ITEM 2. | MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS |
References to the “company,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to Emerging Markets Horizon Corp. The following discussion and analysis of the company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2022 (the “Report”). Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Report includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Factors that might cause or contribute to such a discrepancy include, but are not limited to, those described in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 (the “Annual Report”). Except as expressly required by applicable securities law, we disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this Report as our initial business combination (the “Business Combination”). We intend to effectuate our Business Combination using cash derived from the proceeds of our initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”) and the sale of the private placement warrants, our shares, debt or a combination of cash, shares and debt.
Our sponsor, New Emerging Markets Horizon, is controlled by FPP Capital Advisers (“FPP”), an affiliate of FPP Asset Management LLP (“FPP AM”). Prior to June 8, 2022, our sponsor was EM Horizon Investments (our “prior sponsor”), which at its inception was controlled by FPP, Riccardo Orcel and Nevsky Properties Limited (“Nevsky Properties”), which is in turn controlled by VTB Bank (PJSC) (“VTB”). Following the imposition of sanctions relating to Russia by the United States and other jurisdictions, including blocking sanctions against VTB as well as entities owned 50 percent or more, directly or indirectly, by VTB, we and our prior sponsor implemented certain remedial measures. On March 23, 2022, Nevsky Properties relinquished, irrevocably and in perpetuity, its interest in our sponsor to the fullest extent permitted by law and such interest was blocked by our sponsor such that it no longer conferred under any circumstances any economic or voting rights upon Nevsky Properties. In addition, following certain other changes in management effective on the same date, neither we nor our prior sponsor employed, had on its board of directors or received any services from any employees, representatives or affiliates of VTB. Our prior sponsor was controlled solely by FPP as of April 21, 2022, when Mr. Orcel agreed to suspend indefinitely his voting and management rights in our prior sponsor, though he remained a non-voting member and Nevsky Properties formally remained on our prior sponsor’s register of members due to certain restrictions under applicable Cayman Islands law.
On June 8, 2022, our prior sponsor and our sponsor entered into a novation agreement, whereby our prior sponsor transferred all of its rights and obligations under each of the contracts to which it was a party to our sponsor, and a securities transfer agreement, whereby our prior sponsor transferred all of its founder shares and private placement warrants to our sponsor. While our sponsor remains controlled solely by FPP and Mr. Orcel remains a non-voting member, Nevsky Properties is not on its register of members.
The registration statement for our Initial Public Offering was declared effective on December 8, 2021. On December 13, 2021, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 28,750,000 units, including the issuance of 3,750,000 units as a result of the underwriters’ exercise in full of their over-allotment option, at $10.00 per unit and the sale of 9,000,000 private placement warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant in a private placement to our prior sponsor that closed simultaneously with our Initial Public Offering.
Upon the closing of our Initial Public Offering, a total of $293,250,000, consisting of proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, was placed in a trust account maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee (the “Trust Account”). The funds in the Trust Account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a business combination and (ii) the distribution of the funds in the Trust Account to our shareholders.
While we may pursue an initial business combination with a target at any stage of its corporate evolution or in any industry or sector, we intend to focus on identifying high-growth technology and consumer-exposed businesses with an enterprise value of at least $700 million in Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe (“CEE”), the Commonwealth of Independent States (the “CIS”) (excluding Russia and Belarus) or Latin America. We will seek to acquire businesses led by world-class management teams, with validated technologies, proven business models and attractive unit economics, strong corporate governance compliant with Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) principles and that are well positioned for continual growth and market leadership over the long term.
We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of a Business Combination. We cannot assure you that our plans to complete a Business Combination will be successful.
Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues through September 30, 2022. All activities for the period from January 1, 2022 through September 30, 2022 were organizational activities and those necessary to identify a target company for a Business Combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of a Business Combination. We generate non-operating income in the form of investment income on balances held in the Trust Account. We incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.
For the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, we had net income of $1,058,410 and zero reported, respectively, an increase of $1,058,410. The period-over-period change consisted of a gain on warrant liabilities of $233,750 and income earned on investments held in the Trust Account of $1,324,804, partially offset by an increase in formation and operating costs of $306,705 and income taxes of $193,439.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and the period from May 6, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021, we had net income of $11,553,254 and net loss of $3,471, respectively, an increase of $11,556,725. The period-over-period change consisted of a gain on warrant liabilities of $11,543,750 and income earned on investments held in the Trust Account of $1,757,717, partially offset by an increase in formation and operating costs of $1,551,303 and income taxes of $193,439.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
On December 13, 2021, we consummated our Initial Public Offering of 28,750,000 units, at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $287,500,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the sale of 9,000,000 private placement warrants to our prior sponsor, at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant generating gross proceeds of $13,500,000.
