indicated an interest, such anchor investor shall forfeit its indirect interest in founder shares. In addition, our anchor investors have agreed that, if our sponsor’s general partners deems it necessary in order to facilitate an initial business combination for our sponsor to forfeit, transfer, exchange or amend the terms of all or any portion of its founder shares or private placement units or to enter into any other arrangements with respect to such securities, our anchor investors will be subject to the same changes on a pro rata basis. |
| | The anchor investors have not been granted any material additional shareholder or other rights, and are only being issued membership interests in our sponsor with no right to control our sponsor or vote or dispose of their allocable founder shares or private placement warrants (which will continue to be held by our sponsor until following our initial business combination). Further, the anchor investors are not required to: (i) other as described above, hold any units, shares or warrants they may purchase in this offering or thereafter for any amount of time; (ii) vote any shares they may own at the applicable time in favor of our initial business combination; or (iii) refrain from exercising their right to redeem their public shares at the time of our initial business combination. Because these expressions of interest are not binding agreements or commitments to purchase, our anchor investors may determine to purchase more, fewer or no units in this offering. In addition, the underwriters may determine to sell more, fewer or no units to our anchor investors. In the event that our anchor investors purchase $89 million of units (either in this offering or after) and vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we would need 475,751, or 1.9%, (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the remaining 16,100,750 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the parties to the letter agreement do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares). However, because our anchor investors are not obligated to continue owning any public shares following the closing and are not obligated to vote any public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that any of these anchor investors will be shareholders at the time our shareholders vote on our initial business combination, and, if they are shareholders, we cannot assure you as to how such anchor investors will vote on any business combination. Since our anchor investors will not receive the founder shares to which they are entitled until the closing of our initial business combination, they will not be able to vote such shares prior to the closing of our initial business combination. |
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Private placement warrants: | | Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 13,250,000 private placement warrants (or 14,750,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option 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 $13,250,000 in the aggregate (or $14,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. A portion of the purchase price of the private placement warrants will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account such that at the time of closing of this offering $255,000,000 (or $293,250,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) will be deposited in the trust account. The private placement warrants will be identical to the warrants sold in this offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants: (i) will not be redeemable by us; (ii) may not (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. 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 and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. |
Cashless exercise of private placement warrants: | | If holders of private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, except as described under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering their 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 “Sponsor fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the Sponsor fair market value. The “Sponsor fair market value” shall mean the average reported closing 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 the sponsor or 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 be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in place that restrict insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods.
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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 saleable 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 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 we will receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $255,000,000, or $293,250,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.20 per unit in either case), will be deposited into a segregated trust account located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, after deducting $5,000,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions payable upon the closing of this offering (or $5,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and an aggregate of $3,250,000 to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following the closing of this offering. The proceeds to be placed in the trust account include $8,750,000 (or up to $10,062,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions.
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| | 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 proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the completion window, subject to applicable law; or (iii) the redemption of our public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) 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 have not consummated an initial business combination within the completion window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. 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 our taxes and/or to redeem our public shares in connection with an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as described above. 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. Assuming that the proceeds held in the trust account are only invested in such money market funds at a current interest rate of 0.01% per year, we estimate the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $25,500 per year; however we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, we may pay our expenses only from such interest withdrawn from the trust account and:
• the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account, which initially will be approximately $2,150,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $1,100,000 in expenses relating to this offering; and • any loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or their affiliates or other third parties, although they are under no obligation to advance funds or invest in us; 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. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, at the option of the lender. |
Extension of the completion window | | We may hold a shareholder vote at any time to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify, among other things, the period of time we will have to consummate an initial business combination. As described herein, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement, 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 the completion window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions 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 amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described above under “Limitations on redemptions.” |
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Conditions to completing our initial business combination: | | Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account). Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it likely that our board of directors will be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the target’s assets or prospects. Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors. 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 outstanding voting securities of the target or is otherwise not required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our 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.
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| | 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 taken into account for purposes of the 80% of net assets test described above, provided that in the event that the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the transactions together as our initial business combination for purposes of seeking shareholder approval or conducting a tender offer, as applicable. |
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Permitted purchases of public shares and public warrants by our affiliates: | |
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, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. See “Proposed Business — Effecting Our Initial Business Combination — Permitted Purchases of Our Securities.” for a description of how our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will not make any purchases if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise |
| | have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange. |
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Redemption rights for public 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions 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. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering 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: (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the initial business combination; or (ii) without a shareholder vote by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed initial 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 requirements. Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while mergers whether the Cayman company is the surviving or merging company require shareholder approval by way of special resolution and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with Nasdaq’s shareholder approval rules.
The requirement that we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares by one of the two methods listed above will be contained in provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will apply whether or not we maintain our registration under the Exchange Act or our listing on Nasdaq. Such provisions may be amended by special resolution under Cayman Islands law. |
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| | If we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with a general meeting, we will: • conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and • file proxy materials with the SEC. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of a majority of the ordinary shares represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon and who vote in favor of the business combination. A quorum for such meeting will be present if the holders of one third of issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote at the meeting are represented in person or by proxy. Our initial shareholders will count toward this quorum and, pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of an ordinary resolution, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 9,375,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted, and the over-allotment option is not exercised) of the 25,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the parties to the letter agreement do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares). In the event that our anchor investors purchase $89 million of units in this offering and vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we would need 475,751, or 1.9%, (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the remaining 16,100,750 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the parties to the letter agreement do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares). However, because our anchor investors are not obligated to continue owning any public shares following the closing and are not obligated to vote any public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that any of these anchor investors will be shareholders at the time our shareholders vote on our initial business combination, and, if they are shareholders, we cannot assure you as to how such anchor investors will vote on any business combination. Assuming that only the holders of one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, representing a quorum under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, vote their shares at a general meeting of the company, we will not need any public shares in addition to our founder shares to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to approve an 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. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a public shareholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction. |
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| | If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will: • conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and • file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. 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 the number of shares we are permitted to redeem. 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. Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act. We intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) system, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, 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. We believe that this will allow our transfer agent to efficiently process any redemptions without the need for further communication or action from the redeeming public shareholders, which could delay redemptions and result in additional administrative cost. If the proposed initial business combination is not approved and we continue to search for a target company, we will promptly return any certificates or shares delivered by public shareholders who elected to redeem their shares. |
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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. In addition, our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. We may, however, raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into following consummation of this offering, in order to, among other reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets or minimum cash requirements. |
Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding 15% or more 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 management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against a business combination if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our 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.
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Release of funds in trust account on closing of our initial business combination: | |
On the completion of our initial business combination, the funds held in the trust account will be used to pay amounts due to any public shareholders who 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 securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination, we may use the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account following the closing 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 amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will have only 18 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the completion window, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of 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 completion window.
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| | Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the completion window. However, if our initial shareholders or management team acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the completion window. |
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| | The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission held in the trust account in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the trust account that will be available to fund the redemption of our public shares. Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement, 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 the completion window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions 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 amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described above under “Limitations on redemptions.” For example, our board of directors may propose such an amendment if it determines that additional time is necessary to complete our initial business combination. In such event, we will conduct a proxy solicitation and distribute proxy materials pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act seeking shareholder approval of such proposal, and in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon shareholder approval of such amendment. |
Limited payments to insiders: | | • Except as set forth below, there will be no finder’s fees, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation paid by us to our sponsor, officers or directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, the following payments will be made to our sponsor, officers, directors consultants and/or advisors, including the Science Partners, or our or their affiliates, and, if made prior to our initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the trust account: |
| | • Repayment of up to an aggregate of $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses; • Payment to an affiliate of our sponsor of $10,000 per month for the administrative and support services provided to members of our management team; • Payment of consulting, success or finder fees to our independent directors consultants and/or advisors, including the Science Partners, or their respective affiliates in such amount(s) as our board of directors deems appropriate in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination; |
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| | • Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating, negotiating and completing an initial business combination; and • Repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement 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. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. |
Audit committee: | | We will establish and maintain an audit committee. Among its responsibilities, the audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates and monitor compliance with the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to promptly take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise to cause compliance with the terms of this offering. For more information, see the section entitled “Management — Committees of the Board of Directors — Audit Committee.” |
Conflicts of Interest: | | Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to at least one other entity pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such other entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. In addition, our sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other special purpose acquisition company with which they may become involved. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination target. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. |
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Summary Financial Data
The following table summarizes the relevant financial data for our business and should be read with our financial statements, which are included in this prospectus. We have not had any significant operations to date, so only balance sheet data is presented.
| | September 30, 2021 |
| | Actual | | As Adjusted(6) |
Balance Sheet Data: | | | | | | | | |
Working Capital (deficiency)(1) | | $ | (918,456 | ) | | $ | 2,157,014 | |
Total Assets(2) | | $ | 925,470 | | | $ | 257,157,014 | |
Total Liabilities(3) | | $ | 918,456 | | | $ | 22,196,650 | |
Value of Class A ordinary shares that may be redeemed in connection with our initial business combination ($10.20 per share)(4) | | $ | — | | | $ | 255,000,000 | |
Shareholders’ Equity(5) | | $ | 7,014 | | | $ | (20,039,636 | ) |
If no business combination is completed within the period to consummate the initial business combination, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public Shares. Our sponsor, directors and each member of our management team have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we do not complete our initial business combination within such 18 month time period.
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Risks
Summary of Risk Factors
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. The occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances described in the section titled “Risk Factors,” alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. Such risks include, but are not limited to:
• We are a blank check company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
• Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.
• Your only opportunity to effect your investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.
• If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
• 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.
• 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.
• Unlike some other similar blank check companies, we will have only 18 months to consummate an initial business combination. The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the completion window 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.
• 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 ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the status of debt and equity markets, as well as protectionist legislation in our target markets.
• If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares.
• 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 submitting or tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
• Our officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
• You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
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• 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.
• You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
• Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
• If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the duration of the completion window, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.
• Past performance by our management team and board of directors, Ahren’s Science Partners, and their respective affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.
• Unlike some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies, our initial shareholders will receive additional Class A ordinary shares if we issue certain shares to consummate an initial business combination.
• We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse United States federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
• We may re-register in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such re-registration may result in taxes imposed on shareholders or warrant holders.
• An investment in this offering may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences.
• Our initial business combination and our structure thereafter may not be tax-efficient to our shareholders and warrant holders. As a result of our business combination, our tax obligations may be more complex, burdensome and/or uncertain.
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Risk factors
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our units. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Relating to our Search for, and Consummation of or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our founder shares will participate in such vote, 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 choose not to hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements. In such case, 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. Even if we seek shareholder approval, the holders of our founder shares will participate in the vote on such approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our ordinary shares do not approve of the business combination we complete. Please see the section entitled “Proposed Business — Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Our initial shareholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares immediately following the completion of this offering (assuming our initial shareholders do not purchase any units in this offering).
Our initial shareholders and management team also may from time to time purchase Class A ordinary shares prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, if we seek shareholder approval of an initial business combination, such initial business combination will be approved if we receive an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, including the founder shares. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 9,375,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted, and the over-allotment option is not exercised) of the 25,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the parties to the letter agreement do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares). In the event that our anchor investors purchase $89 million of units in this offering and vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we would need 475,751, or 1.9%, (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the remaining 16,100,750 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the parties to the letter agreement do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares). However, because our anchor investors are not obligated to continue owning any public shares following the closing and are not obligated to vote any public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that any of these anchor investors will be shareholders at the time our shareholders vote on our initial business combination, and, if they are shareholders, we cannot assure you as to how such anchor investors will vote on any business combination. Assuming that only the holders of one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, representing a quorum under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, vote their ordinary shares at a general meeting of the company, we will not need any public shares in addition to our founder shares to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to approve an initial business combination. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial shareholders and management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that an ordinary resolution will be passed, being the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination.
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Your only opportunity to effect your investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of our initial business combination. 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 vote. Accordingly, your only opportunity to effect your investment decision regarding our initial 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.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a minimum cash requirement for: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. 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. 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. 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 condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public 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 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 are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B ordinary shares results in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination. In addition, the amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions. The 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 is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with your exercise of redemption rights until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
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Unlike some other similar blank check companies, we will have only 18 months to consummate an initial business combination. The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the completion window 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.
Unlike some other similar blank check companies, we will have only 18 months to consummate an initial business combination. 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 the completion window. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation. The length of time it may take us to complete our diligence and negotiate a business combination may reduce the amount of time available for us to ultimately complete an initial business combination should such diligence or negotiations not lead to a consummated initial business combination.
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 ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the status of debt and equity markets.
In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in, and a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases could result in, a widespread health crisis that has and may continue to 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 and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 (or new strains thereof) restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for and ability to consummate a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, and result in protectionist sentiments and legislation in our target markets, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected. In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity in third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic 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.
Unlike some other similar blank check companies, we will have only 18 months to consummate an initial business combination. We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the completion window, 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, officers and directors have agreed that we must complete our initial business combination within the completion window. Unlike some other similar blank check companies, we will have only 18 months to consummate an initial business combination. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within the completion window. 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 (or new strains thereof) continues to grow both in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the pandemic on us will depend on future developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Furthermore, we may be unable
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to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. 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: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law. In such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.20 per share, or less than $10.20 per share, upon the redemption of their public 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.
Because our trust account is expected to contain approximately $10.20 per Class A ordinary share public shareholders may be more incentivized to redeem their public shares at the time of our initial business combination.
Our trust account will initially contain $10.20 per Class A ordinary share. This is different than some other similarly structured blank check companies for which the trust account will only contain $10.00 per Class ordinary share. As a result of the additional funds receivable by public shareholders upon redemption of public shares, our public shareholders may be more incentivized to redeem their public shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” 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 sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. Such purchases may include a contractual acknowledgment 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.
In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. See “Proposed Business — Effecting Our Initial Business Combination — Permitted Purchases of Our Securities” for a description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
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In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
If a 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 submitting or tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, proxy materials or tender offer documents, 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 submit public shares for redemption. For example, we intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent, or to deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business — Delivering Share Certificates in Connection with the Exercise of Redemption Rights.”
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the completion of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if this offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination. For a more detailed comparison of our offering to offerings that comply with Rule 419, please see “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 provides 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 seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares”. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
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As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.
In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies preparing for an initial public offering, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available to consummate 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 targets 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 and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter 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 similar or greater technical, human and other resources to ours or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a shareholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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 and April 12, 2021, we had no cash and a working capital deficit of $918,456 and $314,258, respectively. 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. In addition, management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and its effect on the Company’s financial position, results its operations and/or search for a target company. 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.
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If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the duration of the completion window, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, only $2,150,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. We believe that, upon 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 duration of the completion window; 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 or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent or merger agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business.
In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,100,000, 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. The amount held in the trust account will not be impacted as a result of such increase or decrease. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,100,000, 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 management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement 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. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public shareholders may only receive an estimated $10.20 per share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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, 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 consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to us and will only enter into an agreement with such third party if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the best interests of the company under the circumstances. BDO USA LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of this offering will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.
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Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.20 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of: (i) $10.20 per public share; and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.20 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.20 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of: (i) $10.20 per share; and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.20 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.20 per share.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if: (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account; or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such
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an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
The securities in which we invest the funds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share.
The proceeds held in the trust account may 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 net interest for dissolution expenses). 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 bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy or insolvency court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary 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 bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our 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, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary 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 bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
• restrictions on the nature of our investments; and
• restrictions on the issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
• registration as an investment company with the SEC;
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• adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and
• reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations.
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. This offering is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) 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 the completion window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent an initial business combination within the completion window, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public shareholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements, including with the law of the jurisdiction of our incorporation. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within the completion window, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such period before redemption from our trust account.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within the completion window, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account will 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
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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 duration of the completion window before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless we consummate our initial business combination prior thereto and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we are unable to complete our initial business combination.
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, 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 offence and may be liable to a fine of $18,293 and to imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our shareholders to appoint directors.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are required to hold an annual general meeting no later than 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 appoint directors and to discuss company affairs with management. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. 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 until after the consummation of our initial business combination.
Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any 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.
Our efforts to identify a prospective initial business combination target will not be limited to a particular industry, sector or geographic region. While we may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any industry or sector, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our management team and board of directors to identify and acquire a business or businesses that can benefit from our management team and board of directors’ established global relationships and operating experience. Our management team and board of directors have extensive experience in identifying and executing strategic investments globally and has done so successfully in a number of sectors. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prohibits us from effecting a business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations.
Because we have not yet selected any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no
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ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s areas of expertise if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive business combination opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in this offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue a business combination 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 ascertain or assess adequately all of the relevant risk factors. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of 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 law, 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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from a valuation or appraisal firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board of directors cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions stating that the consideration to be paid by us in such an initial business combination 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 proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
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The nominal purchase price paid by our sponsor for the founder shares may significantly dilute the implied value of your public shares in the event we complete an initial business combination. In addition, the value of the sponsor’s founder shares will be significantly greater than the amount our sponsor paid to purchase such shares in the event we complete an initial business combination, even if the business combination causes the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares to materially decline.
Our sponsor has committed to invest an aggregate of $13,275,000 in us in connection with this offering, comprised of the $25,000 purchase price for the founder shares and the $13,250,000 purchase price for the private placement warrants. We are offering our units to the public at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, and the amount in our trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share, implying an initial value of $10.20 per public share. However, because the sponsor paid only a nominal purchase price of approximately $0.003 per share for the founder shares, the value of your public shares may be significantly diluted as a result of the automatic conversion of our sponsor’s founder shares into Class A ordinary shares upon our completion of an initial business combination.
The following table shows the public shareholders’ and our sponsor’s investment per share and how these compare to the implied value of one Class A ordinary share upon the completion of our initial business combination. The following table assumes that (i) our valuation is $246,250,000 (which is the amount we would have in the trust account for our initial business combination assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised), (ii) no interest is earned on the funds held in the trust account, (iii) no public shares are redeemed in connection with our initial business combination and (iv) all founder shares are held by our initial shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination, and does not take into account other potential impacts on our valuation at the time of the initial business combination, such as (i) the value of our public and private placement warrants, (ii) the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares, (iii) the initial business combination transaction costs (other than the payment of $8,750,000 of deferred underwriting commissions), (iv) any equity issued or cash paid to the target’s sellers, (v) any equity issued to other third party investors, or (vi) the target’s business itself.
Class A ordinary shares held by public shareholders | | 25,000,000 shares |
Class B ordinary shares held by initial shareholders | | 6,250,000 shares |
Total ordinary shares | | 31,250,000 shares |
Total funds in trust at the initial business combination | | $ | 246,250,000 |
Public shareholders’ investment per Class A ordinary share(1) | | $ | 10.00 |
Our sponsor’s investment per Class B ordinary share(2) | | $ | 0.003 |
Implied value per Class A ordinary share upon the initial business combination(3) | | $ | 7.88 |
Based on these assumptions, each Class A ordinary share would have an implied value of $7.88 per share upon completion of our initial business combination, representing a 22.7% decrease from the initial implied value of $10.20 per public share. While the implied value of $7.88 per Class A ordinary share upon completion of our initial business combination would represent a dilution to our public shareholders, this would represent a significant increase in value for our sponsor relative to the price it paid for each founder share. At $7.88 per Class A ordinary share, the 6,250,000 Class A ordinary shares that the sponsor would own upon completion of our initial business combination (after automatic conversion of the initial investors’ 6,250,000 founder shares) would have an aggregate implied value of $49,250,000. As a result, even if the trading price of our Class A ordinary share significantly declines, the value of the founder shares held by our sponsor will be significantly greater than the amount our sponsor paid to purchase such shares. In addition, our sponsor could potentially recoup its entire investment in our company even if the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares after the initial business combination is as low as $2.13 per share. As a result, our sponsor is likely to earn a substantial profit on its investment in us upon disposition of its Class A ordinary shares even if the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares declines after we complete our initial business combination. Our sponsor may therefore be economically incentivized to complete an initial business combination with a riskier, weaker-performing or less-established target business than would be the case if our sponsor had paid the same per share price for the founder shares as our public shareholders paid for their public shares.
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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 for their public shares. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A ordinary shares.
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 founder shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained therein. 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 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 over-allotment option and the forfeiture of 937,500 Class B ordinary shares) authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance which amount does not take into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants or shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares. The Class B ordinary shares are automatically convertible into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, including in certain circumstances in which we issue Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities related to our initial business combination. 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 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 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 as set forth therein. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to: (i) receive funds from the trust account; or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote. The issuance of additional ordinary or preference shares:
• may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering;
• may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares;
• could cause a change in control if a substantial number of Class A 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 officers and directors; and
• may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants.
Unlike some other similarly structured special purpose acquisition companies, our initial shareholders will receive additional Class A ordinary shares if we issue certain shares to consummate an initial business combination.
The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, 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 connection with our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the total number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by public shareholders), including the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon
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conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans; provided that such conversion of founder shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.
Resources could be wasted in researching business combinations that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, 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, consultants and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, 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, officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under “Management — Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no substantive discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination as set forth in “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 to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm regarding the fairness to our company of the consideration to be paid by us from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Since our sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire during or after this offering), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On April 12, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our offering costs in exchange for 7,187,500 founder shares. Subsequently, our sponsor transferred 50,000 founder shares to each of Jeremy Darroch, Kathleen Hughes, Uwe Krüger and Donald McLellan, resulting in our sponsor holding 6,987,500 founder shares.
Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the 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
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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 28,750,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering. Up to 937,500 of the founder shares will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment 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 13,250,000 private placement warrants (or 14,750,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) for an aggregate purchase price of $13,250,000 (or $14,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $1.00 per warrant. The private placement warrants will also be worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the expiration of the completion window nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination.
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 and our officers have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
• default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
• acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;
• our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand;
• our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding;
• our inability to pay dividends on our Class A 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 Class A 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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We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability. The net proceeds from this offering and the private placement of warrants will provide us with $246,250,000 (or $283,187,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) that we may use to complete our initial business combination (after taking into account the $8,750,000, or up to $10,062,500 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account).
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
• solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or
• dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
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 business combination strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders do not agree.
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. In addition, our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its
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owners; (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. 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, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary 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, all Class A 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, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated 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 our shareholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, special purpose acquisition 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 will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of a majority of at least two-thirds of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 50% of the then outstanding private placement warrants. In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose 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 an initial business combination within the completion window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of the securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination.
The 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 not less than two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company (or 65% of our ordinary shares with respect to amendments to the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account), which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other special purpose acquisition companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by special resolution, under Cayman Islands law being the affirmative vote of a majority of at least two-thirds of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, 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 collectively beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our
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amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other special purpose acquisition companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and director nominees 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 the completion window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions 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 amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Our shareholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, officers, directors or director nominees for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our shareholders would need to pursue a shareholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
We have not selected any specific business combination target but intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants. As a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemption by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial 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. Further, we may be required to obtain additional financing in connection with the closing of our initial business combination for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, or to fund the purchase of other companies. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
Our initial shareholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon 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). Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on 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. If our initial shareholders purchase any units in this offering or if our initial shareholders purchase any additional Class A ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Neither our initial shareholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this prospectus. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were appointed by our sponsor, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term for three years with only one class of directors being appointed in each year. We may not hold an annual or extraordinary
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general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual general meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for appointment and our initial shareholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
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 the proxy statement with respect to the vote on an initial business combination include historical and pro forma financial statement disclosure. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”) depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”). These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an initial business combination.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.
We may engage the underwriters or one of their affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering, which may include acting as financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. The underwriters are entitled to receive deferred commissions that will be released from the trust only on a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause the underwriters to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after this offering, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
We may engage the underwriters or one of their affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing financial advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing. We may pay the underwriters or their affiliates fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with the underwriters or their affiliates and no fees or other compensation for such services will be paid to the underwriters or their affiliates prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of this prospectus, unless such payment would not be deemed underwriting compensation in connection with this offering. The underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial
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business combination. The fact that the underwriters or their affiliates’ financial interests are tied to the consummation of a business combination transaction may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services.
Risks Relating to the Post-Business Combination Company
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our share price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present within 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 debt financing to partially finance the initial business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The loss of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
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 only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We 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 the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently
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combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
Our initial business combination and our structure thereafter may not be tax-efficient to our shareholders and warrant holders. As a result of our business combination, our tax obligations may be more complex, burdensome and/or uncertain.
Although we will attempt to structure our initial business combination in a tax-efficient manner, tax structuring considerations are complex, the relevant facts and law are uncertain and may change, and we may prioritize commercial and other considerations over tax considerations. For example, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to any requisite shareholder approval, we may: structure our business combination in a manner that requires shareholders and/or warrant holders to recognize gain or income for tax purposes; effect a business combination with a target company in another jurisdiction; or reincorporate in a different jurisdiction (including, but not limited to, the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located). We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrant holders to pay taxes in connection with our business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, a shareholder or a warrant holder may need to satisfy any liability resulting from our initial business combination with cash from its own funds or by selling all or a portion of the shares received. In addition, shareholders and warrant holders may also be subject to additional income, withholding or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after our initial business combination.
In addition, we may effect a business combination with a target company that has business operations outside of the United States, and possibly, business operations in multiple jurisdictions. If we effect such a business combination, we could be subject to significant income, withholding and other tax obligations in a number of jurisdictions with respect to income, operations and subsidiaries related to those jurisdictions. Due to the complexity of tax obligations and filings in other jurisdictions, we may have a heightened risk related to audits or examinations by U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. taxing authorities. This additional complexity and risk could have an adverse effect on our after-tax profitability and financial condition.
Risks Relating to Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign Countries
If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may adversely affect us.
If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we pursue a target a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection
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with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
• costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations;
• rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;
• complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;
• laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;
• exchange listing and/or delisting requirements;
• tariffs and trade barriers;
• regulations related to customs and import/export matters;
• local or regional economic policies and market conditions;
• unexpected changes in regulatory requirements;
• challenges in managing and staffing international operations;
• longer payment cycles;
• tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;
• currency fluctuations and exchange controls;
• rates of inflation;
• challenges in collecting accounts receivable;
• cultural and language differences;
• employment regulations;
• underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems;
• corruption;
• protection of intellectual property;
• social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances;
• regime changes and political upheaval;
• terrorist attacks and wars; and
• deterioration of political relations with the United States.
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 business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may re-register in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such re-registration may result in taxes imposed on shareholders or warrant holders.
We may, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite shareholder approval by special resolution under the Companies Act, re-register in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction. The transaction may require a shareholder or warrant holder to recognize taxable income in
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the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrant holder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrant holders to pay such taxes. Shareholders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the re-registration.
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.
We are subject to changing law and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of non-compliance.
We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.
Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.
If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with United States 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, our management may resign from their positions as officers or directors of the company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with United States 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.
Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’ ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.
In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, and the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial business combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction.
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After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue will be derived from our operations in such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and legal 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.
Risks Relating to our Management Team
We are dependent upon our officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, 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.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with our company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.
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Our officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers is engaged in other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and 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. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination target. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “Management — Officers, Directors and Director Nominees.”
Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities 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. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entities. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will 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.
In addition, our sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other special purpose acquisition company with which they may become involved. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination target. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
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 — Officers, Directors and Director Nominees,” “Management — Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Our officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with 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.
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Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination target. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our shareholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it could be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and we or our shareholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our shareholders’ rights. See the section titled “Description of Securities — Certain Differences in Corporate Law — Shareholder Suits” for further information on the ability to bring such claims. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
Members of our management team and board of directors have significant experience as board members, officers or executives of other companies. As a result, certain of those persons have been, may be, or may become, involved in proceedings, investigations and litigation relating to the business affairs of the companies with which they were, are, or may in the future be, affiliated. This may have an adverse effect on us, which may impede our ability to consummate an initial business combination.
During the course of their careers, members of our management team and board of directors have had significant experience as board members, officers or executives of other companies. As a result of their involvement and positions in these companies, certain persons were, are now, or may in the future become, involved in litigation, investigations or other proceedings relating to the business affairs of such companies or transactions entered into by such companies. Any such litigation, investigations or other proceedings may divert our management team’s and board’s attention and resources away from identifying and selecting a target business or businesses for our initial business combination and may negatively affect our reputation, which may impede our ability to complete an initial business combination.
Members of our management team and affiliated companies may have been, and may in the future be, involved in civil disputes or governmental investigations unrelated to our business.
Members of our management team have been (and intend to be) involved in a wide variety of businesses. Such involvement has, and may lead to, media coverage and public awareness. As a result, members of our management team and affiliated companies may have been, and may in the future be, involved in civil disputes or governmental investigations unrelated to our business. Any such claims or investigations may be detrimental to our reputation and 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 letter agreement with our sponsor, officers and directors may be amended without shareholder approval.
Our letter agreement with our sponsor, officers and directors 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 may be amended without shareholder approval (although releasing the parties from the restriction not to transfer the founder shares for 185 days following the date of this prospectus will require the prior written consent of the underwriters). While we do not expect our board to approve any amendment to the letter 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 the letter agreement. Any such amendments to the letter agreement would not require approval from our shareholders and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
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Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination.
In recent months, the market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed in ways adverse to us and our management team. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. These trends may continue into the future.
The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. However, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
In addition, even after we were to complete an initial business combination, our directors and officers could still be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to the initial business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity, and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors.
Risks Relating to our Securities
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein; (ii) 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 the completion window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the completion window, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
We intend to apply to have our units listed on Nasdaq. We expect that our units will be listed on Nasdaq on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. Following the date that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be separately listed on Nasdaq. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in 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. Generally, we must maintain a minimum amount in shareholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with 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,
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our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our shareholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million and we would be required to have a minimum of 300 round lot holders of our securities, with at least 50% of such round lot holders holding 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.
If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
• a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
• reduced liquidity for our securities;
• a determination that our Class A 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 the statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. 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 the statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
Our initial shareholders paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per founder share and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from 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 Class A ordinary share and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A ordinary shares after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our initial shareholders acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public shareholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 94.3% (or $9.43 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering of $0.57 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. 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.
The determination of the offering price of our units and the size of this offering is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.
Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriters. In determining the size of this offering, management held customary organizational meetings with the representative of the underwriters, both prior
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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 size, price and terms of the units 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. 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 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. We will also be subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. 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.
We have been advised by Maples and Calder, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely: (i) 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 (ii) 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
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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.
After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and 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 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.
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 a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference shares, which may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that the courts of the Cayman Islands will be the exclusive forums for certain disputes between us and our shareholders, which could limit our shareholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for complaints against us or our directors, officers or employees.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the courts of the Cayman Islands shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim or dispute arising out of or in connection with our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or otherwise related in any way to each shareholder’s shareholding in us, including but not limited to: (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of any fiduciary or other duty owed by any of our current or former director, officer or other employee to us or our shareholders; (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Companies Act or our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine (as such concept is recognized under the laws of the United States) and that each shareholder irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Cayman Islands over all such claims or disputes. The forum selection provision in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will not apply to actions or suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act, Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States are, as a matter of the laws of the United States, the sole and exclusive forum for determination of such a claim.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association also provide that, without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that we may have, each of our shareholders acknowledges that damages alone would not be an adequate remedy for any breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum and that
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accordingly we shall be entitled, without proof of special damages, to the remedies of injunction, specific performance or other equitable relief for any threatened or actual breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum.
This choice of forum provision may increase a shareholder’s cost and limit the shareholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any of our shares or other securities, whether by transfer, sale, operation of law or otherwise, shall be deemed to have notice of and have irrevocably agreed and consented to these provisions. There is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provisions, and the enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ charter documents has been challenged in legal proceedings. It is possible that a court could find this type of provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable, and if a court were to find this provision in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions, which could have adverse effect on our business and financial performance.
An investment in this offering may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences.
An investment in this offering may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there is no authority that directly address instruments similar to the units we are issuing in this offering, the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of a unit between the Class A ordinary shares and the one-half of a warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share included in each unit could be challenged by the IRS or courts. In addition, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of a cashless exercise of warrants included in the units we are issuing in this offering is unclear under current law. Finally, it is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to our ordinary shares suspend the running of a U.S. Holder’s (as defined in section titled “Taxation — United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Holders”) holding period for purposes of determining whether any gain or loss realized by such holder on the sale or exchange of Class A ordinary shares is long-term capital gain or loss and for determining whether any dividend we pay would be considered “qualified dividend income” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. See the section titled “Taxation — United States Federal Income Tax Considerations” for a summary of the U.S. federal income tax considerations of an investment in our securities. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences when acquiring, owning or disposing of our securities.
We may be adversely affected by changes to the tax law, including the tax laws of the jurisdiction in which the target business is subject to.
We may be adversely affected by change to tax law, including the tax laws of the jurisdiction in which the target business is located. Our tax burden depends on various tax laws, as well as their application and interpretation. Our tax planning and optimization depends on the current and expected tax law. Amendments to tax laws may have a retroactive effect and their application or interpretation by tax authorities or courts may change unexpectedly. Any tax assessments that deviate from our expectations could lead to an increase in our tax obligations and, additionally, could give rise to interest payable on the additional amount of taxes. Furthermore, future tax audits and other investigations conducted by tax authorities could result in the assessment of additional taxes.
In addition, and outside of our initial business combination, we do not believe that our proposed activities, the basis upon which we will be managed and operated, or the manner in which we intend to conduct our business, should result in us becoming subject to taxation, or to file any corporate income tax return, in any jurisdiction outside our jurisdiction of incorporation. Notwithstanding this, there can be no absolute assurance that a tax authority will not take a contrary view.
The materialization of any of these risks discussed above could have a material adverse effect on our business, net assets, financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.
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We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of: (i) curing any ambiguity or to correct any defective provision or mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in this prospectus; (ii) adjusting the provisions relating to cash dividends on ordinary shares as contemplated by and in accordance with the warrant agreement; 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, provided that the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is required to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder of public warrants if holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or shares, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
Our warrant agreement will designate the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our warrant agreement will provide that, subject to applicable law: (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York; and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States 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.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
If: (i) we issue additional Class A 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 Class A ordinary
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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; and (iii) the Market Value of our Class A ordinary shares is below $9.20 per share, then 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 prices described below under “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” and “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
Our warrants are expected to be accounted for as derivative liabilities and will be recorded at fair value upon issuance with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings, which may have an adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares or may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
We will be issuing 12,500,000 warrants 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, 13,250,000 warrants (or up to 14,750,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). We expect to account for both the warrants underlying the units offered by this prospectus and the private placement warrants as a warrant liability. At each reporting period (1) the accounting treatment of the warrants will be reevaluated for proper accounting treatment as a liability or equity and (2) the fair value of the liability of the public and private warrants will be remeasured and the change in the fair value of the liability will be recorded as other income (expense) in our income statement. The impact of changes in fair value on earnings may have an adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares. In addition, potential targets may seek a special purpose acquisition company that does not have warrants that are accounted for as liability, which may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
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, provided that the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption to the warrants holders and provided certain other conditions are met. We will not redeem the warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, except if the warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to: (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so; (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants; or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; provided that the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants — Redemption Procedures — Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption and provided that certain other conditions are met, including that holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of Class A ordinary shares determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A ordinary shares. Please see “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the
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price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00.” The value received upon exercise of the warrants: (1) may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had been able to exercise their warrants at a later time at which the underlying share price is higher; and (2) may not compensate the holders for the value of the warrants, including because the number of ordinary shares received is capped at 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants.
None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by the sponsor or its respective permitted transferees.
Our warrants 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 12,500,000 of our Class A ordinary shares (or up to 14,375,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing in a private placement an aggregate of 13,250,000 private placement warrants (or 14,750,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), at $1.00 per warrant. In addition, if the sponsor makes any working capital loans, it may convert those loans into up to an additional $2,000,000 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant. To the extent we issue ordinary shares to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, 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 transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
Because each unit contains one-half of one warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other special purpose acquisition companies.
Each unit contains one-half of one warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole units will trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if it included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
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
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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.
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 laws.
You may only be able to exercise your public warrants on a “cashless basis” under certain circumstances, and if you do so, you will receive fewer Class A ordinary shares from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
The warrant agreement provides that in the following circumstances holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do for cash and will, instead, be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act: (i) if the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the terms of the warrant agreement; (ii) if we have so elected and the 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; and (iii) if we have so elected and we call the public warrants for redemption.
If you exercise your public warrants on a cashless basis, you would pay the warrant exercise price by surrendering the 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 “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares (as defined in the next sentence) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” is the average reported closing 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 exercise is received by the warrant agent or on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, as applicable. As a result, you would receive fewer Class A ordinary shares from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and holders of our private placement warrants 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 concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the Class A ordinary shares into which founder shares are convertible, holders of our private placement warrants and their permitted transferees can demand
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that we register the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants or holders of securities that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and their permitted transferees may demand that we register such units, shares, warrants or the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants and any other securities of the company acquired by them prior to the consummation of our initial business combination. 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, holders of our private placement warrants or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
General Risk Factors
We are a blank check 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 blank check 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. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Past performance by our management team, Ahren’s Science Partners and their respective affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.
Information regarding our management team, Ahren’s Science Partners and their respective affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience and performance by our management team, Ahren’s Science Partners and their respective affiliates and the businesses with which they have been associated, is not a guarantee that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination, that we will be able to provide positive returns to our shareholders, or of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical experiences of our management team, Ahren’s Science Partners and their respective affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or as indicative of every prior investment by each of the members of our management team, Ahren’s Science Partners or their respective affiliates. The market price of our securities may be influenced by numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, and our shareholders may experience losses on their investment in our securities.
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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We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse United States 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 “Taxation — United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — U.S Holders”) of our Class A 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 on whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception (see the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation — United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — 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 (and, in the case of the startup exception, potentially not until after the two taxable years following our current taxable year). Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, upon written request, 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 be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. investors to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules. For a more detailed explanation of the tax consequences of PFIC classification to U.S. Holders, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation — United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Holders — Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”
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 internal controls 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 Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
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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 equaled or exceeded $250 million as of the prior June 30; 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 equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the prior June 30. 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.
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Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements
Some of the statements contained in this prospectus may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.
Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about:
• our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses;
• our ability to complete our initial business combination;
• our expectations around the performance of the prospective target business or businesses;
• our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;
• our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination;
• our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination;
• our pool of prospective target businesses;
• our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic;
• the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities;
• our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading;
• the lack of a market for our securities;
• the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance;
• the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; or
• our financial performance following this offering.
The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors”. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
In addition, statements that contain “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this prospectus. Although we believe that this information provides a reasonable basis for these statements, this information may be limited or incomplete. Our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain, and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely on these statements.
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Use of proceeds
We are offering 25,000,000 units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit. We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering together with the funds we will receive from the sale of the private placement warrants will be used as set forth in the following table.
| | Without Over-allotment Option | | Over-allotment Option Exercised |
Gross proceeds | | | | | | | | |
Gross proceeds from units offered to public(1) | | $ | 250,000,000 | | | $ | 287,500,000 | |
Gross proceeds from private placement warrants offered in the private placement | | $ | 13,250,000 | | | $ | 14,750,000 | |
Total gross proceeds | | $ | 263,250,000 | | | $ | 302,250,000 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Offering expenses(2) | | | | | | | | |
Underwriting commissions (2% of gross proceeds from units offered to public, excluding deferred portion)(3)(4) | | $ | 5,000,000 | | | $ | 5,750,000 | |
Legal fees and expenses | | | 650,000 | | | | 650,000 | |
Printing and engraving expenses | | | 55,000 | | | | 55,000 | |
Trustee fees and expenses | | | 11,500 | | | | 11,500 | |
Accounting fees and expenses | | | 200,000 | | | | 200,000 | |
SEC/FINRA expenses | | | 127,000 | | | | 127,000 | |
Travel and road show expenses | | | 5,000 | | | | 5,000 | |
Nasdaq application & listing fee | | | 10,000 | | | | 10,000 | |
Miscellaneous | | | 41,500 | | | | 41,500 | |
Total offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) | | $ | 1,100,000 | | | $ | 1,100,000 | |
Proceeds after offering expenses | | $ | 257,150,000 | | | $ | 295,400,000 | |
Held in trust account(3) | | $ | 255,000,000 | | | $ | 293,250,000 | |
% of public offering size | | | 102 | % | | | 102 | % |
Not held in trust account | | $ | 2,150,000 | | | $ | 2,150,000 | |
The following table shows the use of the approximately $2,150,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account:(5)
| | Amount | | % of Total |
Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel, and other expenses in connection with any business combination(6) | | $ | 500,000 | | 23.3 | % |
Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance | | | 800,000 | | 37.2 | % |
Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations | | | 250,000 | | 11.6 | % |
Nasdaq and other regulatory fees | | | 240,000 | | 11.2 | % |
Payment for administrative and support services | | | 180,000 | | 8.4 | % |
Working capital to cover other miscellaneous expenses(7) | | | 180,000 | | 8.4 | % |
Total | | $ | 2,150,000 | | 100 | % |
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Nasdaq 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 $263,250,000 in gross proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, or $302,250,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, $255,000,000 ($10.20 per unit), or $293,250,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.20 per unit), will be deposited into a trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, after deducting $5,000,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions payable upon the closing of this offering (or $5,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and an aggregate of $3,250,000 to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following the closing of this offering. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Assuming that the proceeds held in the trust account are only invested in such money market funds at a current interest rate of 0.01% per year, we estimate the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $25,500 per year; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. We expect that the interest earned on the trust account will be sufficient to pay income taxes. 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 our taxes and up to $100,000 to pay dissolution expenses, as applicable, if any, until the earliest of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the completion window, subject to applicable law; or (iii) the redemption of our public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to 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 have not consummated our initial business combination within the completion window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity.
The net proceeds released to us from the trust account upon the closing of our initial business combination may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we complete our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination, we may use the balance of the cash released from the trust account following the closing for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or
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expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into following consummation of this offering. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, following this offering and prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will be prohibited from issuing additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to: (i) receive funds from the trust account; or (ii) vote on any initial business combination.
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 management team or any of their affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us.
We will pay an affiliate of our sponsor $10,000 per month for the administrative and support services provided to members of our management team. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 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 or the closing of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the $1,100,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated to the payment of offering expenses.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement 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. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor 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 anchor investors have expressed to us an interest in purchasing an aggregate of up to approximately $89 million (or approximately 36%) of the units in this offering at the offering price (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) and we have agreed to direct the underwriters to offer to the anchor investors such amount of units. Further, each of the anchor investors has entered into a separate agreement with our sponsor pursuant to which such anchor investor has agreed to purchase an indirect interest in founder shares and private placement warrants. Each anchor investor has agreed with our sponsor that, if such anchor investor does not submit a firm order to the underwriter to purchase the number of units for which it has indicated an interest, such anchor investor shall forfeit its indirect interest in founder shares. In addition, our anchor investors have agreed that, if our sponsor’s general partners deems it necessary in order to facilitate an initial business combination for our sponsor to forfeit, transfer, exchange or amend the terms of all or any portion of its founder shares or private placement units or to enter into any other arrangements with respect to such securities, our anchor investors will be subject to the same changes on a pro rata basis. The anchor investors have not been granted any material additional shareholder or other rights, and are only being issued membership interests in our sponsor with no right to control our sponsor or vote or dispose of their allocable founder shares or private placement units (which will continue to be held by our sponsor until following our initial business combination). Further, the anchor investors are not required to: (i) other as described above, hold any
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units, shares or warrants they may purchase in this offering or thereafter for any amount of time; (ii) vote any shares they may own at the applicable time in favor of our initial business combination; or (iii) refrain from exercising their right to redeem their public shares at the time of our initial business combination.
Because these expressions of interest are not binding agreements or commitments to purchase, our anchor investors may determine to purchase more, fewer or no units in this offering. In addition, the underwriters may determine to sell more, fewer or no units to our anchor investors. In the event that our anchor investors purchase $89 million of units in this offering and vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we would need 475,751, or 1.9%, (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the remaining 16,100,750 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the parties to the letter agreement do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares). However, because our anchor investors are not obligated to continue owning any public shares following the closing and are not obligated to vote any public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that any of these anchor investors will be shareholders at the time our shareholders vote on our initial business combination, and, if they are shareholders, we cannot assure you as to how such anchor investors will vote on any business combination. Since our anchor investors will not receive the founder shares to which they are entitled until the closing of our initial business combination, they will not be able to vote such shares prior to the closing of our initial business combination.
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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 and there is no certainty we will be in a position to, or decide to, pay cash dividends after consummating any 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. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, we will effect a share 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 share of our Class A ordinary shares, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering pursuant to this prospectus or the private placement warrants, and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A ordinary shares 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 our Class A ordinary shares which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares.
At September 30, 2021, our net tangible book (deficit) was $(918,456) or approximately $(0.15) per share. After giving effect to the sale of 25,000,000 Class A ordinary shares included in the units we are offering by this prospectus (or 28,750,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), the sale of the private placement warrants and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at September 30, 2021 would have been $5,000,004 or $0.57 per share (or $5,000,009 or $0.50 per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of 22,545,133 units of our Class A ordinary shares which is the maximum number of Class A ordinary shares that may be redeemed for cash to or 25,993,670 units of our Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of $0.72 per share (or $0.63 per share to our initial Shareholders as of the date of this prospectus. Total dilution to public Shareholders from this offering will be $9.43 per share (or $9.50 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full).
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 Over-allotment | | With Over-allotment |
Public offering price | | | | $ | 10.00 | | | | | $ | 10.00 | |
Net tangible book deficit before this offering | | | | | (0.15 | ) | | | | | (0.13 | ) |
Increase (decrease) attributable to public Shareholders’ | | | | | 0.72 | | | | | | 0.63 | |
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants | | | | | 0.57 | | | | | | 0.50 | |
Dilution to public shareholders | | | | $ | 9.43 | | | | | $ | 9.50 | |
Percentage of dilution to public shareholders | | | | | 94.3 | % | | | | | 95.0 | % |
For purposes of presentation, we have reduced our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) by $229,960,360 assuming holders of up to approximately 92.0% of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account as set forth in our tender offer or proxy materials (initially anticipated to be the aggregate amount held in trust two days prior to the commencement of our tender offer or shareholders meeting, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares.
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 | | Number | | Percentage | |
Initial shareholder(1)(2) | | 6,250,000 | | 20.00 | % | | $ | 25,000 | | 0.01 | % | | $ | 0.004 |
Public shareholders | | 25,000,000 | | 80.00 | % | | $ | 250,000,000 | | 99.99 | % | | $ | 10.00 |
| | 31,250,000 | | 100.00 | % | | $ | 250,025,000 | | 100.00 | % | | | |
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The pro forma net tangible book value (subject to the assumption described above) per share after the offering (assuming that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised) is calculated, subject to the assumption described above, as follows:
| | Without Over-allotment | | With Over-allotment |
Numerator: | | | | | | | | |
Net tangible book deficit before this offering | | $ | (918,456 | ) | | $ | (918,456 | ) |
Net proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement warrants(1) | | | 257,150,000 | | | | 295,400,000 | |
Plus: Offering costs paid in advance, excluded from tangible book value before this offering | | | 925,470 | | | | 925,470 | |
Less: Derivative warrant liability | | | (13,446,650 | ) | | | (15,209,075 | ) |
Less: Deferred underwriting commissions | | | (8,750,000 | ) | | | (10,062,500 | ) |
Less: Assumed maximum proceeds available for redemption to effect a business combination(2) | | | (229,960,360 | ) | | | (265,135,430 | ) |
| | $ | 5,000,004 | | | $ | 5,000,009 | |
Denominator: | | | | | | | | |
Class B ordinary shares outstanding prior to this offering | | | 7,187,500 | | | | 7,187,500 | |
Class B ordinary shares forfeited if over-allotment is not exercised | | | (937,500 | ) | | | — | |
Class A ordinary shares included in the units offered | | | 25,000,000 | | | | 28,750,000 | |
Less: Maximum shares that may be redeemed to effect a business combination(2) | | | (22,545,133 | ) | | | (25,993,670 | ) |
| | | 8,704,867 | | | | 9,943,830 | |
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CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our capitalization at September 30, 2021, and as adjusted to give effect to the filing of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the sale of our units in this offering and the private placement warrants and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities:
| | September 30, 2021 |
| | Actual | | As Adjusted(1) |
Note payable to related party(1) | | $ | 202,604 | | | $ | — | |
Deferred underwriting commissions | | | | | | | 8,750,000 | |
Derivative warrant liability(2) | | | | | | | 13,446,650 | |
Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 500,000,000 shares authorized; -0- and 25,000,000 shares are subject to possible redemption, actual and as adjusted, respectively(3) | | | — | | | | 255,000,000 | |
Shareholders’ Equity (Deficit) | | | | | | | | |
Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 50,000,000 shares authorized; 7,187,500 and 6,250,000 shares issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted, respectively(4) | | | 719 | | | | 625 | |
Additional paid-in capital(5) | | | 24,281 | | | | — | |
Accumulated deficit(6) | | | (17,986 | ) | | | (20,040,261 | ) |
Total shareholders’ equity (deficit) | | $ | 7,014 | | | $ | (20,039,636 | ) |
Total capitalization | | $ | 209,618 | | | $ | 257,157,014 | |
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Management’s discussion and analysis of
financial condition and results of operations
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated on April 1, 2021 as a Cayman Islands exempted company and incorporated 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 an initial business combination with us. While we may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any geography, we will seek to identify differentiated opportunities. In Europe and the UK, where deep technology and deep science are very strong, enterprise valuations are in many cases currently attractive relative to other global locations. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following the consummation of this offering or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, other securities issuances, or a combination of the foregoing.
The issuance of additional shares in connection with a business combination to the owners of the target or other investors:
• 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 Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares;
• could cause a change in control if a substantial number of our Class A 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 officers and directors;
• may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and
• may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants.
Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant debt to bank or other lenders or the owners of a target, it could result in:
• default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
• acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;
• our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand;
• our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding;
• our inability to pay dividends on our Class A 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 Class A 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;
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• 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.
As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at September 30, 2021 and April 12, 2021, we had no cash and deferred offering costs of $925,470 and $321,631, respectively. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful.
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 $300,000 in loans from our sponsor.
We estimate that the net proceeds from the sale of the units in this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants for an aggregate purchase price of $13,250,000 (or $14,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), after deducting offering expenses of approximately $1,100,000 and underwriting commissions of $5,000,000 (or $5,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) (excluding deferred underwriting commissions of $8,750,000, or $10,062,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be $257,150,000 (or $295,400,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). $255,000,000 (or $293,250,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be deposited in the trust account, which includes the deferred underwriting commissions described above. 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. The remaining approximately $2,150,000 will not be held in the trust account. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,100,000, 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 $1,100,000, 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 (excluding deferred underwriting commissions). We may withdraw interest to pay our 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 income taxes. To the extent that our equity or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us the approximately $2,150,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account (assuming our offering expenses are as expected). We will use these funds to primarily identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a business combination.
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We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business prior to our initial business combination. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement 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. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $500,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses associated with structuring, negotiating and documenting successful business combinations; $800,000 for director and officer liability insurance premiums; $250,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $240,000 for Nasdaq and other regulatory fees; and approximately $180,000 for general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves. We will also pay an affiliate of our sponsor $10,000 per month for the administrative and support services provided to members of our management team.
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.
Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. In addition, we intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units, and, as a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemptions by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. We may also obtain financing prior to the closing of our initial business combination to fund our working capital needs and transaction costs in connection with our search for and completion of our initial business combination. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following consummation of this offering. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In addition, following our initial business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.
Controls and Procedures
We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated
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filer or an accelerated filer and no longer an emerging growth company would we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.
Prior to the closing of this offering, we have not completed an assessment, nor 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 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 obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
Related Party Transactions
On April 12, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our offering costs in exchange for 7,187,500 founder shares. Subsequently, our sponsor transferred 50,000 founder shares to each of Jeremy Darroch, Kathleen Hughes, Uwe Krüger and Donald McLellan, resulting in our sponsor holding 6,987,500 founder shares.
The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of this offering would be a maximum of 28,750,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering. Up to 937,500 of the founder shares will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised. If we increase or decrease the size of the offering, we will effect a share capitalization or a share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares 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.
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Our sponsor has committed to, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 13,250,000 private placement warrants (or 14,750,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option 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 $13,250,000 in the aggregate (or $14,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. The private placement warrants will be identical to the warrants sold in this offering except that the private placement warrants, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees: (i) will not be redeemable by us; (ii) may not (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
We are a tech-first company and accordingly we do not maintain a headquarters. Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we will pay an affiliate of our sponsor $10,000 per month for the administrative and support services provided to members of our management team. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Except as described herein, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. In addition, we may pay consulting, success or finder fees to our independent directors, consultants and/or advisors, including the Science Partners, or their respective affiliates in such amount(s) as our board of directors deems appropriate in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates.
Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor may loan us funds in an aggregate amount of up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans would be non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 or the closing of this offering. As of September 30, 2021 and April 12, 2021, we had borrowed $202,604 and $0, respectively, under such loans.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required on a non-interest basis. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement 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. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor 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.
Any of the foregoing payments to our sponsor, repayments of loans from our sponsor or repayments of working capital loans prior to our initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation or tender offer 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 and director compensation.
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Our anchor investors have expressed to us an interest in purchasing an aggregate of up to approximately $89 million (or approximately 36%) of the units in this offering at the offering price (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) and we have agreed to direct the underwriters to offer to the anchor investors such amount of units. Further, each of the anchor investors has entered into a separate agreement with our sponsor pursuant to which such anchor investor has agreed to purchase an indirect interest in founder shares and private placement warrants. Each anchor investor has agreed with our sponsor that, if such anchor investor does not submit a firm order to the underwriter to purchase the number of units for which it has indicated an interest, such anchor investor shall forfeit its indirect interest in founder shares. In addition, our anchor investors have agreed that, if our sponsor’s general partners deems it necessary in order to facilitate an initial business combination for our sponsor to forfeit, transfer, exchange or amend the terms of all or any portion of its founder shares or private placement units or to enter into any other arrangements with respect to such securities, our anchor investors will be subject to the same changes on a pro rata basis. The anchor investors have not been granted any material additional shareholder or other rights, and are only being issued membership interests in our sponsor with no right to control our sponsor or vote or dispose of their allocable founder shares or private placement warrants (which will continue to be held by our sponsor until following our initial business combination). Further, the anchor investors are not required to: (i) other as described above, hold any units, shares or warrants they may purchase in this offering or thereafter for any amount of time; (ii) vote any shares they may own at the applicable time in favor of our initial business combination; or (iii) refrain from exercising their right to redeem their public shares at the time of our initial business combination.
Because these expressions of interest are not binding agreements or commitments to purchase, our anchor investors may determine to purchase more, fewer or no units in this offering. In addition, the underwriters may determine to sell more, fewer or no units to our anchor investors. In the event that our anchor investors purchase $89 million of units in this offering and vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we would need 475,751, or 1.9%, (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the remaining 16,100,750 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the parties to the letter agreement do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares). However, because our anchor investors are not obligated to continue owning any public shares following the closing and are not obligated to vote any public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that any of these anchor investors will be shareholders at the time our shareholders vote on our initial business combination, and, if they are shareholders, we cannot assure you as to how such anchor investors will vote on any business combination. Since our anchor investors will not receive the founder shares to which they are entitled until after the closing of our initial business combination, they will not be able to vote such shares prior to the closing of our initial business combination.
We have entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to the founder shares and private placement warrants, which is described under the heading “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 not conducted any operations to date.
JOBS Act
The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
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Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things: (i) provide an independent registered public accounting firm’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404; (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the report of the independent registered public accounting firm providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis); and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of this offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.
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Proposed business
Introduction
We are a blank check company incorporated on April 1, 2021 as a Cayman Islands exempted company and incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. To date, our efforts have been limited to organizational activities and activities related to this offering. 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 opportunity in any geography, we will seek to identify differentiated opportunities. In Europe and the UK, where deep technology and deep science are very strong, enterprise valuations are in many cases currently attractive relative to other global locations.
Our sponsor is an affiliate of Ahren LP, or Ahren. Ahren is an investment fund that seeks to make transformative investments in companies that will penetrate or create large markets within and among four domains of interest and on a global stage. Ahren was founded in 2017 by technology and disruptive healthcare investor and Founding & General Partner Alice Newcombe-Ellis, alongside co-founding Science Partners that have founded companies and/or whose inventions and technologies are today valued in excess of $100 billion combined. Alice Newcombe-Ellis will be acting as our Chief Executive Officer.
We are motivated to achieve exceptional returns for investors by identifying and completing an initial business combination with a high growth, domain leading company fueled by breakthrough deep technology and/or deep science. The companies that we will target are expected to have the potential to be disruptive and primed for explosive growth and that can change the world for the better, while establishing a position of technological dominance. We believe we are well positioned to pursue initial business combination opportunities within our four domains of interest: Planet & Efficient Energy; Brain & Artificial Intelligence; Genetics & Platform Technologies; and Space, Robotics & Physics.
We believe that we provide: (i) privileged access to valuable target opportunities with a management team that is highly motivated to engage with our team; (ii) capability to properly diligence and help ensure a strong, credible transaction; and (iii) the ability to add meaningful long-term value post-transaction and the ability to attract an investor group with the same values.
Our management team and board of directors and Ahren’s Science Partners possess a distinctive combination of executive, strategic, operational and technical deep technology and deep science experience. We believe that the experience and expertise of our management team and board of directors and Ahren’s Science Partners will make us an attractive partner to potential target businesses, enhance our ability to complete a successful initial business combination and bring value to the business following our initial business combination.
Our objective is to generate attractive returns for shareholders and enhance value through access to capital, operational improvements, and potentially new initiatives to expand the target business. Our management team and board of directors’ and Ahren’s Science Partners’ past experiences provide a distinctive set of skills that other companies may not possess. We believe that our management team and board of directors’ and Ahren’s Science Partners’ expertise, experience and network in deep technology and deep science provide us with a significant advantage in identifying attractive investments and consummating an initial business combination that will be well-received in the public markets.
Our Sponsor
Our sponsor is an affiliate of Ahren. Ahren was founded in 2017 by technology and disruptive healthcare investor and Founding & General Partner Alice Newcombe-Ellis, alongside co-founding Science Partners that have founded companies and/or whose inventions and technologies are today valued in excess of $100 billion combined. Ahren was established from first principles with a mission to be disruptive as an investment institution, with a new model — a genuine partnership between the creators of deep technology and deep science, and commercial active, long-term capital, to harness tremendous global talent and build and exponentially accelerate the next generation of great enterprises.
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Business Strategy
Our business strategy is to identify and complete a business combination with a high growth, domain leading company fuelled by a transformational breakthrough in deep technology and deep science that can change the world for the better.
We will focus primarily on growth-stage companies where the business model is relatively de-risked and we may provide access to capital as well as strategic and operational assistance regarding optimized execution and positioning in public markets. We believe access to growth capital for companies in these spaces is historically limited at the stage between typical venture investments and traditional IPO revenue levels required to readily access public markets. As such, we believe that many outstanding companies are slowed in their growth and maturation during this stage as they seek additional capital from private sources. This provides an attractive opportunity as we may provide both capital and business expertise.
Our strategy is underpinned by several elements that have also been successfully utilized by Ahren:
• Focus on high-end deep technology and deep science: Our focus will be on ground-breaking, transformational business opportunities. Due to the transformational nature of these businesses and the difficult to access science and technology, they may operate in nascent markets with high barriers to entry, but we need to believe the end addressable market can sustain a multi-billion-dollar company.
• Take considered, rewarded risk: We believe that a diligently selected, highly ambitious business often presents a more attractive risk-reward proposition than a business with more modest and mainstream aspirations. We believe our diligence process enables considered technical risk assessment, allowing us to invest in businesses that others may not be able to.
• Invest in disruptive innovation: We will seek business combination opportunities in sectors where there is a potential for disruptive innovation. This will mean the business is better positioned to take on existing players and competitors in its industry or sector.
• Build long term symbiotic relationships with company founders: We believe we can achieve a competitive advantage by working with founder zealots, who as well as being exceptionally talented also have deep passion and drive to create world-changing businesses.
Competitive Advantages
Ahren Acquisition Corp.’s approach will be consistent with that of Ahren, which is based on five critical differentiating features:
• Our unique team and network: Ahren is a genuine partnership between commercial, technological and investment talent, which provides access to global science network and attracts the highest caliber entrepreneurial talent representing a powerful sourcing mechanism. Ahren’s co-founding Science Partners, include Nobel Laureates and entrepreneurs who have founded companies and/or whose inventions and technologies are today valued in excess of $100 billion combined. Our deep technical diligence reduces risk and enables investment in complexity. Importantly, our team covers the full ‘value chain’ or ‘life-cycle’ from early-stage research, early-stage investing, commercialization, growth/private equity through to public markets. We believe this is critical to guide progress through to successful outcome.
• Strong relationships with domain relevant corporates: Ahren has a mutually beneficial relationship with its corporate limited partners, which are globally-leading multi-billion dollar firms in Ahren’s investment domains. They help provide rapid diligence support, and for Ahren’s portfolio companies, relevant industry expertise and potential access to billions of customers. In return, Ahren provides them with unparalleled access and insight into the future disruptive trends. Ahren’s global network extends beyond corporates to Google Brain, The Royal Society, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (“CIFAR”) and the Alan Turing Institute.
• Our commercial engine: building, not just investing: Consistent with Ahren’s philosophy, we believe in active capital, engendering explosive disruptive growth and technological dominance. We believe that holding investments through commercialization delivers the greatest returns for investors. As a result,
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we expect that we will be an attractive partner for target management and will work with management to improve the business post business combination. We expect both factors to enhance returns for our investors.
• Cross-domain insight, expertise, and commitment: We believe the future will be at an intersection of several disciplines, no single one alone. We believe we are well positioned to identify and assess highly promising targets across a range of deep technology and deep science domains, providing flexibility to invest in the most attractive investment opportunities globally with a focus on seeking differentiated opportunities. In Europe and the UK, where deep technology and deep science are very strong, enterprise valuations are in many cases currently attractive relative to other global locations.
Strong, shared values: We expect to operate with strong shared values with our business partner, to change world for the better: addressing the pressing needs of humanity by developing products of great value to society, and hence returns for investors. These include accomplishment & delivery: we will do what we say we will do with our target companies; trusted partnership: we consider investors, portfolio company founders and teams our trusted partners, truly motivating and incentivizing founders and management teams to succeed; honesty & dignity: we act with honesty and treat others with dignity; grace & kindness: we believe there is nothing as powerful or persuasive. We expect the founders of our target companies will be highly driven by values. Increasingly, we believe doing the right thing for society will be concomitant with commercial success.
Ahren’s Track Record
Ahren has a proven track record to screen for deep technology and deep science and invest for scale. By investing in companies that it believes will penetrate, or create, massive markets, Ahren is already producing highly promising returns from a series of investments to date. Ahren has invested across multiple company stages, from nucleation to growth, and across its four domains, including the following selected investments:
Planet & Efficient Energy:
• Zapata Computing, Inc., which is developing powerful quantum computing software, enabling successful deployment no matter the end prevailing hardware solution.
• New Culture, Inc., using precision fermentation to manufacture casein, an essential protein found in cheese, that it uses to produce animal-free mozzarella that has less environmental impact in terms of water and land use and carbon emissions compared to animal-based mozzarella.
Brain & Artificial Intelligence:
• Graphcore Limited, next generation processors to accelerate machine learning, addressing one of the greatest limiting factors to transformational progress in machine learning software by reducing its energy consumption and its compute cost.
• ZOE Global Limited, a digital microbiome company applying advanced science to predict nutrition, with a product that helps customers understand how their bodies respond to food.
• 6degrees.xyz Inc., building a machine-readable model of the world to advance the transformative potential of computer vision, sold to Niantic, Inc. in 2020.
Genetics & Platform Technologies:
• Adrestia Therapeutics Ltd, developing therapeutics to rebalance disease and restore health based on proprietary Disease Rebalancing Platform using the principle of synthetic viability. Ahren co-founded Adrestia Therapeutics Ltd in 2018 with Science Partner Steve Jackson, materially supporting the business’ rapid growth. In 2020, Alice Newcombe-Ellis led negotiations on a co-led Ahren/GlaxoSmithKline plc (“GSK”) equity investment in Adrestia Therapeutics Ltd which was completed alongside a partnership deal with GSK worth up to $1.2 billion.
• Bicycle Therapeutics plc, developing therapies and drug delivery systems for cancer and many other diseases based on an underlying platform technology. In 2019, Bicycle Therapeutics completed an IPO on NASDAQ and has a market capitalization of approximately $1.7 billion as of November 20, 2021.
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• Cambridge Epigenetix Limited, pioneering the development of epigenetic technologies based on the breakthrough discovery that DNA can undergo (epigenetic) changes that can be used to generate data-rich diagnostics at population scale to detect the earliest, treatable stages of disease.
• Cellarity, Inc., a pioneering company developing cell behavior targeted medicines at the intersection of machine learning and biology, by pairing computation and machine learning advances with high resolution cell data.
• Edifice Health, Inc., measuring and improving inflammatory health that drives age related diseases, with a state-of-the-art computational ‘omics’ platform built upon 10 years of Stanford University research.
• Mogrify Limited, transforming cell therapy through algorithmic cell conversion, determining the transcription factors required to turn one cell type into another without transition through a stem cell, with myriad applications from restoring sight to osteoarthritis to heart diseases.
• Rubedo Life Sciences, Inc, a longevity therapeutics company, underpinned by a sophisticated bioinformatics platform, that targets cells stressed and damaged by ageing — called senescent cells. It’s pro-drug approach allows the selective targeting of senescent cells and reduces toxic side effects in healthy tissue.
• Switchback Systems, Inc., developing a unique, highly scalable DNA synthesis platform, with a focus on dramatic minimization of time, cost, and waste. Its technology is applicable to a broad range of industries from pharmaceuticals to agriculture to plastics.
Space, Robotics & Physics:
• Rockley Photonics Limited, a complete photonic platform for multiple applications. In March 2021, the company announced a merger with the SPAC SC Health Corp, valuing the combined business at $1.2 billion.
• Nu Quantum Ltd, building an end-to-end quantum system to enable secure communication, applying fundamental physics to real-world problems in large markets using classical ‘secure keys’ where quantum computing has the potential to render current encryption technologies obsolete.
Acquisition Criteria
Consistent with our business strategy and investment approach, we expect to pursue initial business combination opportunities where the target business is fueled by breakthrough deep technology and deep science, and where it can be shaped using disruptive innovation theory to dominate high growth addressable markets that are sufficiently large to sustain multi-billion-dollar companies. Specifically, we seek to identify and acquire a company operating within any or all of our four domains of interest: Brain & Artificial Intelligence, Genetics & Platform Technologies, Planet & Efficient Energy, and Space, Robotics & Physics. We intend to target companies with an enterprise value in the range of $1 to $5 billion. We expect to be guided by our aforementioned investment approach when evaluating potential business combination opportunities, but we may decide to complete our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet some or all of these criteria.
We seek to identify and acquire a company that we believe:
• Offers a potential scientific advantage, differentiated technology, or other competitive advantage in the markets in which they operate and can benefit from access to capital and our management team and board of directors’ industry relationships and expertise.
• Has access to a large potential market opportunity which we believe will create the opportunity for significant growth. This includes both markets undergoing secular growth and those with underexploited growth opportunities.
• Is at an inflection point where our expertise can be leveraged to foster growth and improve financial performance. The company would have a clear path to commercialization, be recently commercialized or could benefit from our team’s expertise in sales growth.
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• Has strong and experienced management teams and key personnel who will benefit from the leadership and strategic vision of our management team.
• Would benefit from access to additional growth capital and being publicly traded.
• Will offer attractive risk-adjusted equity returns for our shareholders.
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management team and board of directors and Ahren’s Science Partners may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials that we would file with the SEC.
In addition to any potential business combination candidates we may identify on our own, we anticipate that other target business combination candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.
Our Management, Board of Directors and Ahren’s Science Partners
Our management team and board of directors have proven themselves to be adept at identifying investment opportunities, negotiating merger transactions and creating significant returns for investors. Our efforts to seek a suitable business combination target will be complemented and augmented by the expertise and network of relationships of our directors. Between them, our directors have significant experience in scientific entrepreneurship, leading public companies, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and public markets investing.
Alice Newcombe-Ellis (Chief Executive Officer), is the Founding and General Partner of Ahren, an investment firm which she established alongside Ahren’s Science Partners in 2017. Alice has over a decade of investing experience, including at TPG Capital LLP (a leading global private equity firm with more than $70 billion of AUM as of March 30, 2021) and at Lansdowne Partners LLP (a leading investment firm with more than $11 billion AUM as of November 2020). Alice has had an investing focus predominantly in technology and disruptive healthcare. Alice holds a Double First-Class degree in Mathematics, and Master’s in Mathematics/Physics from the University of Cambridge. Alice was a Fulbright Scholar and a Baker Scholar at Harvard Business School.
Elliot Richmond (Chief Financial Officer), was previously a Partner and Managing Director at Moelis & Company. Elliot has 20 years of investment banking experience advising companies across a broad range of industries and transactions, including greater than $75 billion of domestic and cross-border mergers & acquisitions and equity offerings. Prior to joining Moelis & Company in 2011, Elliot was Director of UK Investment Banking and Head of UK ECM at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. In 2013, Elliot was honored by Financial News’ “40 Under 40 Rising Stars in Investment Banking”. Elliot holds a B.Sc. in Economics from University College London.
Sir Shankar Balasubramanian (our Science Partner and Ahren Science Partner), is the principal inventor of the leading next generation human genome sequencing technology core to all sequencing platforms of Illumina, Inc. (approximately $60 billion market capitalization as of November 12, 2021); Founder of two highly successful companies: Solexa Inc. (sold to Illumina Inc. for approximately $620 million in 2007) and Cambridge Epigenetix Limited (on-going); Jointly awarded the 2020 Millennium Technology Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious science and technology prizes, by Technology Academy Finland; awarded 2022 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences — the world’s largest science prize; Fellow of the Royal Society; Professor of Chemistry and Senior Group Leader at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute.
Jeremy Darroch (Independent Director), responsible for building Sky plc and leading the company through the $40 billion takeover of Sky plc by Comcast. He has extensive experience in building large businesses, identifying strategic M&A opportunities and negotiating deals. He has been a champion of ESG initiatives as CEO of Sky plc and Executive Chairman of Sky Group Limited. He joined British Sky Broadcasting Group plc as CFO in 2004 and was appointed CEO in 2007. Jeremy became Group CEO of Sky plc following the acquisition of Sky Italia and Sky
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Deutschland in 2014. He became Executive Chairman of Sky Group Limited in 2021. Jeremy is an Ambassador of World Wide Fund for Nature. He was previously Chair of Business in the Community, a Senior Independent Director of Burberry Group plc, a Non-Executive Director and the Chairman of the Audit Committee of Marks and Spencer Group plc, a Council Member of the National Centre for Universities and Business and trustee of the Youth Sport Trust. Jeremy holds a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Hull.
Kathleen Hughes (Independent Director), 30 years’ experience at tier one global investment banks and was named “Investment Woman of the Year - Large Firms” by Investment Week twice (2018, 2019) and one of the “100 Most Influential People in Finance” by Treasury & Risk Magazine (2011). Experienced in building and restructuring senior management teams, developing and promoting next generation leaders and successfully implementing strategic investment plans. Prior to her recent retirement from The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (tenure from 2010 to 2021), Kathleen was the global head of the Liquidity Solutions client business and the interim head of the EMEA retail client business. Previously, Kathleen was the head of Global Liquidity sales for EMEA at J.P. Morgan Asset Management (from 2005 to 2010). Kathleen served on the Goldman Sachs Sustainable Finance Steering Group, the Goldman Sachs EMEA Inclusion and Diversity Committee and the Investment Management division’s Inclusion and Diversity council. Kathleen was a member of the Diversity Project Advisory Council and was a committee member of the CFA UK Diversity and Inclusion Network. Since 2019 Kathleen has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Richmond where she sits on several committees and is a member of the Executive Advisory Council of the Robins School of Business. Kathleen holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Richmond.
Uwe Krüger (Independent Director), an experienced academic, investor, and technology business executive, and was awarded the ACE European Chief Executive Officer of the Year award in 2016. Since 2018, Uwe has been Head of Industrials, Business Services, Energy & Environment and Head Europe, Middle East & Africa at Temasek International Pte. Ltd., a leading globally diversified investment company headquartered in Singapore with a net portfolio of S$306 billion as of March, 31 2020. In addition to a series of additional executive roles at private and public firms in both Europe and the United States, Uwe was also an Operations Director and Senior Advisor with TPG Capital based in London and San Francisco. Uwe currently serves on the board of several international companies. Alongside his career, Uwe has had a longstanding commitment to academia and cutting-edge research, having worked on various research assignments at Columbia University, New York and Ecole Normale Superieur, Paris. Uwe holds an Honorary Professorship of Physics at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, where he lectures, and also holds an Honorary Doctorate at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. Uwe holds several degrees from the University of Frankfurt, including: a B.Sc. in Business Administration; a B.Sc. and Master’s in Physics; and a Ph.D. in Complex System Theory and Brain Research.
Donald (“Don”) McLellan (Independent Director), is Partner at BDT & Company, LLC. Prior to joining BDT at its formation in 2009, Don was Interim Capital Purchase Program Director for the United States Department of Treasury as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program from October 2008 to 2009. Previously Don had a longstanding career at Motorola, Inc. from 1996 to 2008, including as Senior Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions and Strategy. Don holds a J.D degree from the University of Chicago Law School, an M.A in Social Science from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. in Behavioral Science from the University of Chicago. Don is International Co-Chairman of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars National Cabinet.
Ahren’s Science Partners are an interdisciplinary group of preeminent scientists with prior successes that span our four domains of focus: Brain & Artificial Intelligence, Genetics & Platform Technologies, Planet & Efficient Energy, and Space, Robotics & Physics. As well as exceptional academic credentials, the majority of Ahren’s Science Partners have a track record of building commercially successful companies founded upon breakthrough deep technology and deep science, and in some cases creating entirely new markets. Together, they have founded companies and/or invented technologies that are today valued in excess of $100 billion combined.
We believe our management team and board of directors and Ahren’s Science Partners are well positioned to take advantage of the growing set of deep technology and deep science acquisition opportunities and that our contacts and relationships, ranging from scientists and technologists, owners and management teams of private and public companies, private equity funds, investment bankers, attorneys, to accountants and business brokers will allow us to identify and consummate an attractive initial business combination transaction that we believe will generate attractive returns for our shareholders.
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Sir Shankar Balasubramanian, Principal inventor of the leading next generation human genome sequencing technology core to all sequencing platforms of Illumina, Inc. (approximately $60 billion market capitalization as of November 12, 2021; Founder of two highly successful companies: Solexa Inc. (sold to Illumina Inc. for approximately $620 million in 2007) and Cambridge Epigenetix Limited (on-going); Jointly awarded the 2020 Millennium Technology Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious science and technology prizes, by Technology Academy Finland; awarded 2022 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences — the world’s largest science prize; Fellow of the Royal Society; Professor of Chemistry and Senior Group Leader at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute.
Professor Roberto Cipolla, Professor of Information Engineering, University of Cambridge; Director of Toshiba’s Cambridge Research Laboratory; Advisor and mentor to several highly successful start-ups; Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering; Distinguished Fellow of The British Machine Vision Association (BMVA); Fellow of The International Association for Pattern Recognition.
Professor John Daugman OBE, Creator of IRIS eye recognition technology, being used to register India’s 1.4 billion citizens and build an approximately $3 billion market; Professor of Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, University of Cambridge; Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering; Institute of Mathematics and its Applications; US National Academy of Investors; awards include the IT Award; Medal of the British Computer Society; “Time 100” Innovator; inducted into the US National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Professor Zoubin Ghahramani, Professor of Information Engineering, University of Cambridge; Deputy Director of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence; Founder of Geometric Intelligence Inc., (sold to Uber Technologies, Inc in 2016); developed Automatic Statistician for Google Inc.; adviser to several highly successful start-ups; former Uber Technologies, Inc. Chief Scientist and Head of AI; now Distinguished Scientist and Senior Research Director at Google Brain; Fellow of the Royal Society and Alan Turing Institute; appointed as one of the first Turing AI World Leading Research Fellows.
Professor Steve Jackson, Originator of Olaparib cancer therapy, partnered by AstraZeneca plc/Merck & Co., Inc. and valued as an asset at up to $17 billion in 2017; Head of Gurdon Institute’s Cancer Research UK labs; Frederick James Quick Professor of Biology; Founder of KuDOS Pharmaceuticals Limited (sold for $206 million in 2006); Mission Therapeutics Limited (has raised $101 million as of July 6, 2020); Adrestia Therapeutics Ltd (on-going); Awarded 2016 Heineken Prize for Medicine; Fellow of the Royal Society.
Professor Andy Parker, Head of Cavendish Laboratory and Professor of High Energy Physics, University of Cambridge; Founder of the ATLAS experiment for the Large Hadron Collider and former member of the Executive Board; developed silicon detectors, fast electronics, large software systems; Pioneered computational radiotherapy and artificial photosynthesis.
Sir Venki Ramakrishnan, Nobel Prize-winning biologist (2009) for his work on the atomic structure and function of the ribosome; Awarded Heatley Medal of the British Biochemical Society; Knighted in 2012; Former President of the Royal Society; Group leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge; During the summer of 2020, convened the group DELVE and participated in SAGE to provide input into the advice for the pandemic.
Lord Martin Rees, Former Astronomer Royal and former Master of Trinity College; Awards include Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society; Bruce Medal; Fritz Zwicky Prize; Knighted in 1992; Founder of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk and devotee to innovation with the goal of addressing climate change and protecting the environment; Former President of the Royal Society; former Master of Trinity College, Cambridge.
Sir Gregory Winter, Nobel Prize-winning biologist (2018) and pioneer of technologies for making humanized/human antibodies, such as Herceptin, Keytruda and the world’s best-selling drug Humira ($19.8 billion of sales in 2020, in a $120 billion market); Founder of three companies: Cambridge Antibody Technologies Group plc (sold for £702 million in 2006), Domantis Limited (sold for £230 million in 2007), Bicycle Therapeutics plc (approximately $1.7 billion market capitalization as of November 20, 2021); former Master of Trinity College, Cambridge; Fellow of the Royal Society.
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The past performance of the members of our management team and board of directors and Ahren’s Science Partners or their respective affiliates is not a guarantee that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of the performance of our management team and board of directors or Ahren’s Science Partners as indicative of our future performance.
Acquisition Process
We will apply a rigorous investment process drawing on the expertise and experience of our management team and board of directors, who between them have led multi-billion dollar companies, negotiated major transactions and invested billions on behalf of investors. We will apply a process that we believe is reliable, repeatable, consistent and thorough in evaluating business combination opportunities.
The process comprises: opportunity sourcing, screening and evaluation and selection; and post business combination value add.
Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account). Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it likely that our board of directors will be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the target’s assets or prospects. Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
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 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 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, or 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 the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our 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 taken into account for purposes of the 80% of net assets test described above. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.
We may hold a shareholder vote at any time to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify, among other things, the period of time we will have to consummate an initial business combination. As described herein, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the
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substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions 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 amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described below under “Limitations on redemptions.”
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or Ahren’s Science Partners, or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors or Ahren’s Science Partners. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated (as defined in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) with our sponsor, officers or directors or Ahren’s Science Partners, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions stating that the consideration to be paid by us in 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.
Members of our management team and board of directors will directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to at least one other entity pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such other entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will 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 the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
In addition, our sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other special purpose acquisition company with which they may become involved. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination target. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Prior to the date of this prospectus, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or 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.
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Sourcing of Potential Business Combination Targets
We will take a proactive approach to sourcing investment opportunities.
Opportunities may be discovered via our rigorous, systematic process of deep domain landscaping exercises, followed by extensive discussion and debate with our team and Ahren’s Science Partners, and then identifying specific domains of future potential explosive growth and technological dominance.
Opportunities may also be generated through Ahren’s portfolio of investee companies, where strong existing relationships would position us favorably. We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event that we seek to complete a business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that our business combination is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view. In the event that we seek such a business combination, we expect that the independent members of our board of directors would be involved in approving the transaction.
In addition, we may also source opportunities through Ahren’s Science Partners and their extensive science network. Ahren’s Science Partners have unrivalled access and deep relationships with the key, world-leading scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators that have commercialized opportunities in our domains of interest, across the globe. As a result, we expect to attract interesting potential opportunities, as a result of being a trusted and respected group. In addition, Ahren’s Science Partners nucleate companies from scratch, to which we have privileged access. We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with any of Ahren’s Science Partners. In the event that we seek to complete a business combination with a business that is affiliated with an Ahren Science Partner, we, or a committee of independent directors will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that our business combination is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view. In the event that we seek such a business combination, we expect that the independent members of our board of directors would be involved in approving the transaction.
Ahren holds periodic invite-only Symposia, to which it invites company founders, renowned technologists and scientists, select business and thought leaders, and exceptional investors. Unique sourcing opportunities for us may arise from these full value-chain discussions and debates.
Screening, Evaluation and Selection
The screening phase is based on a clear checklist of criteria and desired characteristics spread across underlying science and technology, our competitive edge, disruption potential and strategic considerations and people.
The evaluation and selection processes will hinge on identifying and analyzing the key issues that we expect to drive value creation. It will isolate the most crucial issues that are most critical to success, and these will be analyzed and debated deeply. We will pay particular attention to what we see differently from others regarding the drivers.
Our Board will meet regularly to review and take decisions on initial business combination opportunities.
An investment memorandum for each investment proposal will be circulated in advance by our supporting team. The decision-making process will take into account:
• Rigorous evaluation analysis prepared by our supporting team.
• Deep assessment of the quality and cutting-edge nature of the science and technology.
• Business and market opportunity assessment, to ensure the opportunity upside is sufficiently large, that the business fits with our thesis and that we are able to meaningfully add value.
Post Business Combination Value-Add
We intend to have an ongoing, supportive relationship with the target company post business combination, providing active value-add to accelerate growth.
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Our team, and that of Ahren, contains investment and operations professionals with entrepreneurial expertise to help with strategy, recruitment and people management, organizational structure and operating model, financial planning and partnering, and scaling of production, in addition to key strategic questions.
In addition, we are strongly positioned to provide expert technical input, including from Ahren’s Science Partners, to assist the target company in understanding opportunities and threats from the latest developments in the relevant scientific area. Many of Ahren’s Science Partners are successful entrepreneurs themselves and are able to bring the benefit of that experience to help the business scale-up successfully, for example by advising on partnering and manufacturing options.
Notwithstanding our management team and board of directors’, and Ahren’s Science Partners past experiences, past performance is not a guarantee: (i) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination; or (ii) that we will provide an attractive return to our shareholders from any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team and board of directors, and Ahren’s Science Partners performance as indicative of our future performance.
Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock or shares in the target business for our Class A ordinary shares (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our Class A ordinary shares and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. We believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses, market and other uncertainties in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, marketing and road show 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 or could have negative valuation consequences. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital, an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with shareholders’ interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
While we believe that our structure and our management team and board of directors’ and Ahren’s Science Partners’ backgrounds will make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek shareholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.
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 Class A ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the prior June 30; and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which: (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $250 million as of the prior June 30; and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the prior June 30.
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Financial Position
With funds available for a business combination initially in the amount of $246,250,000, after payment of $8,750,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or $283,187,500 assuming no redemptions and after payment of $10,062,500 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), we offer a target business a variety of options, such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt 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.
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Effecting our initial business combination
General
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 private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following the consummation of this offering or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, other securities issuances, or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares, we may use the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account following the closing 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. While we may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any geography, we will seek to identify differentiated opportunities. In Europe and the UK, where deep technology and deep science are very strong, enterprise valuations are in many cases currently attractive relative to other global locations. Accordingly, there is no current basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination. Although our management team and board of directors and Ahren’s Science Partners will assess the risks inherent in a particular target business with which we may combine, we cannot assure you that this assessment will result in our identifying all risks that a target business may encounter. Furthermore, some of those risks may be outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely affect a target business.
We may 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 addition, we intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, and, as a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemptions by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our proxy materials or tender offer documents disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek shareholder approval of such financing. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following consummation of this offering. 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. None of our sponsors, officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
Sources of Target Businesses
We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and private investment funds. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings.
These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read this prospectus and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers
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and directors, as well as their affiliates, and Ahren’s Science Partners, may also bring to our attention target business candidates of which they become aware through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the track record and business relationships of our officers and directors. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of a finder’s fee is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. Except as described herein, none of our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, will be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation by the company prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, we may pay a consulting, success or finder fees to our independent directors consultants and/or advisors, including the Science Partners, or their respective affiliates in such amount(s) as our board of directors deems appropriate in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. In addition, commencing on the date of this prospectus, we will pay an affiliate of our sponsor $10,000 per month for the administrative and support services provided to members of our management team. Any such payments prior to our initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the trust account. Other than the foregoing, there will be no finder’s fees, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation paid by us to our sponsor, officers or directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is).
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, or from completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated (as defined in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions stating that the consideration to be paid by us in 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. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as applicable, as well as a review of financial, operational, clinical, scientific, IP, legal and other information which will be made available to us. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of the business combination transaction.
Our Board will meet regularly to review and take decisions on initial business combination opportunities.
An investment memorandum for each investment proposal will be circulated in advance by our supporting team. The decision-making process will take into account:
• Rigorous evaluation analysis prepared by our supporting team.
• Deep assessment of the quality and cutting-edge nature of the science and technology.
• Business and market opportunity assessment, to ensure the opportunity upside is sufficiently large, that the business fits with our thesis and that we are able to meaningfully add value.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce
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the funds we can use to complete another business combination. Except as described herein, the company will not pay any consulting fees to members of our management team, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial business combination.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
• subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination, and
• cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services.
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following a business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
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 law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.
Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, shareholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
• We issue ordinary shares that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of our ordinary shares then outstanding (other than in a public offering);
• 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 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.
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The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination in those instances in which shareholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and legal reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to: (i) the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine shareholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek shareholder approval or doing so would place the company at a disadvantage in the transaction or result in other additional burdens on the company; (ii) the expected cost of holding a shareholder vote; (iii) the risk that the shareholders would fail to approve the proposed business combination; (iv) other time and budget constraints of the company; and (v) additional legal complexities of a proposed business combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to shareholders.
Permitted Purchases 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, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to: (i) vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination; or (ii) to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination.
Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our initial shareholders, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders (in the case of Class A ordinary shares) following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling 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, whether or not such shareholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination but only if such shares have not already been voted at the general meeting related to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase shares from based on a negotiated price and number of shares and any other factors that they may deem relevant, and will only purchase shares if such purchases comply
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with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws. Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.
Redemption Rights for Public 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 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 calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions 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. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and any public shares they may hold in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Limitations on Redemptions
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. In addition, our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. We may, however, raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into following consummation of this offering, in order to, among other reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets or minimum cash requirements.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
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 either: (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination; or (ii) without a shareholder vote 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 or whether we were deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require a tender offer rather than seeking shareholder approval under SEC rules), as described above under the heading “Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination.” Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while mergers with our company whether the company is the surviving or merging company require shareholder approval by way of special resolution 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 require shareholder approval. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with Nasdaq’s shareholder approval rules.
The requirement that we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares by one of the two methods listed above are contained in provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and apply whether or not we maintain our registration under the Exchange Act or our listing on Nasdaq. Such provisions may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our ordinary shares entitled to vote thereon, so long as we offer redemption in connection with such amendment.
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If we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with a general meeting, 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.
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 an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. A quorum for such meeting will be present if the holders of one third of issued and outstanding 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 their founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of an ordinary resolution, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 9,375,001, or 37.5%, (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted, and the over-allotment option is not exercised) of the 25,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the parties to the letter agreement do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares). In the event that our anchor investors purchase $89 million of units in this offering and vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we would need 475,751, or 1.9%, (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the remaining 16,100,750 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the parties to the letter agreement do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares). However, because our anchor investors are not obligated to continue owning any public shares following the closing and are not obligated to vote any public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that any of these anchor investors will be shareholders at the time our shareholders vote on our initial business combination, and, if they are shareholders, we cannot assure you as to how such anchor investors will vote on any business combination. Assuming that only the holders of one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, representing a quorum under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association vote their shares at a general meeting of the company, we will not need any public shares in addition to our founder shares to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to approve an initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreement of our sponsor, officers and directors, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a public shareholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction.
If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will:
• conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and
• file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.
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 the number of public shares we are permitted to redeem. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.
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Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemption pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
We intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) system, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, 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. We believe that this will allow our transfer agent to efficiently process any redemptions without the need for further communication or action from the redeeming public shareholders, which could delay redemptions and result in additional administrative cost. If the proposed initial business combination is not approved and we continue to search for a target company, we will promptly return any certificates or shares delivered by public shareholders who elected to redeem their shares.
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. In addition, our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. We may, however, raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into following consummation of this offering, in order to, among other reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets or minimum cash requirements.
Limitation on Redemption Upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination If We Seek Shareholder Approval
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 seeking redemption rights 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 management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public 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, our sponsor or our management 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 without our prior consent, 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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Delivering Share Certificates in Connection with the Exercise of Redemption Rights
As described above, we intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) system, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, 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 up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the initial business combination if we distribute proxy materials, or from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, as applicable, to submit or tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed. 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 process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC system. The transfer agent will typically charge the broker submitting or tendering shares 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 submit or 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.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. 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.
If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until the expiration of the completion window.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if No Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will have only the duration of the completion window to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within such period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses; (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of 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 completion window.
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Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the completion window. However, if our sponsor or management team acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the completion window.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and director nominees 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 the completion window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement, we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $2,150,000 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 income taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by 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, 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 consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to us and will only enter into an agreement with such third party if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the best interests of the company under the circumstances. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. BDO USA, LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of this offering will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into
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a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of: (i) $10.20 per public share; and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.20 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.20 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of: (i) $10.20 per public share; and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.20 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes payable, 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 if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.20 per 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, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to approximately $2,150,000 from the proceeds of this offering 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 $1,100,000, 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 $1,100,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
If we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.20 per share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary 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 bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our 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.
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Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only: (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window; (ii) 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 the completion window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of our initial business combination. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote.
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 are unable to complete our initial business combination within the completion window.
| | 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 and any limitations | | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit to the prices that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may pay in these transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the | | If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the completion window, 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. |
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| | Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination | | Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by our Affiliates | | Redemptions if we fail to Complete an Initial Business Combination |
| | (including but not limited to cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination. | | 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. | | |
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 our 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 would 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 over-allotment option. None of the provisions of Rule 419 apply to our offering.
| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
Escrow of offering proceeds | | $255,000,000 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 with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. | | Approximately $212,625,000 of the offering proceeds, representing the gross proceeds of this offering, would be required to be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account. |
Investment of net proceeds | | $255,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in trust will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. | | Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States. |
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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: (i) any taxes paid or payable; and (ii) in the event of our liquidation for failure to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time, up to $100,000 of net interest that may be released to us should we have no or insufficient working capital to fund the costs and expenses of our dissolution and liquidation. | | Interest 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 rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of our assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. | | The fair 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 comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Citigroup Global Markets Inc. informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the over-allotment option. | | No trading of the units or the underlying Class A 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. |
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. |
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| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
Election to remain an investor | | We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash at a per share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. We may not be required by law to hold a shareholder vote. If we are not required by law 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. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. However, if our initial business combination is structured as a statutory merger or consolidation with another company under Cayman Islands law, the approval of our initial business combination will require a special resolution passed by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares which are represented in person or by proxy and are voted at a general meeting of the company. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a public shareholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction. | | A prospectus containing information pertaining to the business combination required by the SEC would be sent to each investor. Each investor would be given the opportunity to notify the company in writing, within a period of no less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of a post-effective amendment to the company’s registration statement, to decide if he, she or it elects to remain a 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 |
Business combination deadline | | If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the completion window, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law. | | If an acquisition has not been completed within 18 months after the effective date of the company’s registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account are returned to investors. |
Release of funds | | Except for the withdrawal of interest to pay our taxes, if any, none of the funds held in trust will be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the completion window, subject to applicable law; or (iii) the redemption of our public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to 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 have not consummated an initial business combination within the completion window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. | | The proceeds held in the escrow account are not released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. |
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| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
Delivering share certificates in connection with the exercise of redemption rights | | We intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) system, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, 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 up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the initial business combination if we distribute proxy materials, or from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, as applicable, to submit or tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. | | Many blank check companies provide that a shareholder can vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating that such shareholder is seeking to exercise its redemption rights. After the business combination is approved, the company would contact such shareholder to arrange for delivery of its share certificates to verify ownership. |
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| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
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 as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to Excess Shares without our prior consent. However, we would not restrict our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. | | Many 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. |
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other special purpose acquisition companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess similar or greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our issued and outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Facilities
We are a tech-first company and accordingly we do not maintain a headquarters. We consider this adequate for our current operations. Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we will pay an affiliate of our sponsor $10,000 per month for the administrative and support services provided to members of our management team. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Employees
We currently have three officers: Alice Newcombe-Ellis, Elliot Richmond and Sir Shankar Balasubramanian. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
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Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We 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 accountants.
We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents sent to shareholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may conduct an initial business combination with because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential business combination candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with the requirements outlined above, or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential 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 have our internal control procedures audited. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.
Prior to the date of this prospectus, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we will be subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly 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 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 the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will 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 will be payable: (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations; or (ii) 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 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 Class A ordinary shares that are held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the prior June 30; and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which: (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $250 million as of the prior June 30; and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the prior June 30.
Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacities as such.
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Management
Officers, Directors, Director Nominees, and Ahren’s Science Partners
Our officers, directors and director nominees are as follows:
Name | | Age | | Position |
Alice Newcombe-Ellis | | 38 | | Chief Executive Officer and Director |
Elliot Richmond | | 42 | | Chief Financial Officer and Director |
Sir Shankar Balasubramanian | | 55 | | Science Partner1 |
Jeremy Darroch | | 59 | | Director Nominee |
Kathleen Hughes | | 54 | | Director Nominee |
Uwe Krüger | | 57 | | Director Nominee |
Donald McLellan | | 55 | | Director Nominee |
Alice Newcombe-Ellis has been our Chief Executive Officer and a director since our inception. Alice is the Founding and General Partner of Ahren, an investment firm affiliated with Ahren Acquisition Corp. Alice set up Ahren with eight co-Founding Science Partners to invest in and help build transformational companies at the intersection of deep technology and deep science. Alice brings financial sector expertise beginning 15 years ago, including at TPG Capital LLP (a leading global private equity firm with more than $70 billion of AUM as of March 30, 2021) and at Lansdowne Partners LLP (a leading investment firm with more than $11 billion AUM as at November 2020). Notably, Alice has led all Ahren’s transactions including the co-founding of Adrestia Therapeutics Ltd where she negotiated the co-led Ahren/GSK equity investment in Adrestia Therapeutics which was completed alongside a partnership deal with GSK worth up to $1.2 billion; Ahren’s investment in Bicycle Therapeutics plc, whose value as at November 20, 2021 was $1.7 billion; and Ahren’s investment in Graphcore Limited whose value as at December 2020 was $2.77 billion. Alongside her investing career, Alice has had a longstanding commitment to initiatives for meaningful positive impact including participation in the TPG ‘Social Impact’ initiative, membership of the Lansdowne Charity Committee, and in a project with the United Nations Development Program’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery under sponsorship of Professor Michael Porter at Harvard Business School with the objective to transform crisis aid. Alice is a Fulbright Scholar, an award granted to competitively-selected citizens. From 2014 to 2021, Alice served as a Trustee of the British Friends of Harvard Business School.
Alice holds a B.A in Mathematics (First Class Honors) and Master’s in Mathematics with focus on applied Maths and theoretical Physics from the University of Cambridge. Alice is a Harvard Business School MBA where she was a Baker Scholar (top 5%).
We believe Alice is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to her extensive investment, operational and managerial experience as a founder and investor.
Elliot Richmond has been our Chief Financial Officer and a director since our inception. Elliot has been our Chief Financial Officer since our inception. Elliot has had a successful 20-year career in investment banking, during which he was honored by Financial News’ “40 Under 40 Rising Stars in Investment Banking”. Elliot was previously a Partner and Managing Director at Moelis & Company (from 2012 to 2019). Prior to joining Moelis & Company in 2011, Elliot was Director of UK Investment Banking, and Head of UK ECM, at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Throughout his career, Elliot has advised on over $75 billion worth of domestic and cross-border mergers & acquisitions, and equity offerings. Notable transactions where Elliot has taken a leadership role include WS Atkins $3.2 billion sale to SNC-Lavalin, ICI’s $16 billion sale to Akzo Nobel, WPP’s $2 billion hostile acquisition of TNS, and Dubai World’s $3.5 billion acquisition of Economic Zones FZE and LSE delisting. Alongside his banking career, Elliot is also an experienced angel investor, having partaken in over 80 private pre-seed, seed, and Series A equity investments across a variety of sectors in the UK and the US.
Elliot holds a B.Sc. in Economics from University College London and has also partaken in the Wharton School’s Merrill Lynch Investment Banking Institute.
We believe Elliot is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive investment, financial and managerial experience as an investor and director.
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Sir Shankar Balasubramanian is our Science Partner and an Ahren Science Partner. Sir Shankar is the principal inventor of the leading next generation human genome sequencing technology core to all sequencing platforms of Illumina, Inc. (approximately $60 billion market capitalization as of November 12, 2021). Sir Shankar’s technology has made routine, accurate, low-cost sequencing of human genomes a reality, has evolutionized biology and accelerated the development of genomic personalised medicine. In addition, Sir Shankar is the founder of two highly successful companies including Solexa Inc., which was sold to Illumina Inc. for approximately $620 million in 2007, and Cambridge Epigenetix Limited (on-going). Sir Shankar is a Herchel Smith Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge (from 2008 to present) and is Senior Group Leader at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute (from 2010 to present). Sir Shankar is also a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge (from 1994 to present). During his career, Sir Shankar has received in excess of twenty awards, including: the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2022); the Millennium Technology Prize (2020); the Royal Medal (2018); the Paul Ehrlich Award (Société de Chimie Thérapeutique) (2018); the Royal Society Mullard Award (2009); the BBSRC Innovator of the year (2010); and the Tetrahedron Prize Prize for Creativity in Organic and Biomedicinal Chemistry (2013). In 2012, Sir Shankar was elected Fellow of the Royal Society and elected member of EMBO. In 2011, Sir Shankar was elected Fellow of the Academy of Medicinal Sciences.
Sir Shankar holds a Ph.D in Enzyme Chemistry from the University of Cambridge and a First-Class B.A (Hons) in Natural Sciences also from the University of Cambridge (Fitzwilliam College).
Jeremy Darroch has agreed to serve as an Independent Director of the company. Jeremy brings greater than 30 years’ experience in building large businesses, identifying strategic M&A opportunities and negotiating deals having served in multiple senior and executive positions at British, European and American businesses. Jeremy is the Executive Chairman of Sky Group Limited (from 2021 to present). Previously, Jeremy was Chief Executive Officer of Sky plc (from 2014 to 2021) which he led through a $40 billion dollar acquisition by Comcast Corporation and where he championed Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance Initiatives. Prior to Sky plc, Jeremy was the Chief Executive Officer of British Sky Broadcasting Group plc (from 2007 to 2014) and Chief Financial Officer (from 2004 to 2007), leading the business through its acquisition of Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland in 2014. Jeremy was previously Group Finance Director of DSG International plc (“DSG”), formerly Dixons Group plc and prior to DSG, he spent 12 years at The Procter & Gamble Company in a variety of roles in the UK and Europe. Alongside his career, Jeremy is an Ambassador of WWF. He was previously Chair of Business in the Community, a Senior Independent Director of Burberry Group plc, a Non-Executive Director and the Chairman of the Audit Committee of Marks and Spencer Group plc, a Council Member of the National Centre for Universities and Business and trustee of the Youth Sport Trust.
Jeremy holds a B.Sc. in Economics from the University of Hull.
We believe Jeremy is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive managerial, operational and executive experience as a director and officer.
Kathleen Hughes has agreed to serve as an Independent Director of the company. Kathleen has 30 years’ experience at tier one global investment banks and was named “Investment Woman of the Year — Large Firms” by Investment Week in 2018 and 2019 and one of the “100 Most Influential People in Finance” by Treasury & Risk Magazine in 2011. Kathleen is experienced in building and restructuring senior management teams, developing and promoting next generation leaders and successfully implementing strategic investment plans. Prior to her recent retirement from The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (from 2010 to 2021), Kathleen was the global head of the Liquidity Solutions client business and the interim head of the EMEA retail client business. Before joining Goldman Sachs, Kathleen was the head of Global Liquidity sales for EMEA at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, the brand name for the asset management business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Kathleen’s career at JP Morgan began in 1990 and included 10 years in Retail and Private Banking and 10 years in Asset Management. Kathleen was well known both within Goldman Sachs and also in the broader asset management industry for her twin passions of ESG / Impact investing and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She served on the Goldman Sachs Sustainable Finance Steering Group, the Goldman Sachs EMEA Inclusion and Diversity Committee and the Investment Management division’s Inclusion and Diversity council. Outside of Goldman Sachs, Kathleen was a member of the Diversity Project Advisory Council and was a committee member of the CFA UK Diversity and Inclusion Network. Since 2019 Kathleen has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Richmond where she sits on the following committees: the Advancement and Communications Committee, the Student Development Committee and the Investment Committee. In addition, Kathleen is a member of the Executive Advisory Council of the Robins School of Business at the University of Richmond.
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Kathleen holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Richmond.
We believe Kathleen is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to her extensive financial, investment and strategic experience as an investor and officer.
Uwe Krüger has agreed to serve as an Independent Director of the company. Uwe is an exceptionally experienced academic, investor, and technology business executive, and was awarded the 2016 ACE European Chief Executive Officer of the Year award. Uwe is Head of Industrials, Business Services, Energy & Environment and Head Europe, Middle East & Africa at Temasek International Pte. Ltd. (from 2018 to present), a leading globally diversified investment company headquartered in Singapore with a net portfolio of S$306 billion as at 31 March 2020. Previously, Uwe was Chief Executive Officer of WS Atkins plc (from 2011 to 2017), leaving when the company was acquired by SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., and delisted from the London Stock Exchange. Prior to WS Atkins plc, Uwe was President of Cleantech Switzerland linked to the Swiss Federal Government (from 2010 to 2011). In addition, Uwe was also an Operations Director and Senior Advisor with TPG Capital based in London and San Francisco. Before TPG Capital, Uwe was the Chief Executive Officer of OC Oerlikon Management AG (from 2007 to 2009), was Chairman of Turner International (Dallas/US) (from 2004 to 2006) and had assumed multiple roles with Hochtief AG (from 1997 to 2003), among them Chief Executive Officer of Central/Eastern Europe (Warsaw, Moscow). Uwe currently serves on the board of several international companies. He is the Senior Independent Director of Aggreko plc, Glasgow, and Director of Gategroup AG in Zurich. Alongside his career, Uwe has had a longstanding commitment to academia and cutting-edge research, having worked on various research assignments at Columbia University, New York and Ecole Normale Superieur, Paris. Uwe holds an Honorary Professorship of Physics at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, where he lectures, and also holds an Honorary Doctorate at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh.
Uwe holds several degrees from the University of Frankfurt, including: a B.Sc. in Business Administration; a B.Sc. and Master’s in Physics; and a Ph.D. in Complex System Theory and Brain Research.
We believe Uwe is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive investment, operational and strategic experience as a founder, officer and investor.
Donald (“Don”) McLellan has agreed to serve as an Independent Director of the company. Don is a Partner at BDT & Company, LLC, a merchant bank that provides advice and long-term capital through its affiliated funds to help family- and founder-led businesses pursue their strategic and financial objectives. Prior to joining BDT at its formation in 2009, Don was Interim Capital Purchase Program Director for the United States Department of Treasury as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program from October 2008 to 2009. Previously Don had a longstanding career at Motorola, Inc. from 1996 to 2008, including as Senior Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions and Strategy. Prior to Motorola, Don worked in corporate law from 1990 to 1996 with roles at both Winston & Strawn LLP and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, gaining experience in M&A, securities, finance, and intellectual property.
Don holds a J.D. degree from the University of Chicago Law School, an M.A. in Social Science from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. in Behavioral Science from the University of Chicago. Don is International Co-Chairman of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars National Cabinet.
We believe that Don is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive investment and managerial experience and will be able to offer valuable insight when it comes to making strategic decisions.
Ahren’s Science Partners are an interdisciplinary group of preeminent scientists with prior successes that span our four domains of focus: Brain & Artificial Intelligence, Genetics & Platform Technologies, Planet & Efficient Energy, and Space, Robotics & Physics. As well as exceptional academic credentials, the majority of the Science Partners have a track record of building commercially successful companies founded upon breakthrough science and technology, and in some cases creating entirely new markets. Together, they have founded companies and / or invented technologies that are today valued in excess of $100 billion combined. We currently expect Ahren’s Science Partners to potentially: (i) assist us in sourcing and negotiating with potential business combination targets; (ii) provide business insights when we assess potential business combination targets; and (iii) upon our request, provide business insights as we work to create additional value in the businesses that we acquire. In this regard, the Science Partners will fulfill some of the same functions as our board members. However, Ahren’s Science Partners have no written advisory agreement
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with us. Moreover, the Science Partners will not be under any fiduciary obligations to us nor will such members perform board or committee functions, nor will such members have any voting or decision-making capacity on our behalf. Ahren’s Science Partners will also not be required to devote any specific amount of time to our efforts or be subject to the fiduciary requirements to which our board members are subject. Accordingly, if the Science Partners become aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for any of the entities to which such member has fiduciary or contractual obligations (including other blank check companies), 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. Ahren may modify or expand their roster of Science Partners as we source potential business combination targets or create value in businesses that we may acquire.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors will consist of six members and will be divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year, and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are required to hold an annual general meeting no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. The term of office of the first class of directors, which will consist of Jeremy Darroch and Kathleen Hughes, will expire at our first annual general meeting. The term of office of the second class of directors, which will consist of Uwe Krüger and Donald McLellan, will expire at the second annual general meeting. The term of office of the third class of directors, which will consist of Alice Newcombe-Ellis and Elliot Richmond will expire at the third annual general meeting.
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 officers as it deems appropriate pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
Director Independence
Nasdaq rules 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 who, in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, has no material relationship with the listed company (either directly or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the company). Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we expect to have four “independent directors” as defined in Nasdaq rules and applicable SEC rules prior to completion of this offering. Our board of directors has determined that Jeremy Darroch, Kathleen Hughes, Uwe Krüger and Donald McLellan are “independent directors” as defined in Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Officer and Director Compensation
None of our officers or directors 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 an affiliate of our sponsor $10,000 per month for the administrative and support services provided to members of our management team. In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Further, we may pay a consulting, success or finder fees to our independent directors consultants and/or advisors, including the Science Partners, or their respective affiliates in such amount(s) as our board of directors deems appropriate in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
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After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed initial business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed initial business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation.
Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our board of directors will establish two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules, the rules of Nasdaq and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Each committee will operate under a charter that will be approved by our board and will have the composition and responsibilities described below.
Audit Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our board of directors will establish an audit committee of the board of directors. Jeremy Darroch, Kathleen Hughes and Uwe Krüger will serve as the members of our audit committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Jeremy Darroch, Kathleen Hughes and Uwe Krüger are independent.
Jeremy Darroch will serve as the chairperson of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Jeremy Darroch qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
We will adopt an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
• assisting board oversight of: (1) the integrity of our financial statements; (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; (3) our independent auditor’s qualifications and independence; and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent auditors; the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent auditors and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us;
• pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; reviewing and discussing with the independent auditors all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence;
• setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent auditors describing: (1) the independent auditor’s internal quality-control procedures; and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues;
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• meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent auditor, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”; reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and
• reviewing with management, the independent auditors, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities.
Compensation Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our board of directors will establish a compensation committee of our board of directors. The members of our compensation committee will be Jeremy Darroch, Kathleen Hughes, Uwe Krüger and Donald McLellan, and Donald McLellan will serve as chairperson of the compensation committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have a compensation committee of at least two members, all of whom must be independent. Jeremy Darroch, Kathleen Hughes, Uwe Krüger and Donald McLellan are independent. We will adopt a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
• reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our chief executive officer’s compensation, evaluating our chief executive officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our chief executive officer’s based on such evaluation;
• 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 executive 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 provide that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.
Director Nominations
We do not have a standing nominating committee though we intend to form a corporate governance and nominating committee as and when required to do so by law or Nasdaq rules. In accordance with Rule 5605(e) (2) of the Nasdaq rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by our board of directors. Our board of directors believes that the independent directors can satisfactorily carry out the responsibility of properly selecting or approving director nominees without the formation of a standing nominating committee. The directors who will participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are Jeremy Darroch, Kathleen Hughes, Uwe Krüger and Donald McLellan. In accordance with Rule 5605(e)(1)(A) of the Nasdaq rules, all such directors are independent. As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place.
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The board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our shareholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of shareholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of shareholders). Our shareholders that wish to nominate a director for election to our board of directors should follow the procedures set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, our board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our shareholders.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our officers currently serves, or in the past year has served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more officers serving on our board of directors.
Code of Ethics
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We will file a copy of our Code of Ethics as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You will be able to review this document by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics and the charters of the committees of our board of directors will be provided without charge upon request from us. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find Additional Information.” If we make any amendments to our Code of Ethics other than technical, administrative or other non-substantive amendments, or grant any waiver, including any implicit waiver, from a provision of the Code of Ethics applicable to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar functions requiring disclosure under applicable SEC or Nasdaq rules, we will disclose the nature of such amendment or waiver on our website. The information included on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Form S-1 or in any other report or document we file with the SEC, and any references to our website are intended to be inactive textual references only.
Conflicts of Interest
Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:
(i) 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;
(ii) duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose;
(iii) directors should not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion;
(iv) duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders;
(v) 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
(vi) 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 of that director.
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 memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.
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Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to at least one other entity pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will 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 the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
Individual | | Entity | | Entity’s Business | | Affiliation |
Alice Newcombe-Ellis | | FMF Ltd | | Investment Holding Company | | Director |
| | FSP Ltd | | Investment Holding Company | | Director |
| | ZOE Global Limited | | Biotechnology Company | | Director |
| | Adrestia Therapeutics Limited | | Biotechnology Company | | Director |
| | Cambridge Epigentix Limited | | Biotechnology Company | | Director |
| | Stava Limited | | Investment Holding Company | | Director |
| | Ahren Innovation Capital LLP | | Investment Holding Company | | Director |
| | Ahren Innovation Capital (GP) LLP | | Investment Holding Company | | Director |
Elliot Richmond | | Charlie Oscar Group Ltd | | E-Commerce | | Director |
| | Charlie Oscar Ventures Ltd | | Investment Holding Company | | Director |
| | Different Dog Limited | | E-Commerce | | Director |
| | RFHC Ltd | | Investment Holding Company | | Director |
| | Ervolution Holdings Limited | | Management Consultancy | | Director |
Sir Shankar Balasubramanian | | Cambridge Epigenetix Limited | | Biotechnology Company | | Director |
| | Bluecat IP Limited | | Technology Company | | Director |
| | Inflex Limited | | Biotechnology Company | | Director |
| | Elyx Limited | | Technology Company | | Director |
Jeremy Darroch | | Sky Group Limited | | Media Company | | Executive Chairman |
| | Sky Ocean Ventures (General Partner) Limited | | Sustainable Investments | | Director |
Donald McLellan | | BDT & Company, LLC | | Financial Services | | Partner |
| | BDT & Company International, LLP | | Financial Services | | Director |
| | BDT & Company Europe GmbH | | Financial Services | | Director |
| | BDTCP GP 3-A (Lux) S.à.r.l. | | Financial Services | | Manager |
| | BDT Capital Partners Fund 3 (Lux) SCSp | | Financial Services | | General Partner |
Uwe Krüger | | Temasek International Pte. Ltd | | Investment Holding Company | | Director |
| | Aggreko plc | | Power Equipment and Services | | Director |
| | Gategroup AG | | Travel Services | | Director |
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In addition, our sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other special purpose acquisition company with which they may become involved. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination target. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
• Our officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs.
• Our initial shareholders purchased founder shares prior to the date of this prospectus and will purchase private placement warrants in a transaction that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Additionally, our sponsor, officers and directors 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. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. Furthermore, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of: (i) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; or (ii) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares will be released from the lockup. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. Because each of our officers and director nominees will own ordinary shares or warrants directly or indirectly, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination.
• Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated (as defined in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions stating that the consideration to be paid by us in 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. Except as described herein, none of our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, will be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation by the company prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the
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type of transaction that it is). However, we may pay a consulting, success or finder fees to our independent directors consultants and/or advisors, including the Science Partners, or their respective affiliates in such amount(s) as our board of directors deems appropriate in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Further, commencing on the date our securities are first listed on Nasdaq, we will also pay an affiliate of our sponsor $10,000 per month for the administrative and support services provided to members of our management team.
We cannot assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, and they and the other members of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and any shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our initial business combination.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, 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 officers and directors 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 expect to purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.
Our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. 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.
Our indemnification obligations may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
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Principal 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 officers, directors and director nominees; and
• all our officers and directors as a group.
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all of our 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.
On April 12, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our offering costs in exchange for 7,187,500 founder shares. Subsequently, our sponsor transferred 50,000 founder shares to each of Jeremy Darroch, Kathleen Hughes, Uwe Krüger and Donald McLellan, resulting in our sponsor holding 6,987,500 founder shares.
Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the 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 28,750,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering. Up to 937,500 of the founder shares will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised. The post-offering percentages in the following table assume that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, that 937,500 founder shares have been surrendered to us for no consideration, and that there are 31,250,000 ordinary shares issued and outstanding after this offering.
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | | Number of Class A Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned | | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Class A Ordinary Shares
| | Number of Class B Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned(2)(4) | | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Ordinary Shares(2)
|
Before Offering | | After Offering | | Before Offering | | After Offering |
AACS LP (our Sponsor)(3)(4) | | — | | — | | — | | 6,987,500 | | 97.2% | | 19.4% |
Jeremy Darroch | | — | | — | | — | | 50,000 | | * | | * |
Kathleen Hughes | | — | | — | | — | | 50,000 | | * | | * |
Uwe Krüger | | — | | — | | — | | 50,000 | | * | | * |
Donald McLellan(5) | | — | | — | | — | | 50,000 | | * | | * |
All officers, directors and director nominees as a group (7 individuals)(3) | | — | | — | | — | | 7,187,500 | | 100.0% | | 20.0% |
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Immediately after this offering, our initial shareholders will beneficially own 20% of the then issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Prior to the closing of our initial business combination, only holders of our Class B ordinary shares will be entitled to vote on the appointment and removal of directors or continuing the company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including any special resolution required to amend the constitutional documents of the Company or to adopt new constitutional documents of the Company, in each case, as a result of the Company approving a transfer by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands). Holders of our public shares will not have the right to appoint any directors to our board of directors prior to our initial business combination. Because of this ownership block, our initial 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 including our initial business combination.
Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 13,250,000 private placement warrants (or 14,750,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option 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 $13,250,000 in the aggregate (or $14,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. The private placement warrants will be identical to the warrants sold in this offering except that the private placement warrants, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees: (i) will not be redeemable by us; (ii) may not (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. The private placement warrants may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder. A portion of the purchase price of the private placement warrants will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account such that at the time of closing of this offering $255,000,000 (or $293,250,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) will be held in the trust account. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants are subject to the transfer restrictions described below.
Our anchor investors have expressed to us an interest in purchasing an aggregate of up to approximately $89 million (or approximately 36%) of the units in this offering at the offering price (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) and we have agreed to direct the underwriters to offer to the anchor investors such amount of units. Further, each of the anchor investors has entered into a separate agreement with our sponsor pursuant to which such anchor investor has agreed to purchase an indirect interest in founder shares and private placement warrants. Each anchor investor has agreed with our sponsor that, if such anchor investor does not submit a firm order to the underwriter to purchase the number of units for which it has indicated an interest, such anchor investor shall forfeit its indirect interest in founder shares. In addition, our anchor investors have agreed that, if our sponsor’s general partners deems it necessary in order to facilitate an initial business combination for our sponsor to forfeit, transfer, exchange or amend the terms of all or any portion of its founder shares or private placement units or to enter into any other arrangements with respect to such securities, our anchor investors will be subject to the same changes on a pro rata basis. The anchor investors have not been granted any material additional shareholder or other rights, and are only being issued membership interests in our sponsor with no right to control our sponsor or vote or dispose of their allocable founder shares or private placement units (which will continue to be held by our sponsor until following our initial business combination). Further, the anchor investors are not required to: (i) other as described above, hold any units, shares or warrants they may purchase in this offering or thereafter for any amount time; (ii) vote any shares they may own at the applicable time in favor of our initial business combination; or (iii) refrain from exercising their right to redeem their public shares at the time of our initial business combination.
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Because these expressions of interest are not binding agreements or commitments to purchase, our anchor investors may determine to purchase more, fewer or no units in this offering. In addition, the underwriters may determine to sell more, fewer or no units to our anchor investors. In the event that our anchor investors purchase $89 million of units (either in this offering or after) and vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we would need 475,751, or 1.9%, (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the remaining 16,100,750 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the parties to the letter agreement do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares). However, because our anchor investors are not obligated to continue owning any public shares following the closing and are not obligated to vote any public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that any of these anchor investors will be shareholders at the time our shareholders vote on our initial business combination, and, if they are shareholders, we cannot assure you as to how such anchor investors will vote on any business combination. Since our anchor investors will not receive the founder shares to which they are entitled until the closing of our initial business combination, they will not be able to vote such shares prior to the closing of our initial business combination.
AACS LP, our sponsor, and our officers and directors are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants
The founder shares and 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 agreements entered into by our sponsor and management team. Those lock-up provisions provide that such securities are not transferable or saleable: (i) in the case of the founder shares, until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our initial business combination, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination and (B) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property; and (ii) in the case of the private placement warrants and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion or exercise thereof, until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination except in each case (a) to our officers, directors, advisors or consultants, any affiliate or family member of any of our officers, directors, advisors or consultants, any members or partners of the Sponsor or their affiliates, any affiliates of the Sponsor, or any employees of such affiliates, (b) in the case of an individual, as a gift to such person’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of such person’s immediate family, an affiliate of such person or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of such person; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made in connection with any forward purchase agreement or similar arrangement or in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the shares or warrants were originally purchased; (f) by virtue of the laws of the Cayman Islands or our Sponsor’s limited partnership agreement upon dissolution of our Sponsor, (g) in the event of our liquidation prior to our consummation of our initial business combination; or (h) in the event that, subsequent to our consummation of an initial business combination, we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange 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; 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 and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreements.
Registration Rights
The holders of the: (i) founder shares, which were issued in a private placement prior to the closing of this offering; (ii) private placement warrants which will be issued in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such private placement warrants; and (iii) private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans will have registration rights to require us to register a sale of any of our securities held by them and any other securities of the company acquired by them prior to the consummation of our initial business combination pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. Pursuant to the registration rights agreement and assuming the
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underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full and $2,000,000 of working capital loans are converted into private placement warrants, we will be obligated to register up to 23,937,500 Class A ordinary shares and 16,750,000 warrants. The number of Class A ordinary shares includes: (i) 7,187,500 Class A ordinary shares to be issued upon conversion of the founder shares; (ii) 14,750,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants; and (iii) 2,000,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans. The number of warrants includes (i) 14,750,000 private placement warrants; and (ii) 2,000,000 private placement warrants issued upon the conversion of working capital loans. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
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Certain relationships and related party transactions
On April 12, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our offering costs in exchange for 7,187,500 founder shares. Subsequently, our sponsor transferred 50,000 founder shares to each of Jeremy Darroch, Kathleen Hughes, Uwe Krüger and Donald McLellan, resulting in our sponsor holding 6,987,500 founder shares.
The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of this offering would be a maximum of 28,750,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering. Up to 937,500 of the founder shares will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised. If we increase or decrease the size of the offering, we will effect a share capitalization or a share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares 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.
Our anchor investors have expressed to us an interest in purchasing an aggregate of up to approximately $89 million (or approximately 36%) of the units in this offering at the offering price (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) and we have agreed to direct the underwriters to offer to the anchor investors such amount of units. Further, each of the anchor investors has entered into a separate agreement with our sponsor pursuant to which such anchor investor has agreed to purchase an indirect interest in founder shares and private placement warrants. Each anchor investor has agreed with our sponsor that, if such anchor investor does not submit a firm order to the underwriter to purchase the number of units for which it has indicated an interest, such anchor investor shall forfeit its indirect interest in founder shares. In addition, our anchor investors have agreed that, if our sponsor’s general partners deems it necessary in order to facilitate an initial business combination for our sponsor to forfeit, transfer, exchange or amend the terms of all or any portion of its founder shares or private placement units or to enter into any other arrangements with respect to such securities, our anchor investors will be subject to the same changes on a pro rata basis. The anchor investors have not been granted any material additional shareholder or other rights, and are only being issued membership interests in our sponsor with no right to control our sponsor or vote or dispose of their allocable founder shares or private placement units (which will continue to be held by our sponsor until following our initial business combination). Further, the anchor investors are not required to: (i) other as described above, hold any units, shares or warrants they may purchase in this offering or thereafter for any amount time; (ii) vote any shares they may own at the applicable time in favor of our initial business combination; or (iii) refrain from exercising their right to redeem their public shares at the time of our initial business combination.
Because these expressions of interest are not binding agreements or commitments to purchase, our anchor investors may determine to purchase more, fewer or no units in this offering. In addition, the underwriters may determine to sell more, fewer or no units to our anchor investors. In the event that our anchor investors purchase $89 million of units (either in this offering or after) and vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we would need 475,751, or 1.9%, (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the remaining 16,100,750 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the parties to the letter agreement do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares). However, because our anchor investors are not obligated to continue owning any public shares following the closing and are not obligated to vote any public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that any of these anchor investors will be shareholders at the time our shareholders vote on our initial business combination, and, if they are shareholders, we cannot assure you as to how such anchor investors will vote on any business combination. Since our anchor investors will not receive the founder shares to which they are entitled until the closing of our initial business combination, they will not be able to vote such shares prior to the closing of our initial business combination.
Our sponsor has committed to, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 13,250,000 private placement warrants (or 14,750,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option 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 $13,250,000 in the aggregate (or $14,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. The private placement warrants will be identical to the warrants sold in this offering except that the private placement warrants, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees: (i) will not be redeemable by us; (ii) may not (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days
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after the completion of our initial business combination; (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
We are a tech-first company and accordingly we do not maintain a headquarters. Commencing on the date of this prospectus, we will pay an affiliate of our sponsor $10,000 per month for the administrative and support services provided to members of our management team. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Except as described herein, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates.
Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor may loan us funds in an aggregate amount of up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans would be non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 or the closing of this offering. As of September 30, 2021 and April 12, 2021, we had borrowed $202,604 and $0, respectively, under such loans.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required on a non-interest basis. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement 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. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor 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.
Any of the foregoing payments to our sponsor, repayments of loans from our sponsor or repayments of working capital loans prior to our initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation or tender offer 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 and director compensation.
We have entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to the founder shares and private placement warrants, which is described under the heading “Principal Shareholders — Registration Rights.”
Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions
The audit committee of our board of directors will adopt a policy setting forth the policies and procedures for its review and approval or ratification of “related party transactions.” A “related party transaction” is any consummated or proposed transaction or series of transactions: (i) in which the company was or is to be a participant; (ii) the amount of which exceeds (or is reasonably expected to exceed) the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of the average of the company’s total assets at year end for the prior two completed fiscal years in the aggregate over the duration of the transaction (without regard to profit or loss); and (iii) in which a “related party” had, has or will have a direct or indirect material interest. “Related parties” under this policy will include: (i) our directors, nominees for director or officers; (ii) any record or beneficial owner of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities; (iii) any immediate family member of any of the foregoing if the foregoing person is a natural person; and (iv) any other person who maybe a “related person” pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act. Pursuant to the policy, the audit committee will consider: (i) the
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relevant facts and circumstances of each related party transaction, including if the transaction is on terms comparable to those that could be obtained in arm’s-length dealings with an unrelated third party; (ii) the extent of the related party’s interest in the transaction; (iii) whether the transaction contravenes our code of ethics or other policies; (iv) whether the audit committee believes the relationship underlying the transaction to be in the best interests of the company and its shareholders; and (v) the effect that the transaction may have on a director’s status as an independent member of the board and on his or her eligibility to serve on the board’s committees. Management will present to the audit committee each proposed related party transaction, including all relevant facts and circumstances relating thereto. Under the policy, we may consummate related party transactions only if our audit committee approves or ratifies the transaction in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the policy. The policy will not permit any director or officer to participate in the discussion of, or decision concerning, a related person transaction in which he or she is the related party.
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Description of securities
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company (company number 373929) and our affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act and the 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 555,000,000 ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value each, including 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares and 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, as well as 5,000,000 preference shares, $0.0001 par value each. The following description summarizes certain 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
Public Units
Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one 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. For example, if a warrant holder holds one-half of one warrant to purchase a Class A ordinary share, such warrant will not be exercisable. If a warrant holder holds two-halves of one warrant, such whole warrant will be exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units are expected to begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Citigroup Global Markets Inc. 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 two 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 reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering. We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes this audited balance sheet upon the completion of this offering. If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
Ordinary Shares
Prior to the date of this prospectus, there were 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares outstanding, all of which were held of record by our initial shareholders, so that our initial shareholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming our initial shareholders do not purchase any units in this offering). Up to 937,500 of the founder shares will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised. Upon the closing of this offering, 31,250,000 of our ordinary shares will be outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the corresponding surrender for no consideration of 937,500 founder shares) including:
• 25,000,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying units issued as part of this offering; and
• 6,250,000 Class B ordinary shares held by our initial shareholders.
If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a share capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial shareholders at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering.
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Ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. Holders of Class A ordinary shares and holders of Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders except as required by law. Unless specified in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or as required by applicable provisions of the Companies Act 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. Approval of certain actions will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the ordinary shares that are voted, 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. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the appointment of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the appointment of directors can elect all of the directors. However, prior to the closing of our initial business combination, only holders of our Class B ordinary shares will be entitled to vote on the appointment and removal of directors or continuing the company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands. 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 required to hold an annual general meeting no later than 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 general meetings or appoint directors. We may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint new directors 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions 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. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Unlike many special purpose acquisition 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 law, if a shareholder vote is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal 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 our 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 law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, like many special purpose acquisition 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 an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. However, if our initial business combination is structured as a statutory merger or consolidation with another company under Cayman Islands law, the approval of our initial business combination will require a special resolution passed by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares which are represented in person or by proxy and are voted at a general
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meeting of the company. However, the participation of our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates in privately-negotiated transactions (as described in this prospectus), if any, could result in the approval of our initial business combination even if a majority of our public shareholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of an ordinary resolution, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require that at least five days’ notice will be given of any general meeting.
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. 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 our initial business combination. And, 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 sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 9,375,001, or 37.5%, of the 25,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the parties to the letter agreement do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares). In the event that our anchor investors purchase $89 million of units in this offering and vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we would need 475,751, or 1.9%, (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the remaining 16,100,750 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the parties to the letter agreement do not acquire any Class A ordinary shares). However, because our anchor investors are not obligated to continue owning any public shares following the closing and are not obligated to vote any public shares in favor of our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that any of these anchor investors will be shareholders at the time our shareholders vote on our initial business combination, and, if they are shareholders, we cannot assure you as to how such anchor investors will vote on any business combination. Assuming that only the holders of one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, representing a quorum under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, vote their shares at a general meeting of the company, we will not need any public shares in addition to our founder shares to be voted in favor of an initial business combination to approve an initial business combination. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a public shareholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction.
Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the completion window, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law. 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 if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the completion window.
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However, if our sponsor or management team acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time period.
In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our shareholders are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of shares, if any, having preference over the 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 public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash at a per share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein.
Founder Shares
The founder shares are designated as Class B ordinary shares and, except as described below, 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: (i) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; (ii) the founder shares are entitled to registration rights; (iii) Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to (A) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (B) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (1) 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 have not consummated an initial business combination within the completion window or (2) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, (C) 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 completion window, 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 such time period and (D) vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination; (iv) the founder shares are automatically convertible into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; and (v) prior to the closing of our initial business combination, only holders of our Class B ordinary shares will be entitled to vote on the appointment and removal of directors or continuing the company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including any special resolution required to amend the constitutional documents of the Company or to adopt new constitutional documents of the Company, in each case, as a result of the Company approving a transfer by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands).
The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, 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 connection with our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the total number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by public shareholders), including the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans; provided that such conversion of founder shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.
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With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares are not transferable, assignable or saleable (except to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor, each of whom will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our initial business combination, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, and (B) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Up to 937,500 founder shares will be surrendered to us for no consideration depending on the exercise of the over-allotment option.
Register of Members
Under Cayman Islands law, we must keep a register of members and there will 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 attach to the shares 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 will 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 will 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 will 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 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.
Warrants
Public 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
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business combination, provided that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement) and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of 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 units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
We will not be obligated to deliver any Class A 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 with respect to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue a Class A ordinary share upon exercise of a warrant unless the Class A ordinary share issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the 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 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. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the sixtieth (60th) business day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. Notwithstanding the above, 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 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, and in the event we do not so elect, 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. 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):
• in whole and not in part;
• at a price of $0.01 per warrant; upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption (the “30-day redemption period”); and
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• 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 “— Redemption Procedures — Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three business days before 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.
We have established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the Class A ordinary shares may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A ordinary shares and equity-linked securities) as well as the $11.50 warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants:
• in whole and not in part;
• at a price of $0.10 per warrant; upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined by reference to the table below, based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” (as defined below) of our Class A ordinary shares except as otherwise described below; and
• if, and only if, the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per public 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 the 30-trading day period ending three trading days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and
• if the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”), the private placement warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants, as described above.
Beginning on the date the notice of redemption is given and until the warrants are redeemed or exercised, holders may elect to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. The numbers in the table below represent the number of Class A ordinary shares that a warrant holder will receive upon such cashless exercise in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, based on the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares on the corresponding redemption date (assuming holders elect to exercise their warrants and such warrants are not redeemed for $0.10 per warrant), determined for these purposes based on the volume-weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, and the number of months that the corresponding redemption date precedes the expiration date of the warrants, each as set forth in the table below. We will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10-trading day period described above ends.
Pursuant to the warrant agreement, references above to 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 for which they have been exchanged in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination.
The share prices set forth in the column headings of the table below will be adjusted as of any date on which the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant or the exercise price of a warrant is adjusted as set forth under the heading “— Redemption Procedures — Anti-dilution Adjustments” below. If the number of shares issuable upon exercise
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of a warrant is adjusted, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the share prices immediately prior to such adjustment, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the exercise price of the warrant after such adjustment and the denominator of which is the price of the warrant immediately prior to such adjustment. In such an event, the number of shares in the table below shall be adjusted by multiplying such share amounts by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant immediately prior to such adjustment and the denominator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant as so adjusted. If the exercise price of a warrant is adjusted, (a) in the case of an adjustment pursuant to the fifth paragraph under the heading “— Anti-dilution Adjustments” below, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the unadjusted share prices multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price as set forth under the heading “— Anti-dilution Adjustments” and the denominator of which is $10.00 and (b) in the case of an adjustment pursuant to the second paragraph under the heading “— Anti-dilution Adjustments” below, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the unadjusted share prices less the decrease in the exercise price of a warrant pursuant to such exercise price adjustment.
Redemption Date (period to expiration of warrants) | | Fair Market Value of Class A Ordinary Shares |
≤$10.00 | | $11.00 | | $12.00 | | $13.00 | | $14.00 | | $15.00 | | $16.00 | | $17.00 | | ≥$18.00 |
60 months | | 0.261 | | 0.281 | | 0.297 | | 0.311 | | 0.324 | | 0.337 | | 0.348 | | 0.358 | | 0.361 |
57 months | | 0.257 | | 0.277 | | 0.294 | | 0.310 | | 0.324 | | 0.337 | | 0.348 | | 0.358 | | 0.361 |
54 months | | 0.252 | | 0.272 | | 0.291 | | 0.307 | | 0.322 | | 0.335 | | 0.347 | | 0.357 | | 0.361 |
51 months | | 0.246 | | 0.268 | | 0.287 | | 0.304 | | 0.320 | | 0.333 | | 0.346 | | 0.357 | | 0.361 |
48 months | | 0.241 | | 0.263 | | 0.283 | | 0.301 | | 0.317 | | 0.332 | | 0.344 | | 0.356 | | 0.361 |
45 months | | 0.235 | | 0.258 | | 0.279 | | 0.298 | | 0.315 | | 0.330 | | 0.343 | | 0.356 | | 0.361 |
42 months | | 0.228 | | 0.252 | | 0.274 | | 0.294 | | 0.312 | | 0.328 | | 0.342 | | 0.355 | | 0.361 |
39 months | | 0.221 | | 0.246 | | 0.269 | | 0.290 | | 0.309 | | 0.325 | | 0.340 | | 0.354 | | 0.361 |
36 months | | 0.213 | | 0.239 | | 0.263 | | 0.285 | | 0.305 | | 0.323 | | 0.339 | | 0.353 | | 0.361 |
33 months | | 0.205 | | 0.232 | | 0.257 | | 0.280 | | 0.301 | | 0.320 | | 0.337 | | 0.352 | | 0.361 |
30 months | | 0.196 | | 0.224 | | 0.250 | | 0.274 | | 0.297 | | 0.316 | | 0.335 | | 0.351 | | 0.361 |
27 months | | 0.185 | | 0.214 | | 0.242 | | 0.268 | | 0.291 | | 0.313 | | 0.332 | | 0.350 | | 0.361 |
24 months | | 0.173 | | 0.204 | | 0.233 | | 0.260 | | 0.285 | | 0.308 | | 0.329 | | 0.348 | | 0.361 |
21 months | | 0.161 | | 0.193 | | 0.223 | | 0.252 | | 0.279 | | 0.304 | | 0.326 | | 0.347 | | 0.361 |
18 months | | 0.146 | | 0.179 | | 0.211 | | 0.242 | | 0.271 | | 0.298 | | 0.322 | | 0.345 | | 0.361 |
15 months | | 0.130 | | 0.164 | | 0.197 | | 0.230 | | 0.262 | | 0.291 | | 0.317 | | 0.342 | | 0.361 |
12 months | | 0.111 | | 0.146 | | 0.181 | | 0.216 | | 0.250 | | 0.282 | | 0.312 | | 0.339 | | 0.361 |
9 months | | 0.090 | | 0.125 | | 0.162 | | 0.199 | | 0.237 | | 0.272 | | 0.305 | | 0.336 | | 0.361 |
6 months | | 0.065 | | 0.099 | | 0.137 | | 0.178 | | 0.219 | | 0.259 | | 0.296 | | 0.331 | | 0.361 |
3 months | | 0.034 | | 0.065 | | 0.104 | | 0.150 | | 0.197 | | 0.243 | | 0.286 | | 0.326 | | 0.361 |
0 months | | — | | — | | 0.042 | | 0.115 | | 0.179 | | 0.233 | | 0.281 | | 0.323 | | 0.361 |
The exact fair market value and redemption date may not be set forth in the table above, in which case, if the fair market value is between two values in the table or the redemption date is between two redemption dates in the table, the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued for each warrant exercised will be determined by a straight-line interpolation between the number of shares set forth for the higher and lower fair market values and the earlier and later redemption dates, as applicable, based on a 365 or 366-day year, as applicable. For example, if the volume weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $11.00 per share, and at such time there are 57 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.277 Class A ordinary shares for each whole warrant. For an example where the exact fair market value and redemption date are not as set forth in the table above, if the volume-weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $13.50 per share, and at such time there are 38 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.298 Class A ordinary shares for each whole warrant. In no event will the warrants be exercisable on a cashless basis in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment). Finally,
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as reflected in the table above, if the warrants are out of the money and about to expire, they cannot be exercised on a cashless basis in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, since they will not be exercisable for any Class A ordinary shares.
This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in many other blank check company offerings, which typically only provide for a redemption of warrants for cash (other than the private placement warrants) when the trading price for the Class A ordinary shares exceeds $18.00 per share for a specified period of time. This redemption feature is structured to allow for all of the outstanding warrants to be redeemed when the Class A ordinary shares are trading at or above $10.00 per public share, which may be at a time when the trading price of our Class A ordinary shares is below the exercise price of the warrants. We have established this redemption feature to provide us with the flexibility to redeem the warrants without the warrants having to reach the $18.00 per share threshold set forth above under “— Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00.”
Holders choosing to exercise their warrants in connection with a redemption pursuant to this feature will, in effect, receive a number of shares for their warrants based on an option pricing model with a fixed volatility input as of the date of this prospectus. This redemption right provides us with an additional mechanism by which to redeem all of the outstanding warrants, and therefore have certainty as to our capital structure as the warrants would no longer be outstanding and would have been exercised or redeemed. We will be required to pay the applicable redemption price to warrant holders if we choose to exercise this redemption right and it will allow us to quickly proceed with a redemption of the warrants if we determine it is in our best interest to do so. As such, we would redeem the warrants in this manner when we believe it is in our best interest to update our capital structure to remove the warrants and pay the redemption price to the warrant holders.
As stated above, we can redeem the warrants when the Class A ordinary shares are trading at a price starting at $10.00, which is below the exercise price of $11.50, because it will provide certainty with respect to our capital structure and cash position while providing warrant holders with the opportunity to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis for the applicable number of shares. If we choose to redeem the warrants when the Class A ordinary shares are trading at a price below the exercise price of the warrants, this could result in the warrant holders receiving fewer Class A ordinary shares than they would have received if they had chosen to wait to exercise their warrants for Class A ordinary shares if and when such Class A ordinary shares were trading at a price higher than the exercise price of $11.50.
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 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. A holder of a warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the warrant agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 4.9% or 9.8% (as specified by the holder) of the Class A ordinary shares outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
Anti-dilution Adjustments. If the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares is increased by a share capitalization payable in Class A ordinary shares, or by a sub-division of ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such share capitalization, 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 outstanding ordinary shares. A rights offering made to all or substantially all holders of ordinary shares entitling holders to purchase Class A ordinary shares at a price less than the fair market value will be deemed a share capitalization of a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the product of: (i) 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 (ii) the quotient of (x) the price per Class A ordinary share paid in such rights offering and (y) the fair market value. For these purposes: (i) 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
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(ii) fair market value means the volume weighted average price of Class A ordinary shares as reported during the ten (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 a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to all or substantially all 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) certain ordinary cash dividends, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in connection with a proposed initial business combination, or (d) 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 outstanding Class A ordinary shares is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse share sub-division or reclassification of Class A ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse share sub-division, 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 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.
In addition, if (x) we issue additional Class A 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 Class A ordinary share, (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds (including from such issuances this offering), and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the Market Value of our Class A ordinary shares is below $9.20 per share, then 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, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices described above under “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” and “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described above under “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the 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 consolidation or merger 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 the Class A ordinary shares immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of Class A ordinary shares or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of Class A ordinary shares in such a transaction is payable in the form of Class A 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 thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise
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price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the Black-Scholes Warrant Value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant. The purpose of such exercise price reduction is to provide additional value to holders of the warrants when an extraordinary transaction occurs during the exercise period of the warrants pursuant to which the holders of the warrants otherwise do not receive the full potential value of the warrants.
The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or to correct any defective provision or mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in this prospectus, (ii) adjusting the provisions relating to cash dividends on ordinary shares as contemplated by and in accordance with the warrant agreement 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, provided that the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is required to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants, and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants, 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 warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price (or on a cashless basis, if applicable), by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of 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.
Private Placement Warrants
The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or saleable 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 officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor) and they will not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor, members of our sponsor or their permitted transferees. The sponsor or its permitted transferees, have the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. Except as described below, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than the sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering.
If holders of private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, except as described under “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00”, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering their 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 “Sponsor fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the Sponsor fair market value. The “Sponsor fair market value” shall mean the average reported closing 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 the sponsor or 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 be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in place that restrict insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods.
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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.
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 a business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of a business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. If we increase the size of this offering, then we will effect a share capitalization or a share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of the 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, 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 claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence or intentional misconduct of the indemnified person or entity. Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company has agreed that it has no right of set-off or any right, title, interest or claim of any kind to, or to any monies in, the trust account, and has irrevocably waived any right, title, interest or claim of any kind to, or to any monies in, the trust account that it may have now or in the future. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied, or a claim will only be able to be pursued, solely against us and our assets outside the trust account and not against the any monies in the trust account or interest earned thereon.
Certain Differences in Corporate Law
Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Act. The Companies Act is modelled 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 or merger or consolidation must then be authorized by (a) a special resolution (usually a majority of at least two thirds of the voting shares voted at a general meeting) of the shareholders of each company; and (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 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: (i) that
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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; (ii) 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; (iii) 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; (iv) 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: (i) 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; (ii) 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; (iii) 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 (iv) that there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation.
The Companies Act provides for a right of dissenting shareholders to be paid a payment of the fair value of their shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, that procedure is as follows, other than in relation to a merger of a parent company and its subsidiary company (a) the shareholder must give his 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 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 intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of his 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 shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agree 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 fail to agree 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 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.
Moreover, Cayman Islands law has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances, 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 for 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
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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 satisfies itself that:
• we are not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of our corporate authority and the statutory provisions as to majority vote have been complied with;
• the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question;
• the arrangement is such as a businessman 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 (providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares), which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of United States corporations.
Squeeze-out Provisions. When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares to whom the offer relates is made 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 means other than these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, or through contractual arrangements, of an operating business.
Shareholders’ Suits. Maples and Calder, 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 for 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 officers or directors 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 be 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 which 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.
We have been advised by Maples and Calder, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) 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 (ii) 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
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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 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).
Memorandum and Articles of Association
The Business Combination Article of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contains provisions designed to provide certain rights and protections relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions 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 (i) at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s shareholders at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given; or (ii) 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 at least two-thirds of our shareholders (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders.
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), will 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 are unable to complete our initial business combination within the completion window, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds
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held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law;
• Prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on our initial business combination;
• 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 directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions stating that the consideration to be paid by us in such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view;
• 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 legal reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act;
• 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 the completion window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions 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 Class A 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein;
• We will not effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations; and
• Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the courts of the Cayman Islands shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim or dispute arising out of or in connection with our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or otherwise related in any way to each shareholder’s shareholding in us, including but not limited to (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of any fiduciary or other duty owed by any of our current or former director, officer or other employee to us or our shareholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Companies Act or our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine (as such concept is recognized under the laws of the United States) and that each shareholder irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Cayman Islands over all such claims or disputes. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association also provide that, without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that we may have, each of our shareholders acknowledges that damages alone would not be an adequate remedy for any breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum and that accordingly we shall be entitled, without proof of special damages, to the remedies of injunction, specific performance or other equitable relief for any threatened or actual breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum. The forum selection provision in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will not apply to actions or suits
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brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act, Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States are, as a matter of the laws of the United States, the sole and exclusive forum for determination of such a claim.
In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide we will not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. We may, however, raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into following consummation of this offering, in order to, among other reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets requirement.
The Companies Act permits a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands to amend its memorandum and articles of association with the approval of a special resolution. 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 provides 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 officers or directors, 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.
Cayman Islands Data Protection
We have certain duties under the Data Protection Act, 2017 of the Cayman Islands (the “DPA”) 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 which constitutes personal data within the meaning of the DPA (“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 DPA, 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.
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In our use of this personal data, we will be characterized as a “data controller” for the purposes of the DPA, 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 DPA or may process personal information for their own lawful purposes in connection with services provided to us.
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 Your Personal Data
The company, as the data controller, may collect, store and use personal data for lawful purposes, including, in particular:
(i) where this is necessary for the performance of our rights and obligations under any purchase agreements;
(ii) 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
(iii) 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 US, 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 DPA.
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 amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our board of directors will be classified into three classes of directors. As a result, in most circumstances, a person can gain control of our board only by successfully engaging in a proxy contest at two or more annual general meetings.
Our authorized but unissued Class A 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 Class A 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 31,250,000 (or 35,937,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) ordinary shares outstanding. Of these shares, the Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering (25,000,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised and 28,750,000 shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any Class A ordinary shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the outstanding founder shares (6,250,000 founder shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised and 7,187,500 founder shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) and all of the outstanding private placement warrants (13,250,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised and 14,750,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering.
Rule 144
Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted shares or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities provided that (i) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and (ii) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale and have filed all required reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the 12 months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale.
Persons who have beneficially owned restricted shares or warrants for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:
• 1% of the total number of ordinary shares then outstanding, which will equal 312,500 shares immediately after this offering (or 359,375 if the underwriters exercise in full their over-allotment option); or
• the average weekly reported trading volume of the Class A 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 private placement warrants, as applicable, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination.
Registration Rights
The holders of the: (i) founder shares, which were issued in a private placement prior to the closing of this offering; (ii) private placement warrants which will be issued in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such private placement warrants and (iii) private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans will have registration rights to require us to register a sale of any of our securities held by them and any other securities of the company acquired by them prior to the consummation of our initial business combination pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. Pursuant to the registration rights agreement and assuming the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full and $2,000,000 of working capital loans are converted into private placement warrants, we will be obligated to register up to 23,937,500 Class A ordinary shares and 16,750,000 warrants. The number of Class A ordinary shares includes: (i) 7,187,500 Class A ordinary shares to be issued upon conversion of the founder shares; (ii) 14,750,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants; and (iii) 2,000,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans. The number of warrants includes (i) 14,750,000 private placement warrants; and (ii) 2,000,000 private placement warrants issued upon the conversion of working capital loans. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Listing of Securities
We intend to apply to have our units listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “AHRNU” commencing on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “AHRN” and “AHRNW”, respectively.
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Taxation
The following summary of certain Cayman Islands and United States federal income tax consequences of an investment in our units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant, which we refer to collectively as our securities, 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 Class A ordinary shares and warrants, such as the tax consequences under state, local and other tax laws.
Prospective investors should consult their advisors on the possible tax consequences of investing in our securities under the laws of their country of citizenship, residence or domicile.
Cayman Islands Tax Considerations
The following is a discussion on certain Cayman Islands income tax consequences of an investment in the securities of the Company. 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 the 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 Class A ordinary shares or on an instrument of transfer in respect of such shares.
The Company has been incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company with limited liability and, as such, has 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 Ahren Acquisition Corp. (“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 the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised).
These concessions shall be for a period of twenty years from the date hereof.
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United States Federal Income Tax Considerations
General
The following discussion summarizes certain material United States federal income tax considerations generally applicable to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our units (each consisting of one Class A 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 United States federal income tax purposes, as the owner of the underlying Class A ordinary share and one-half of one warrant components of the unit. As a result, the discussion below with respect to actual holders of Class A ordinary shares and warrants also should apply to holders of units (as the deemed owners of the underlying Class A ordinary shares and warrants that constitute the units).
This discussion is limited to certain United States federal income tax considerations to beneficial owners of our securities who are initial purchasers of a unit pursuant to this offering and hold the unit and each component of the unit as a capital asset within the meaning of Section 1221 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). This discussion assumes that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will trade separately and that any distributions made (or deemed made) by us on our Class A 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 describe all of the tax consequences that may be relevant to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of a unit by a prospective investor in light of its particular circumstances, including but not limited to, the Medicare tax on net investment income and the different consequences that may apply to investors that are subject to special rules under U.S. federal income tax laws, including but not limited to:
• financial institutions or financial services entities;
• broker-dealers;
• taxpayers that are subject to the mark-to-market tax accounting rules;
• tax-exempt entities;
• governments or agencies or instrumentalities thereof;
• insurance companies;
• regulated investment companies;
• real estate investment trusts;
• persons liable for alternative minimum tax;
• expatriates or former long-term residents of the United States;
• persons that actually or constructively own five percent or more (by vote or value) of our shares;
• our sponsor, founders, officers, or directors;
• 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;
• U.S. Holders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar;
• controlled foreign corporations;
• passive foreign investment companies; and
• partnerships (or entities or arrangements classified as partnerships or other pass-through entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes) and any beneficial owners of such partnerships.
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Moreover, the discussion below is based upon the provisions of the Code, the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof, all as of the date hereof, and such provisions may be repealed, revoked, modified or subject to differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis, which may result in United States federal income tax consequences different from those discussed below. Furthermore, this discussion does not address any aspect of United States federal non-income tax laws, such as gift or estate tax laws, or state, local or non-United States tax laws.
We have not sought, and do not expect to seek, a ruling from the United States Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) as to any United States 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.
If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement classified as a partnership or other pass-through entity for United States federal income tax purposes) is the beneficial owner of our securities, the United States federal income tax treatment of a partner or member in the partnership or other pass-through entity generally will depend on the status of the partner or member and the activities of the partnership or other pass-through entity. If you are a partner or member of a partnership or other pass-through entity holding our securities, you are urged to consult your own tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of our securities.
THIS DISCUSSION IS ONLY A SUMMARY OF CERTAIN UNITED STATES FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACQUISITION, 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 ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES, INCLUDING THE APPLICABILITY AND EFFECT OF ANY UNITED STATES FEDERAL NON-INCOME, STATE, LOCAL, AND NON-UNITED STATES TAX LAWS.
Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit
No statutory, administrative or judicial authority directly addresses the treatment of a unit or any instrument similar to a unit for United States federal income tax purposes, and therefore, that treatment is not entirely clear. The acquisition of a unit should be treated for United States federal income tax purposes as the acquisition of one share of our Class A ordinary shares and one-half of one warrant, and the Company intends to treat the acquisition of a unit in such manner. For United States federal income tax purposes, each beneficial owner of a unit must allocate the purchase price paid by such holder for such unit between the one Class A ordinary share and the one-half of one warrant based on the relative fair market value of each at the time of issuance. Under U.S. federal income tax law, each investor must make his or her own determination of such value based on all the relevant facts and circumstances. Therefore, we strongly urge each investor to consult his or her tax advisor regarding the determination of value for these purposes. The price allocated to each Class A ordinary share and the one-half of one warrant should be the shareholder’s initial tax basis in such share or warrant. Any disposition of a unit should be treated for United States federal income tax purposes as a disposition of the Class A ordinary share and one-half of one warrant comprising the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated between the Class A ordinary share and one-half of one warrant based on their respective fair market values (as determined by each such unit holder based on all the relevant facts and circumstances) at the time of disposition. The separation of the Class A ordinary share and the one-half of one warrant constituting a unit and the combination of two halves of one warrant into a single warrant should not be a taxable event for United States federal income tax purposes.
The foregoing characterization of the units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants and a beneficial owner’s purchase price allocation is not binding on the IRS or the courts. Because there are no authorities that directly address instruments that are similar to the units, no assurance can be given that the IRS or the courts will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. Accordingly, each prospective investor is urged to consult its tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit). The balance of this discussion assumes that the characterization of the units described above will be respected for United States federal income tax purposes.
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U.S. Holders
This section applies to you if you are a “U.S. Holder.” A U.S. Holder is a beneficial owner of our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants that is, for United States federal income tax purposes:
• an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States;
• a corporation (or other entity taxable as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes) organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia;
• an estate whose income is subject to United States federal income tax regardless of its source; or
• a trust, if: (i) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more United States persons (as defined in the Code) have authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (ii) it has a valid election in effect under Treasury Regulations to be treated as a United States person (as defined in the Code).
Taxation of Distributions
Subject to the passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”) rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally will be required to include in gross income as dividends in the year actually or constructively received by the U.S. Holder the amount of any distribution of cash or other property (other than certain distributions of the Company’s shares or rights to acquire the Company’s shares) paid on our Class A ordinary shares to the extent the distribution is paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under United States federal income tax principles). Distributions in excess of such earnings and profits generally will be applied against and reduce the U.S. Holder’s basis in its Class A 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 Class A ordinary shares (the treatment of which is described under “— Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants” below).
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. With respect to non-corporate U.S. Holders, dividends generally will be taxed at the lower applicable long-term capital gains rate (see “— Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants” below) only if: (i) our Class A ordinary shares are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States; (ii) we are not a PFIC for the year in which the dividend was paid or in the previous year, and (iii) certain other requirements are met. It is unclear, however, whether certain redemption rights described in this prospectus may suspend the running of the applicable holding period for this purpose. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the availability of such lower rate for any dividends paid with respect to our Class A ordinary shares.
Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss on the sale or other taxable disposition of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants (including a redemption of our Class A ordinary shares (as described below) or warrants that is treated as a taxable disposition, including pursuant to our dissolution and liquidation if we do not consummate an initial business combination within the required time period). Any such capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for such Class A ordinary shares or warrants exceeds one year. It is unclear, however, whether certain redemption rights described in this prospectus may suspend the running of the applicable holding period of the Class A ordinary shares for the purpose of determining whether such capital gain or loss is long-term capital gain or loss. If the running of the holding period for the Class A ordinary shares is suspended, then non-corporate U.S. Holders may not be able to satisfy the one-year holding period requirement for long-term capital gain treatment, in which case any gain on a sale or other taxable disposition of the Class A ordinary shares would be subject to short-term capital gain treatment and would be taxed at regular ordinary income tax rates.
The amount of gain or loss recognized by a U.S. Holder on a sale or other taxable disposition generally will be equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in such disposition (or, if the Class A 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 Class A ordinary shares or warrants
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based upon the then relative fair market values of the Class A ordinary shares and the warrants constituting the units determined by the allocation principles described above under “— Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and (ii) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A ordinary shares or warrants so disposed of. A U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A 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 a share of Class A ordinary shares or one-half of one warrant, as described above under “— Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) reduced, in the case of a Class A ordinary share, by any prior distributions treated as a return of capital. Long-term capital gain realized by a non-corporate U.S. Holder may be taxed at reduced rates of taxation. See “— Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant” below for a discussion regarding a U.S. Holder’s basis in the Class A ordinary share acquired pursuant to the exercise of a warrant. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to certain limitations.
Redemption of Class A Ordinary Shares
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, in the event that a U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares are redeemed pursuant to the redemption provisions described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Ordinary Shares” or if we purchase a U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares in an open market transaction (such open market purchase of Class A ordinary shares by us is referred to as a “redemption” for the remainder of this discussion), the treatment of the transaction for United States federal income tax purposes will depend on whether the redemption qualifies as a sale of the Class A ordinary shares under Section 302 of the Code. If the redemption qualifies as a sale of Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder will be treated as described under “— Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants” above. If the redemption does not qualify as a sale of Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder will be treated as receiving a corporate distribution with the tax consequences described above under “— Taxation of Distributions.” Whether a redemption qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely on the total number of our shares treated as held by the U.S. Holder (including any shares constructively owned by the U.S. Holder per the constructive ownership rules as described in the following paragraph, including as a result of owning warrants) relative to all of our shares outstanding both before and after such redemption. A redemption of Class A ordinary shares generally will be treated as a sale of the Class A ordinary shares (rather than as a corporate distribution) if such redemption: (i) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to the U.S. Holder; (ii) results in a “complete termination” of the U.S. Holder’s interest in us or (iii) is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to the U.S. Holder. These tests are explained more fully below.
In determining whether any of the foregoing tests are satisfied, a U.S. Holder takes into account not only our shares actually owned by the U.S. Holder, but also our shares that are constructively owned by such U.S. Holder. A U.S. Holder may constructively own, in addition to shares owned directly, shares owned by certain related individuals and entities in which the U.S. Holder has an interest or that have an interest in such U.S. Holder, as well as any shares the U.S. Holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which generally would include Class A ordinary shares which could be acquired by such U.S. Holder pursuant to the exercise of the warrants. In order to meet the substantially disproportionate test, the percentage of our issued and outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately following the redemption of Class A ordinary shares must, among other requirements, be less than 80% of the percentage of our issued and outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately before the redemption. Prior to our initial business combination the Class A 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 (i) all of our shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed or (ii) all of our shares actually owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed and the U.S. Holder is eligible to waive, and effectively waives in accordance with specific rules, the attribution of shares owned by certain family members and the U.S. Holder does not constructively own any other shares of ours (including any shares constructively owned by the U.S. Holder as a result of owning our warrants). The redemption of the Class A ordinary shares will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend if such redemption results in a “meaningful reduction” of the U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction in a U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances. However, the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority shareholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” A U.S. Holder should consult with its own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of a redemption of any Class A ordinary shares.
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If none of the foregoing tests are satisfied, then the redemption of any Class A ordinary shares will be treated as a corporate distribution and the tax effects will be as described under “— Taxation of Distributions” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis of the U.S. Holder in the redeemed Class A ordinary shares will be added to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its remaining shares, or, if it has none, to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its warrants or possibly in other shares constructively owned by it.
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 acquisition of a Class A ordinary share upon the exercise of a warrant for cash. A U.S. Holder’s tax basis in a Class A ordinary share received upon exercise of the warrant generally will equal the sum of the U.S. Holder’s initial investment in the warrant (that is, the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for the units that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “— Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary share received 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 law. Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a cashless exercise may not be taxable, either because the exercise is not a realization event or because the exercise is treated as a recapitalization for United States federal income tax purposes (including if a U.S. Holder exercises its warrants on a cashless basis after we provide notice that we will redeem warrants for $0.10 as described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” and such cashless exercise is characterized as a redemption of warrants for Class A ordinary shares). In either situation, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the Class A ordinary shares received generally should equal the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants exercised therefor. If the cashless exercise was not a realization event, it is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares received would be treated as commencing 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 the cashless exercise were treated as a recapitalization, the holding period of the Class A ordinary shares received would include the holding period of the warrants.
It is also possible that a cashless exercise may be treated in part as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized. In such event, a U.S. Holder may be deemed to have surrendered a number of warrants having a value equal to the exercise price for the total number of warrants to be exercised. Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, the U.S. Holder would recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the exercise price and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants deemed surrendered. In this case, a U.S. Holder’s aggregate tax basis in the Class A ordinary shares received would equal the sum of the U.S. Holder’s initial investment in the warrants deemed exercised (i.e., the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for the units that is allocated to the warrants, as described above under “Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price of such warrants. In addition, if we provide notice that we will redeem warrants for $0.10 as described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00,” and a U.S. Holder exercises its warrant on a cashless basis and receives the amount of Class A ordinary shares as determined by reference to the table set forth therein, it is also possible that such cashless exercise could be characterized as a redemption of warrants for Class A ordinary shares for tax purposes in a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized with respect to all of the warrants so exercised. In either case, it is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares would 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.
Due to the absence of authority on the United States federal income tax treatment of a cashless exercise, including when a U.S. Holder’s holding period would commence with respect to the Class A ordinary share received, 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.
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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 — Warrants — Public 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 “— Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants.”
Possible Constructive Distributions
The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of Class A ordinary shares for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events, as discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants.” An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. The U.S. Holders of the warrants would, however, be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases such U.S. Holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of Class A ordinary shares that would be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease in the exercise price of the warrant), which adjustment may be made as a result of a distribution of cash or other property to the holders of our Class A ordinary shares. Such constructive distribution to a U.S. Holder of warrants would be treated as if such U.S. Holder had received a cash distribution from us generally equal to the fair market value of such increased interest (taxed as described above under “— Taxation of Distributions”) and would increase the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its warrants to the extent that such distribution is treated as a dividend.
Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules
A non-U.S. corporation will be classified as a PFIC for United States federal income tax purposes if either (i) 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 or (ii) at least 50% of its assets in a taxable year (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, among other things, 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 assets giving rise to passive income.
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 startup exception, a corporation will not be a PFIC for the first taxable year the corporation has gross income (the “startup year”), if: (i) no predecessor of the corporation was a PFIC; (ii) the corporation satisfies the IRS that it will not be a PFIC for either of the first two taxable years following the startup year and (iii) the corporation is not in fact a PFIC for either of those years. The applicability of the startup exception to us is uncertain and will not be known until after the close of our current taxable year and, perhaps, until after the end of our two taxable years following our startup year. 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 startup exception and will be a PFIC for our current taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year (and, in the case of the startup exception to our current taxable year, perhaps until after the end of our two taxable years following our startup 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. In addition, our U.S. counsel expresses no opinion with respect to our PFIC status for our current or future taxable years.
Although our PFIC status is determined annually, an initial determination that our company is a PFIC generally will apply for subsequent years to a U.S. Holder who held (or was deemed to hold) Class A ordinary shares or warrants while we were a PFIC, whether or not we meet the test for PFIC status in those subsequent years. 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 Class A ordinary shares or warrants and, in the case of our Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder did not make either a timely mark-to-market election or a qualified electing fund (“QEF”) election (as discussed below) for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder held (or was deemed to hold) Class A ordinary shares, as described below, such U.S. Holder generally will be subject to special rules with respect to (i) any gain recognized by
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the U.S. Holder on the sale or other disposition of its Class A ordinary shares or warrants (which may include gain realized by reason of transfers of Class A ordinary shares or warrants that would otherwise qualify as non-recognition transactions for U.S. federal income tax purposes) and (ii) 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 Class A ordinary shares during the three preceding taxable years of such U.S. Holder or, if shorter, the portion of such U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares that preceded the taxable year of the distribution).
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 Class A ordinary shares or 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, and to the portion of 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 each other taxable year (or portion 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 without regard to the U.S. Holder’s other items of income and loss for that year; and
• an additional amount equal to the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed on the U.S. Holder with respect to 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 be able to avoid the PFIC tax consequences described above in respect to our Class A ordinary shares by making a timely and valid 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.
It is not entirely clear how various aspects of the PFIC rules apply to the warrants. However, a U.S. Holder may not make a QEF election with respect to its warrants to acquire our Class A ordinary shares. As a result, if a U.S. Holder sells or otherwise disposes of such warrants (other than upon exercise of such warrants) and we were a PFIC at any time during the U.S. Holder’s holding period of such warrants, any gain recognized generally will be treated as an excess distribution, taxed as described above. If a U.S. Holder that exercises such warrants properly makes and maintains a QEF election with respect to the newly acquired Class A ordinary shares (or has previously made a QEF election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares), the QEF election will apply to the newly acquired Class A ordinary shares. Notwithstanding such QEF election, the rules relating to “excess distributions” discussed above, adjusted to take into account the current income inclusions resulting from the QEF election, will continue to apply with respect to such newly acquired Class A ordinary shares (which, while not entirely clear, generally will 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 under the PFIC rules. Under the purging election, the U.S. Holder will be deemed to have sold such shares at their fair market value and any gain recognized on such deemed sale will be treated as an excess distribution, as described above. As a result of the purging 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 Class A 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.
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 (Information 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 United States 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 tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a retroactive QEF election under their particular circumstances.
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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, upon written request, 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, but there is no assurance that we will timely provide such required information. There is also 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 Class A ordinary shares, and the excess distribution rules discussed above 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 Class A ordinary shares generally will be taxable as capital gain and no additional interest charge will be imposed under the PFIC rules. As discussed above, if we are a PFIC for any taxable year, a U.S. Holder of our Class A ordinary shares that has made a QEF election will be currently taxed on its pro rata share of our earnings and profits, whether or not distributed for such year. A subsequent distribution of such earnings and profits that were previously included in income generally should not be taxable when distributed to such U.S. Holder. 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. In addition, if we are not a PFIC for any taxable year, such U.S. Holder will not be subject to the QEF inclusion regime with respect to our Class A ordinary shares for such a taxable year.
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) Class A ordinary shares in us and for which we are determined to be a PFIC, such U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to the PFIC rules described above in respect to its Class A ordinary shares. Instead, in general, the U.S. Holder will include as ordinary income in each taxable year the excess, if any, of the fair market value of its Class A ordinary shares at the end of its taxable year over the U.S. Holder’s adjusted basis in its Class A ordinary shares. These amounts of ordinary income would not be eligible for the favorable tax rates applicable to qualified dividend income or long-term capital gains. The U.S. Holder also will recognize an ordinary loss in respect of the excess, if any, of its adjusted basis in its Class A ordinary shares over the fair market value of its Class A 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). The U.S. Holder’s basis in its Class A 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 its Class A ordinary shares will be treated as ordinary income. Currently, a mark-to-market election may not be made with respect to 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 Securities and Exchange Commission, including Nasdaq (on which we intend to list the Class A ordinary shares), 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 Class A 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 are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a mark-to-market election in respect to our Class A 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. Upon written request, 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. There can be 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 such required information. A mark-to-market election generally would not be available with respect to such lower-tier PFIC. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the tax issues raised by lower-tier PFICs.
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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. Failure to do so, if required, will extend the statute of limitations until such required information is furnished to the IRS.
The rules dealing with PFICs and with the QEF election, purging election, and mark-to-market election are very complex and are affected by various factors in addition to those described above. Accordingly, U.S. Holders of our Class A ordinary shares and warrants should consult their own tax advisors concerning the application of the PFIC rules to our Class A ordinary shares and warrants under their particular circumstances.
Tax Reporting
Certain U.S. Holders may be required to file an IRS Form 926 (Return by a U.S. Transferor of Property to a Foreign Corporation) to report a transfer of property (including cash) to us. Substantial penalties may be imposed on a U.S. Holder that fails to comply with this reporting requirement, and the period of limitations on assessment and collection of United States federal income taxes will be extended in the event of a failure to comply. Furthermore, 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” on IRS Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets), subject to certain exceptions. Specified foreign financial assets generally include any financial account maintained with a non-U.S. financial institution and should also include our units, the Class A ordinary shares and warrants if they are not held in an account maintained with a U.S. financial institution. Persons who are required to report specified foreign financial assets and fail to do so may be subject to substantial penalties, and the period of limitations on assessment and collection of United States federal income taxes may be extended in the event of a failure to comply. Potential investors are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the foreign financial asset and other reporting obligations and their application to an investment in our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants.
Non-U.S. Holders
This section applies to you if you are a “Non-U.S. Holder.” As used herein, the term “Non-U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants that is, for United States federal income tax purposes:
• a non-resident alien individual (other than certain former citizens and residents of the United States subject to U.S. tax as expatriates);
• a foreign corporation; or
• an estate or trust that is not a U.S. Holder;
but generally does not include an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of the disposition of our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants. If you are such an individual, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the United States federal income tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of our securities.
Dividends (including, as described under “— U.S. Holders — Possible Constructive Distributions” above, constructive distributions treated as dividends) paid or deemed paid to a Non-U.S. Holder in respect of our Class A ordinary shares generally will not be subject to United States 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 Non-U.S. Holder maintains in the United States) as discussed below. In addition, a Non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to United States federal income tax on any gain attributable to a sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants 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, is attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains in the United States) as discussed below.
Dividends (including, as described under “— U.S. Holders — Possible Constructive Distributions” above, 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 United States federal income tax at the same regular United States federal income tax rates applicable to a comparable U.S. Holder and, in the case
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of a Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation for United States 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 United States federal income tax treatment of a Non-U.S. Holder’s receipt of any Class A ordinary share upon the exercise, or the lapse, of a warrant held by a Non-U.S. Holder generally will correspond to the United States federal income tax treatment of the receipt of a Class A ordinary share on exercise, or lapse, of a warrant by a U.S. Holder, as described under “— U.S. Holders — Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant,” above, although to the extent a cashless exercise results in a taxable exchange, the consequences would be similar to those described in the preceding paragraphs above for a Non-U.S. Holder’s gain on the sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares and warrants.
The characterization for United States federal income tax purposes of the redemption of the Non-U.S. Holder’s warrants or Class A ordinary shares generally will correspond to the United States federal income tax treatment of such a redemption of a U.S. Holder’s warrants or Class A ordinary shares, as described under “— U.S. Holders — Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant” and “— U.S. Holders — Redemption of Class A Ordinary Shares” above, and the consequences of the redemption to the Non-U.S. Holder will be as described in the paragraphs above under the heading “— Non-U.S. Holders” based on such characterization.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Dividend payments with respect to our Class A ordinary shares and proceeds from the sale, exchange or redemption of our Class A ordinary shares may be subject to information reporting to the IRS and possible United States backup withholding. Backup withholding will not apply, however, to a U.S. Holder who furnishes a correct taxpayer identification number and makes other required certifications, or who is otherwise exempt from backup withholding and establishes such exempt status. A Non-U.S. Holder generally will eliminate the requirement for information reporting and backup withholding by providing certification of its foreign status, under penalties of perjury, on a duly executed applicable IRS Form W-8-BEN or W-8-BEN-E or by otherwise establishing an exemption.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Amounts withheld as backup withholding may be credited against a beneficial owner’s United States federal income tax liability, and it generally may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules by timely filing the appropriate claim for refund with the IRS and furnishing any required information.
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Underwriting
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the underwriting agreement, dated the date of this prospectus, between us, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., as the representative of the underwriters named below and the sole book-running manager of this offering, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters, and each of the underwriters has agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase from us, the respective number of units shown opposite its name below:
Underwriters | | Number of Units |
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. | | 25,000,000 |
Total | | 25,000,000 |
The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the several underwriters are subject to certain conditions precedent such as the receipt by the underwriters of officers’ certificates and legal opinions and approval of certain legal matters by their counsel. The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriters will purchase all of the units if any of them are purchased. If an underwriter defaults, the underwriting agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the non-defaulting underwriters may be increased or the underwriting agreement may be terminated. We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters and certain of their controlling persons against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and to contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
The underwriters have advised us that, following the completion of this offering, they currently intend to make a market in the units as permitted by applicable laws and regulations. However, the underwriters are not obligated to do so, and the underwriters may discontinue any market-making activities at any time without notice in their sole discretion. Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to the liquidity of the trading market for the units, that you will be able to sell any of the units held by you at a particular time or that the prices that you receive when you sell will be favorable.
The underwriters are offering the units subject to their acceptance of the units from us and subject to prior sale. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part. In addition, the underwriters have advised us that they do not intend to confirm sales to any account over which they exercise discretionary authority.
Commission and Expenses
The underwriters have advised us that they propose to offer the units to the public at the initial public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus and to certain dealers, which may include the underwriters, at that price less a concession not in excess of $ per unit. After the offering, the initial public offering price, concession and reallowance to dealers may be reduced by the representative. No such reduction will change the amount of proceeds to be received by us as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.
The following table summarizes the compensation and estimated expenses we will pay.
| | Paid by Ahren Acquisition Corp. |
| | No Exercise | | Full Exercise |
Per Unit(1) | | $ | 0.55 | | $ | 0.55 |
Total(1) | | $ | 13,750,000 | | $ | 15,812,500 |
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If we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window, the underwriters have agreed that (i) they will forfeit any rights or claims to their deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, including any accrued interest thereon, then in the trust account and (ii) the deferred underwriters’ discounts and commissions will be distributed on a pro rata basis, together with any accrued interest thereon (which interest will be net of taxes payable) to the public shareholders.
For financial advisory services provided by Lazard in connection with this offering, we have agreed to pay Lazard a fee in an amount equal to 20% of the underwriting commission payable to the underwriters. The fee to Lazard will be paid in part at the closing of this offering and in part at the closing of the initial business combination, in the same proportion as the non-deferred and deferred commission payable to the underwriters. The underwriters have agreed to reimburse us for the fee to Lazard as it becomes payable out of the underwriting commission. Citigroup will not receive any additional fee for serving as a financial advisor.
We estimate expenses payable by us in connection with this offering, other than the underwriting discounts and commissions referred to above, will be approximately $1,100,000.
We have agreed to pay certain out of pocket expenses of the underwriters, including FINRA-related fees and expenses of the underwriters’ legal counsel, not to exceed $20,000.
Determination of Offering Price
Prior to this offering, there has not been a public market for our securities. Among the factors considered in these negotiations were the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies, prior offerings of those companies, our management, our capital structure, and currently prevailing general conditions in equity securities markets, including current market valuations of publicly traded companies considered comparable to our company.
We offer no assurances that the initial public offering price will correspond to the price at which the units will trade in the public market subsequent to the offering or that an active trading market for the units will develop and continue after the offering.
Listing
We expect our units to be listed on Nasdaq, under the symbol “AHRNU” commencing on or promptly after the date of this prospectus, and, once the Class A ordinary shares and warrants begin separate trading, to have our Class A ordinary shares and warrants listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “AHRN” and “AHRNW”, respectively. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq.
Stamp Taxes
If you purchase units offered in this prospectus, you may be required to pay stamp taxes and other charges under the laws and practices of the country of purchase, in addition to the offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus.
Option to Purchase Additional Units
We have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 45 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase, from time to time, in whole or in part, up to an aggregate of 3,750,000 units from us at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, less underwriting discounts and commissions. If the underwriters exercise this option, each underwriter will be obligated, subject to specified conditions, to purchase a number of additional units proportionate to that underwriter’s initial purchase commitment as indicated in the table above. This option may be exercised only if the underwriters sell more units than the total number set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.
Letter Agreement
We, our sponsor and our officers and directors have agreed that, for a period of 180 days from the date of this prospectus, we and they will not, without the prior written consent of the representatives, offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend or otherwise transfer or dispose of, directly or indirectly, any units, warrants, ordinary shares
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or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for, any units, ordinary shares, founder shares or warrants, subject to certain exceptions. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in their discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice. Our sponsor, officers and directors are also subject to separate transfer restrictions on their founder shares and private placement warrants pursuant to the letter agreement described herein.
Our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 120 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property (except as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Shareholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up.
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 the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Shareholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).
Stabilization
The underwriters have advised us that they, pursuant to Regulation M under the Exchange Act, and certain persons participating in the offering may engage in short sale transactions, stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions or the imposition of penalty bids in connection with this offering. These activities may have the effect of stabilizing or maintaining the market price of the units at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. Establishing short sales positions may involve either “covered” short sales or “naked” short sales.
“Covered” short sales are sales made in an amount not greater than the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units in this offering. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their option to purchase additional units or purchasing units in the open market. In determining the source of units to close out the covered short position, the 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.
“Naked” short sales are sales in excess of the option to purchase additional units. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing units in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of our units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering.
A stabilizing bid is a bid for the purchase of units on behalf of the underwriters for the purpose of fixing or maintaining the price of the units. A syndicate covering transaction is the bid for or the purchase of units on behalf of the underwriters to reduce a short position incurred by the underwriters in connection with the offering. Similar to other purchase transactions, the underwriters’ purchases to cover the syndicate short sales may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our units or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our units. As a result, the price of our units may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. A penalty bid is an arrangement permitting the underwriters to reclaim the selling concession otherwise accruing to a syndicate member in connection with the offering if the units originally sold by such syndicate member are purchased in a syndicate covering transaction and therefore have not been effectively placed by such syndicate member.
Neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our units. The underwriters are not obligated to engage in these activities and, if commenced, any of the activities may be discontinued at any time.
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The underwriters may also engage in passive market making transactions in our units on Nasdaq in accordance with Rule 103 of Regulation M during a period before the commencement of offers or sales of our units in this offering and extending through the completion of distribution. A passive market maker must display its bid at a price not in excess of the highest independent bid of that security. However, if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market maker’s bid, that bid must then be lowered when specified purchase limits are exceeded.
Electronic Distribution
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available by e-mail or on the web sites or through online services maintained by one or more of the underwriters or their affiliates. In those cases, prospective investors may view offering terms online and may be allowed to place orders online. The underwriters may agree with us to allocate a specific number of units for sale to online brokerage account holders. Any such allocation for online distributions will be made by the underwriters on the same basis as other allocations. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on the underwriters’ web sites and any information contained in any other web site maintained by any of the underwriters is not part of this prospectus, has not been approved and/or endorsed by us or the underwriters and should not be relied upon by investors.
Other Activities and Relationships
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 but we may do so in our sole discretion. However, any of the underwriters may introduce us to potential target businesses or assist us in raising additional capital in the future, including by acting as a placement agent in a private offering or underwriting or arranging debt financing. If the underwriter provides services to us after this offering, we may pay such underwriter fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with 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 such payment would not be deemed underwriting 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. Any fees we may pay the underwriters or their affiliates for services rendered to us after this offering may be contingent on the completion of a business combination and may include non-cash compensation. The underwriters or their affiliates that provide these services to us may have a potential conflict of interest given that the underwriters are entitled to the deferred portion of their underwriting compensation for this offering only if an initial business combination is completed within the specified timeframe.
The underwriters and certain of their affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. The underwriters and certain of their affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various commercial and investment banking and financial advisory services for us and our affiliates, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and certain of 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, and such investment and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments issued by us and our affiliates. The underwriters and certain of their respective affiliates may also communicate independent investment recommendations, market color or trading ideas and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
Financial Advisors
Lazard is acting as our independent financial advisor in connection with this offering, for which it will receive customary fees. Lazard is engaged to represent our interests only, is independent of the underwriters and is not a party to any securities purchase agreement with us, the underwriters or investors in relation to this offering.
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Lazard is not acting as an underwriter and will not sell or offer to sell any securities in this offering, nor will it identify or solicit potential investors in this offering.
In addition to serving as representative of the underwriters, Citigroup is also acting as our financial advisor in connection with this offering. Citigroup will not receive any additional fee for serving as a financial advisor.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Canada
The distribution of the 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 units 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 units.
Representations of Canadian Purchasers
By purchasing the 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 units in Canada should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
Enforcement of Legal Rights
All of our directors and officers as well as the experts named herein may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible for Canadian purchasers to effect service of process within Canada upon us or those persons. All or a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of those persons may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible to satisfy a judgment against us or those persons in Canada or to enforce a judgment obtained in Canadian courts against us or those persons outside of Canada.
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Taxation and Eligibility for Investment
Canadian purchasers of the 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.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Australia
This prospectus is not a disclosure document for the purposes of Australia’s Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) of Australia, or Corporations Act, has not been lodged with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and is only directed to the categories of exempt persons set out below. Accordingly, if you receive this prospectus in Australia:
You confirm and warrant that you are either:
• a “sophisticated investor” under section 708(8)(a) or (b) of the Corporations Act;
• a “sophisticated investor” under section 708(8)(c) or (d) of the Corporations Act and that you have provided an accountant’s certificate to the company which complies with the requirements of section 708(8)(c)(i) or (ii) of the Corporations Act and related regulations before the offer has been made;
• a person associated with the company under Section 708(12) of the Corporations Act; or
• a “professional investor” within the meaning of section 708(11)(a) or (b) of the Corporations Act.
To the extent that you are unable to confirm or warrant that you are an exempt sophisticated investor, associated person or professional investor under the Corporations Act any offer made to you under this prospectus is void and incapable of acceptance.
You warrant and agree that you will not offer any of the units issued to you pursuant to this prospectus for resale in Australia within 12 months of those securities being issued unless any such resale offer is exempt from the requirement to issue a disclosure document under section 708 of the Corporations Act.
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 underwriter 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 Company or any underwriter to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation.
Each person in a Relevant State who initially acquires any units or to whom any offer is made will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed to and with the Company and the underwriters that it is a qualified investor within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation.
In the case of any units being offered to a financial intermediary as that term is used in Article 5(1) of the Prospectus Regulation, each such financial intermediary will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed that the units acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in circumstances which may give rise to an offer to the public
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other than their offer or resale in a Relevant State to qualified investors, in circumstances in which the prior consent of the underwriter has been obtained to each such proposed offer or resale.
The company, the underwriters and their affiliates will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations, acknowledgements and agreements.
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 above selling restriction is in addition to any other selling restrictions set out below.
In connection with the offering, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. are not acting for anyone other than the company and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to their clients nor for providing advice in relation to the offering.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Hong Kong
No securities have been offered or sold, and no securities may be offered or sold, in Hong Kong, by means of any document, other than to persons whose ordinary business is to buy or sell shares or debentures, whether as principal or agent; or to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) of Hong Kong (“SFO”) and any rules made under that Ordinance; or in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32) of Hong Kong (“CO”) or which do not constitute an offer or invitation to the public for the purpose of the CO or the SFO. No document, invitation or advertisement relating to the units has been issued or may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public of Hong Kong (except if permitted under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to securities which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the SFO and any rules made under that Ordinance.
This prospectus has not been registered with the Registrar of Companies in Hong Kong. Accordingly, this prospectus may not be issued, circulated or distributed in Hong Kong, and the units may not be offered for subscription to members of the public in Hong Kong. Each person acquiring the units will be required, and is deemed by the acquisition of the units, to confirm that he is aware of the restriction on offers of the units described in this prospectus and the relevant offering documents and that he is not acquiring, and has not been offered any securities in circumstances that contravene any such restrictions.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Israel
This document does not constitute a prospectus under the Israeli Securities Law, 5728-1968, or the Securities Law, and has not been filed with or approved by the Israel Securities Authority. In Israel, this prospectus is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, and any offer of the units is directed only at, (i) a limited number of persons in accordance with the Israeli Securities Law and (ii) investors listed in the first addendum, or the Addendum, to the Israeli Securities Law, consisting primarily of joint investment in trust funds, provident funds, insurance companies, banks, portfolio managers, investment advisors, members of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, underwriters, venture capital funds, entities with equity in excess of NIS 50 million and “qualified individuals,” each as defined in the Addendum (as it may be amended from time to time), collectively referred to as qualified investors (in each case, purchasing for their own account or, where permitted under the Addendum, for the accounts of their clients who are investors listed in the Addendum). Qualified investors are required to submit written confirmation that they fall within the scope of the Addendum, are aware of the meaning of same and agree to it.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Japan
The offering has not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (Law No. 25 of 1948 of Japan, as amended), or FIEL, and the Initial Purchaser will not offer or sell any securities, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any
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person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the FIEL and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Singapore
This prospectus has not been and will not be lodged or registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the units may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the units be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275, of the SFA, or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.
Where the units are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is:
• a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or
• a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an individual who is an accredited investor,
securities (as defined in Section 239(1) of the SFA) of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the units pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except:
• to an institutional investor or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person arising from an offer referred to in Section 275(1A) or Section 276(4)(i)(B) of the SFA;
• where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer;
• where the transfer is by operation of law;
• as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA; or
• as specified in Regulation 32 of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Shares and Debentures) Regulations 2005 of Singapore.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Switzerland
The units may not be publicly offered in Switzerland and will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (“SIX”) or on any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. This prospectus has been prepared without regard to the disclosure standards for issuance prospectuses under art. 652a or art. 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or the disclosure standards for listing prospectuses under art. 27 ff. of the SIX Listing Rules or the listing rules of any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. Neither this prospectus nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the units or the offering may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.
Neither this prospectus nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the offering, the company or the units have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this prospectus will not be filed with, and the offer of securities will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority
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FINMA, and the offer of securities has not been and will not be authorized under the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes (“CISA”). The investor protection afforded to acquirers of interests in collective investment schemes under the CISA does not extend to acquirers of securities.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the United Kingdom
In relation to the United Kingdom (“UK”), no units have been offered or will be offered pursuant to this offering to the public in the UK prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the units which has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK in accordance with the UK Prospectus Regulation and the FSMA, except that offers of units may be made to the public in the UK at any time under the following exemptions under the UK Prospectus Regulation and the FSMA:
(a) to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under the UK Prospectus Regulation;
(b) to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under the UK Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriter for any such offer; or
(c) at any time in other circumstances falling within section 86 of the FSMA,
provided that no such offer of units shall require the Company or any underwriter to publish a prospectus pursuant to Section 85 of the FSMA or Article 3 of the UK Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the UK Prospectus Regulation.
Each person in the UK who initially acquires any units or to whom any offer is made will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed to and with the Company and the underwriters that it is a qualified investor within the meaning of the UK Prospectus Regulation.
In the case of any units being offered to a financial intermediary as that term is used in Article 5(1) of the UK Prospectus Regulation, each such financial intermediary will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed that the units acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in circumstances which may give rise to an offer to the public other than their offer or resale in the UK to qualified investors, in circumstances in which the prior consent of the underwriters has been obtained to each such proposed offer or resale.
The company, the underwriters and their affiliates will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations, acknowledgements and agreements.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any units in the UK 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, 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, and the expression “FSMA” means the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
In connection with the offering, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. is not acting for anyone other than the Company and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to their clients nor for providing advice in relation to the offering.
This document is for distribution only to persons who (i) have professional experience in matters relating to investments and who qualify as investment professionals within the meaning of Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended, the “Financial Promotion Order”), (ii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) (“high net worth companies, unincorporated associations etc.”) of the Financial Promotion Order, (iii) are outside the United Kingdom, or (iv) are persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended (“FSMA”)) in connection with the issue or sale of any securities may otherwise lawfully be communicated or caused to be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). This document is directed only at relevant persons and
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must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons.
Legal matters
White & Case LLP, New York, New York, is acting as counsel in connection with the registration of our securities under the Securities Act, and as such, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to units and warrants. Maples and Calder, London, 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, Paul Hastings LLP, Los Angeles, California, is acting as counsel to the underwriters.
Experts
The financial statements of Ahren Acquisition Corp. as of April 12, 2021 and for the period from April 1, 2021 (inception) through April 12, 2021 included 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 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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INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
| | Page |
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm | | F-2 |
Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2021 (unaudited) and April 12, 2021 (audited) | | F-3 |
Statements of Operations for the periods from April 1, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 (unaudited) and April 1, 2021 (inception) through April 12, 2021 (audited) | | F-4 |
Statements of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity for the periods from April 1, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 (unaudited) and April 1, 2021 (inception) through April 12, 2021 (audited) | | F-5 |
Statements of Cash Flows for the periods from April 1, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 (unaudited) and April 1, 2021 (inception) through April 12, 2021 (audited) | | F-6 |
Notes to Financial Statements | | F-7 |
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Stockholders and Board of Directors
Ahren Acquisition Corp.
New York, New York
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Ahren Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of April 12, 2021, the related statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the period from April 1, 2021 (inception) through April 12, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of April 12, 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from March 2, 2021 (inception) through April 12, 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 12, 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. 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.
New York, New York
May 13, 2021
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AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.
BALANCE SHEETS
| | As of September 30, 2021 (Unaudited) | | As of April 12, 2021 (Audited) |
ASSETS: | | | | | | | | |
Prepaid legal expenses | | $ | — | | | $ | 7,373 | |
Deferred offering costs associated with proposed public offering | | | 925,470 | | | | 321,631 | |
Total assets | | $ | 925,470 | | | $ | 329,004 | |
| | | | | | | | |
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY: | | | | | | | | |
Current liabilities: | | | | | | | | |
Accrued offering costs | | $ | 715,852 | | | $ | 321,631 | |
Note payable | | | 202,604 | | | | — | |
Total current liabilities | | $ | 918,456 | | | $ | 321,631 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Commitments and contingencies (Note 5) | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
Shareholders’ equity: | | | | | | | | |
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; 7,187,500 shares issued and outstanding(1) | | | 719 | | | | 719 | |
Additional paid-in capital | | | 24,281 | | | | 24,281 | |
Accumulated deficit | | | (17,986 | ) | | | (17,627 | ) |
Total shareholders’ equity | | | 7,014 | | | | 7,373 | |
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity | | $ | 925,470 | | | $ | 329,004 | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
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AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
| | For the period from April 1, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 (Unaudited) | | For the period from April 1, 2021 (inception) through April 12, 2021 (Audited) |
Formation and operating costs | | $ | 17,986 | | | $ | 17,627 | |
Net loss | | $ | (17,986 | ) | | $ | (17,627 | ) |
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted(1) | | | 6,250,000 | | | | 6,250,000 | |
Basic and diluted net loss per share | | $ | (0.00 | ) | | $ | (0.00 | ) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
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AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
For the period from April 1, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021
| | Ordinary Shares | | Additional Paid-In Capital | | Accumulated Deficit | | Total Shareholders’ Equity |
Class A | | Class B | |
Shares | | Amount | | Shares | | Amount | |
Balance as of April 1, 2021 (inception) | | — | | $ | — | | — | | $ | — | | $ | — | | $ | — | | | $ | — | |
Issuance of Class B ordinary shares to Sponsor(1) | | — | | | — | | 7,187,500 | | | 719 | | | 24,281 | | | — | | | | 25,000 | |
Net loss | | — | | | — | | — | | | — | | | — | | | (17,627 | ) | | | (17,627 | ) |
Balance as of April 12, 2021 (Audited) | | — | | $ | — | | 7,187,500 | | $ | 719 | | $ | 24,281 | | $ | (17,627 | ) | | $ | 7,373 | |
Net loss | | — | | | — | | — | | | — | | | — | | | (359 | ) | | | (359 | ) |
Balance as of September 30, 2021 (Unaudited) | | — | | $ | — | | 7,187,500 | | $ | 719 | | $ | 24,281 | | $ | (17,986 | ) | | $ | 7,014 | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
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AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
| | For the period from April 1, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 (Unaudited) | | For the period from April 1, 2021 (inception) through April 12, 2021 (Audited) |
Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | | | | | | | | |
Net loss | | $ | (17,986 | ) | | $ | (17,627 | ) |
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to cash used in operating activities: | | | | | | | | |
Formation and operating expenses paid by Sponsor in exchange for Founder shares | | | 17,986 | | | | 17,627 | |
Net increase in cash | | $ | — | | | | — | |
Cash – beginning of the period | | | — | | | | — | |
Cash – end of the period | | $ | — | | | $ | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Supplemental disclosure of noncash financing activities: | | | | | | | | |
Deferred offering costs included in accrued offering costs | | $ | 715,852 | | | $ | 321,631 | |
Deferred offering costs paid through promissory note – related party | | $ | 202,604 | | | $ | — | |
Deferred offering costs funded by sponsor in exchange for Founder shares | | $ | 7,014 | | | $ | — | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
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AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Description of Organization, Business Operations, Going Concern and Basis of Presentation
Ahren Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated in Cayman Islands on April 1, 2021. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company is an emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies.
As of September 30, 2021, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from April 1, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and the proposed initial public offering described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents from the proceeds derived from the Proposed Public Offering (as defined below). The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
The Company’s sponsor is AACS LP, a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership (the “Sponsor”). The Company’s ability to commence operations is contingent upon obtaining adequate financial resources through a proposed public offering (the “Proposed Public Offering”) of 25,000,000 units of the Company (each, a “Unit” and collectively, the “Units”) at $10.00 per Unit (or 28,750,000 Units if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), which is discussed in Note 3, and the sale of 13,250,000 warrants of the Company (or 14,750,000 warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) (each, a “Private Placement Warrant” and collectively, the “Private Placement Warrants”), at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to the Sponsor that will close simultaneously with the Proposed Public Offering.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Proposed Public Offering and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the Trust Account (as defined below) (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts held in Trust and taxes payable on the income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial Business Combination. However, the Company only intends to complete a 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 sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, management has agreed that an amount equal to at least $10.20 per Unit sold in the Proposed Public Offering, including the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants and the sale of forward purchase units, will be deposited in a trust account (“Trust Account”) located in the United States with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and invested only in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below.
The Company will provide the holders (the “Public Shareholders”) of the Company’s issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, sold in the Proposed Public Offering (the “Public Shares”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a shareholders meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The Public Shareholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then held in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $10.20 per Public Share). The per-share amount to be distributed to Public Shareholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters (as discussed in Note 5). These Public Shares will be recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of
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AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Description of Organization, Business Operations, Going Concern and Basis of Presentation (cont.)
the Proposed Public Offering in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” If the Company seeks shareholder approval, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. The Company will not redeem the Public Shares in connection with a Business Combination in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. If a shareholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain shareholder approval for business or legal reasons, the Company will offer to redeem the Public Shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. Additionally, each Public Shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the initial shareholders (as defined below) have agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined below in Note 4) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Proposed Public Offering in favor of a Business Combination. In addition, the initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with the completion of a Business Combination.
The Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association will 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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the Public Shares, without the prior consent of the Company. The holders of the Founder Shares (the “initial shareholders”) have agreed not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with a Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period (as defined below) or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, unless the Company provides the Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment.
If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within 18 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering (the “Combination Period”) and the Company’s shareholders have not amended the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association to extend such Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the 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.
The initial shareholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the initial shareholders acquire Public Shares in or after the Proposed Public Offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to the deferred underwriting commission (see Note 5) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not
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AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Description of Organization, Business Operations, Going Concern and Basis of Presentation (cont.)
complete a Business Combination within in the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be only $10.20. In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party (except for the Company’s 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 (a “Target”), reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below (i) $10.20 per Public Share or (ii) the 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, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or Target that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account nor will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters or financial advisor of the Proposed Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
Going Concern Consideration
As of September 30, 2021, the Company had no cash and a working capital deficiency of $918,456. Further, the Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its financing and acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through the Proposed Public Offering. The Company cannot assure that its plans to raise capital or to consummate an initial Business Combination will be successful. In addition, management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and its effect on the Company’s financial position, results its operations and/or search for a target company. See further discussion of the Company’s assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic below.
These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for the twelve months following the issuance of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from its inability to consummate the Proposed Public Offering or its inability to continue as a going concern.
COVID-19
On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) announced a global health emergency because of a new strain of coronavirus (the “COVID-19 outbreak”). In March 2020, the WHO classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic, based on the rapid increase in exposure globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak continues to evolve. Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the industry and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations 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.
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AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Description of Organization, Business Operations, Going Concern and Basis of Presentation (cont.)
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
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 period from April 1, 2021 (inception) to September 30, 2021 and for the period from April 1, 2021 (inception) to April 12, 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
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, 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 an emerging growth company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company that is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company that has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet.
Fair Value Measurements
Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for sale of an asset or paid for transfer of a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value.
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AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (cont.)
The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). These tiers include:
• Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices 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 some circumstances, the inputs used to measure fair value might be categorized within different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In those instances, the fair value measurement is categorized in its entirety in the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
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 and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2021 and April 12, 2021.
Derivative Financial Instruments
The Company evaluates its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with ASC 815, “Derivatives and Hedging”. For derivative financial instruments that are accounted for as liabilities, the derivative instrument is initially recorded at its fair value on the grant date and is then re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the statements of operations. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is evaluated at the end of each reporting period. Derivative liabilities are classified in the balance sheet as current or non-current based on whether or not net-cash settlement or conversion of the instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date. There were no derivative financial instruments as of September 30, 2021 and April 12, 2021.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Deferred Offering Costs Associated with the Proposed Public Offering
Deferred offering costs consist of legal, accounting, underwriting fees and other costs incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Proposed Public Offering and that will be charged to shareholders’ 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. As of September 30, 2021, the Company applied unused prepaid legal expenses towards deferred offering costs.
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AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (cont.)
Net Loss Per Ordinary Share
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC 260, “Earnings Per Share.” Net loss per ordinary share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the periods ended September 30, 2021 and April 12, 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 periods presented.
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under FASB ASC 740, “Income Taxes.” Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial 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. Deferred tax assets were deemed immaterial as of September 30, 2021 and April 12, 2021.
ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of September 30, 2021 and April 12, 2021. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties as of September 30, 2021 and April 12, 2021. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
The Company is considered a Cayman Islands exempted company, 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 Pronouncements
The Company’s management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.
Note 3 — Proposed Public Offering
Pursuant to the Proposed Public Offering, the Company intends to offer for sale 25,000,000 Units at a price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one share of Class A ordinary shares, and one-half of one redeemable warrant (each, a “Public Warrant”). Each Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A ordinary shares at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 6).
The Company will grant the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of the final prospectus relating to the Proposed Public Offering to purchase up to 3,750,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Proposed Public Offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions.
Note 4 — Related Party Transactions
Class B Ordinary Shares
In April 2021, the sponsor acquired 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares (the “Ordinary Shares”) for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, consisting of 7,187,500 Ordinary Shares. Prior to the initial investment in the company of
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AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 4 — Related Party Transactions (cont.)
$25,000 by our sponsor, we had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share purchase price of the Ordinary Shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the aggregate number of Ordinary Shares issued.
The Ordinary Shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, 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 connection with our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Ordinary Shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20% of the total number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by public shareholders), including the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans; provided that such conversion of Ordinary Shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.
Private Placement Warrants
The Sponsor will agree to purchase an aggregate of 13,250,000 Private Placement Warrants (or 14,750,000 Private Placement Warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, or approximately $13,250,000 in the aggregate (or $14,750,000 if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable for one whole share of Class A ordinary shares at a price of $11.50 per ordinary share. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants and the sale of forward purchase units to the Sponsor will be added to the proceeds from the Proposed Public Offering to be held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. The Private Placement Warrants will be non-redeemable (except as described below in Note 6 under “Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00”) so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees.
The purchasers of the Private Placement Warrants will agree, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Private Placement Warrants (except to permitted transferees) until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $2,000,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. To date, the Company had no borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.
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AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 4 — Related Party Transactions (cont.)
Promissory Note
The Sponsor has agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of the Proposed Public Offering. The loan is non-interest bearing, unsecured and due at the earlier of December 31, 2021 or the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. The loan will be repaid out of the $1,100,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated to the payment of offering expenses. As of September 30, 2021 and April 12, 2021, the Company had borrowed $202,604 and $0, respectively, under the promissory note.
Note 5 — Commitments & Contingencies
Registration Rights
The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, if any (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), will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering. These holders will be entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. However, the registration rights agreement will provide 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. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The underwriters will be entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per Unit, or $5,000,000 in the aggregate (or $5,750,000 in the aggregate if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. An additional fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $8,750,000 in the aggregate (or approximately $10,062,500 in the aggregate if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Advisory Fee
Lazard Frères & Co., LLC (“Lazard”) is acting as the Company’s independent financial advisor in connection with the Proposed Public Offering, for which it will receive customary fees. The Company has agreed to pay Lazard a fee in an amount equal to 20% of the underwriting commission payable to the underwriters. The fee to Lazard will be paid in part at the closing of the Proposed Public Offering and in part at the closing of a Business Combination, in the same proportion as the non-deferred and deferred underwriting commission payable to the underwriters. The underwriters have agreed to reimburse the Company for the fee to Lazard as it becomes payable out of the underwriting commission.
Administrative Services Agreement
The Company will enter into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which it will pay an affiliate of its sponsor a total of $10,000 per month, until the earlier of the completion of our initial business combination and the liquidation of the trust assets, for administrative and support services. Upon completion of the initial business combination or liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees.
Note 6 — Warrant Liabilities
The Company will account for the 25,750,000 Warrants to be issued in connection with the Proposed Public Offering (the 12,500,000 public Warrants and the 13,250,000 Private Placement Warrants assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised) in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40. Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity. Such guidance provides that, because the Warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each Warrant must be recorded as a liability. Accordingly, the Company will
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AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 6 — Warrant Liabilities (cont.)
classify each warrant as a liability at its fair value. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each such re-measurement, the Warrant liability will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in the company’s statement of operations. Offering costs will be allocated to the Class A ordinary Shares and Public Warrants, and the amounts allocated to the Public Warrants will be expensed immediately.
Additionally, certain adjustments to the settlement amount of the Private Placement Warrants are based on a variable that is not an input to the fair value of a “fixed-for-fixed” option as defined under ASC 815-40, and thus the Private Placement Warrants are not considered indexed to the Company’s own stock and not eligible for an exception from derivative accounting.
The accounting treatment of derivative financial instruments requires that the Company record a derivative liability upon issuance of the warrants at the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. Accordingly, the Company expects to classify each warrant as a liability at its fair value. The Public Warrants will be allocated a portion of the proceeds from the issuance of the Units equal to its fair value determined with the assistance of a professional independent valuation firm. The warrant liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date. With each such re-measurement, the warrant liability will be adjusted to fair value, with the change in fair value recognized in the Company’s statement of operations. The Company will reassess the classification of the warrants at each balance sheet date. If the classification changes as a result of events during the period, the warrants will be reclassified as of the date of the event that causes the reclassification
Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional Public Warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole Public Warrants will trade. The Public Warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination provided that the Company has an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering 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 holders are permitted to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under certain circumstances as a result of (i) the Company’s failure to have an effective registration statement by the 60th business day after the closing of the initial Business Combination or (ii) a notice of redemption described under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00”). The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of its initial Business Combination, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC and have an effective registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of the Company’s initial Business Combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the above requirements, the Company will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and the Company will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if the Company’s 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, the Company may, at its 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 the Company so elects, it will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event the Company does not so elect, it will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
The warrants have an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustments, and will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional Class A 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 share of Class A ordinary shares (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the board
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AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 6 — Warrant Liabilities (cont.)
of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of the initial Business Combination (net of redemptions) and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates the initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 and $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices described under “Redemption of warrants for Class A ordinary shares” and “Redemption of warrants for cash” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 100% and 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, respectively.
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants, except that, so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by the Company, (ii) they (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the Sponsor until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination, (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) are subject to registration rights.
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 more than 50% of the outstanding Class A ordinary shares 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 65% 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 for a Capped American Call on Bloomberg Financial Markets.
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00: Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):
• in whole and not in part;
• at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
• upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; and
• if, and only if, the last reported sale price (the “closing price”) of 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 — Warrants — Public Warrants — Redemption Procedures — Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.
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AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 6 — Warrant Liabilities (cont.)
The Company will not redeem the warrants as described above unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. Any such exercise would not be on a cashless basis and would require the exercising warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised.
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00: Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants:
• in whole and not in part;
• at a price of $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined by reference to the table set forth under “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants” based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of Class A ordinary shares (as defined below) except as otherwise described in “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants”; and;
• if, and only if, the closing price of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per public share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants — Redemption Procedures — Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within the 30-trading day period ending three trading days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and
• if the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Warrants — Public Warrants — Redemption Procedures — Anti-dilution Adjustments”), the private placement warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants, as described above.
In no event will the Company be required to net cash settle any warrant. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.
Note 7 — Shareholders’ Equity
Class A Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of September 30 and April 12, 2021, there were no Class A ordinary shares issued or outstanding.
Class B Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. On September 30 and April 12, 2021, there were 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding.
Holders of the Class A ordinary shares and holders of the Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the Company’s shareholders, except as required by law or stock exchange rule; provided that only holders of the Class B ordinary shares shall have the right to vote on the election of the Company’s directors prior to the initial Business Combination.
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AHREN ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 7 — Shareholders’ Equity (cont.)
Preference Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 5,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share, with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. As of September 30, 2021, there were no preference shares issued or outstanding.
Note 8 — Subsequent Events
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were available to be issued. Based on this review, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
Note 9 — Subsequent Events-Interim Financial Statements
The Company evaluated events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date through the date the financial statements were issued. For the financial statements as of September 30, 2021 and for the period from April 1, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021, the Company evaluated subsequent events through November 24, 2021.
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25,000,000 Units
Ahren Acquisition Corp.
_____________________________________________________________________
P R E L I M I N A R Y P R O S P E C T U S
, 2021
_____________________________________________________________________
Citigroup
Until , 2021 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade our units, Class A ordinary shares or public warrants, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.
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Part II
Information not required in prospectus
Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The estimated expenses payable by us in connection with the offering described in this registration statement (other than the underwriting discount and commissions) will be as follows:
SEC expenses | | $ | 42,000 |
FINRA expenses | | | 85,000 |
Accounting fees and expenses | | | 200,000 |
Trustee fees and expenses | | | 11,500 |
Printing and engraving expenses | | | 55,000 |
Travel and road show expenses | | | 5,000 |
Legal fees and expenses | | | 650,000 |
Nasdaq filing fee | | | 10,000 |
Miscellaneous | | | 41,500 |
Total | | $ | 1,100,000 |
Item 14. 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 officers and directors, 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, willful neglect, civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and Articles of Association provide for indemnification of our officers and directors 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 may purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.
Our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. 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.
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.
Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
On April 12, 2021, AACS LP, our sponsor, paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our offering costs in exchange for 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares. Such securities were issued in connection with our organization pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of this offering would be a maximum of 28,750,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering. Up to 937,500 of these shares will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised.
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Our sponsor is an accredited investor for purposes of Rule 501 of Regulation D. Each of the equity holders in our sponsor is an accredited investor under Rule 501 of Regulation D. The sole business of our sponsor is to act as the company’s sponsor in connection with this offering. The limited partnership agreement of our sponsor provides that its membership interests may only be transferred to our officers or directors or other persons affiliated with our sponsor, or in connection with estate planning transfers.
Our sponsor has committed to, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase from us an aggregate of 13,250,000 private placement warrants (or 14,750,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at $1.00 per warrant (for an aggregate purchase price of $13,250,000 (or $14,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full)). This purchase will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the completion of our initial public offering. This issuance will be made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sales.
Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) Exhibits. The following exhibits are filed as part of this registration statement:
(b) Financial Statements. See page F-1 for an index to the financial statements included in the registration statement.
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Item 17. Undertakings.
(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
(a) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;
(1) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement;
(2) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement.
(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
(b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreement, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.
(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
(d) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:
(1) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.
(2) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in London, England, on the 24th day of November, 2021.
| | AHREN ACQUISITION CORP. |
| | By: | | /s/ Alice Newcombe-Ellis |
| | Name: | | Alice Newcombe-Ellis |
| | Title: | | Chief Executive Officer |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints each of Alice Newcombe-Ellis and Elliot Richmond his true and lawful attorney-in-fact, with full power of substitution and resubstitution for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities to sign any and all amendments including post-effective amendments to this registration statement and any and all registration statements filed pursuant to Rule 462 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the SEC, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact or his substitute, each acting alone, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Name | | Position | | Date |
/s/ Alice Newcombe-Ellis | | Chief Executive Officer and Director | | November 24, 2021 |
Alice Newcombe-Ellis | | (principal executive officer) | | |
/s/ Elliot Richmond | | Chief Financial Officer and Director | | November 24, 2021 |
Elliot Richmond | | (principal financial and accounting officer) | | |
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AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 6(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, the undersigned has signed this registration statement, solely in its capacity as the duly authorized representative of Ahren Acquisition Corp., in Newark, Delaware, on the 24th day of November, 2021.
| | PUGLISI & ASSOCIATES |
| | By: | | /s/ Donald J. Puglisi |
| | Name: | | Donald J. Puglisi |
| | Title: | | Managing Director |
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