Following the Initial Public Offering, the full exercise of the over-allotment option and the sale of the private placement warrants, a total of $293,250,000 of the proceeds thereof was placed in the Trust Account. We incurred $850,492 in other offering costs related to the Initial Public Offering, in addition to $5,750,000 in underwriting fees and $10,062,500 of deferred underwriting fees. Of these total amounts, $1,071,693 was allocated to the warrant liabilities and included in non-operating expense.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and the period from May 6, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021, net cash used in operating activities was $1,026,675 and $195,615, respectively, consisting primarily of payments made for formation, operating and deferred offering costs.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2022, net cash provided by financing activities was $561,996, consisting of proceeds received under a Working Capital Loan (defined below) with the Sponsor in the form of a promissory note. For the period from May 6, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021, net cash provided by financing activities was $275,000, consisting of proceeds received under a promissory note with the Prior Sponsor, which was subsequently repaid upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering.
As of September 30, 2022, we had investments held in the Trust Account of $295,009,088. We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing investment income earned on the Trust Account, which interest shall be net of taxes payable and excluding deferred underwriting commissions, to complete a Business Combination. We may withdraw the investment income from the Trust Account to pay taxes, if any, or up to $100,000 of dissolution expenses in the event of liquidation. To the extent that our share capital or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete a 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/or pursue our growth strategies.
As of September 30, 2022, we had cash of $38,508 held outside of the Trust Account and a working capital deficit, excluding income tax accruals, of $471,116. We intend to use the funds held outside the Trust Account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses and structure, negotiate and/or complete a Business Combination.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a 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 a Business Combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds held in the Trust Account released to us. In the event that a 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.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a Business Combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to a Business Combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete a Business Combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of the public shares upon consummation of a Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such Business Combination.
Going Concern Consideration
As of September 30, 2022, we had cash held outside of the Trust Account of $38,508 and a working capital deficit, excluding income tax accruals, of $471,116. We have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our financing and acquisition plans. We anticipate that the cash held outside of the Trust Account as of September 30, 2022, will not be sufficient to allow us to operate through the end of the Combination Period (as defined below). Additionally, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, our sponsor, or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, provide us with working capital loans (“Working Capital Loans”). While we expect to have sufficient access to additional sources of capital under Working Capital Loans pursuant to a promissory note with the Sponsor, there is no current commitment on the part of any financing source to provide additional capital and no assurances can be provided that such additional capital will ultimately be available, if necessary.
In addition, we will have until March 13, 2023 (or June 13, 2023, as applicable), as such period may be extended pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, to complete a Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). Therefore, the end of the Combination Period will occur prior to one year after the issuance of these financial statements. Although we are continuing our pursuit of potential targets for an initial business combination, there is no assurance that our plans to consummate a Business Combination will be successful during the Combination Period. As outlined in our certificate of incorporation, if we do not complete, or have an agreement in principle or a definitive agreement for, a business combination by the end of the Combination Period, we will cease operations and redeem our public shares through a wind-up of the Company and liquidation.
Both of these conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for a period of time within one year after the date that these condensed financial statements were issued. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of these uncertainties.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of September 30, 2022, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements. We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities or purchased any non-financial assets.
Contractual Obligations
We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities.
The underwriters are entitled to a deferred underwriting fee of $0.35 per unit, or $10,062,500 in the aggregate. The deferred underwriting fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that we complete a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Estimates
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with GAAP requires our management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have identified the critical accounting policies set forth below.
Warrant Liabilities
We account for our public warrants and private placement warrants (collectively, the “Warrants”) as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the Warrants’ specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity,” and ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging.” The assessment considers whether the Warrants are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC Topic 480, whether Warrants meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC Topic 480 and whether the Warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC Topic 815, including whether the Warrants are indexed to the Class A ordinary shares, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of issuance of the Warrants and as of each subsequent quarterly period-end date while the Warrants are outstanding.
For issued or modified Warrants that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the Warrants are required to be recorded as a component of additional paid-in capital at the time of issuance. For issued or modified Warrants that do not meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the Warrants are required to be recorded as liabilities at their initial fair value on the date of issuance and adjusted to fair value at each balance sheet date thereafter. Changes in the estimated fair value of the warrants are recognized as a non-cash gain or loss on the statements of operations. The Warrants are accounted for as liabilities and represent a significant accounting estimate. At September 30, 2022, the fair value of the public warrants was estimated based upon the exchange listed price, and the fair value of the private placement warrants was estimated using a Monte Carlo simulation approach.
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A ordinary shares (including Class A ordinary shares that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A ordinary shares are classified as a component of shareholders’ deficit. The Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ deficit section of our balance sheet.
Net Income (Loss) Per Ordinary Share
We have two classes of ordinary shares, which are referred to as Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Income and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of ordinary shares. Net income (loss) per ordinary share for each class of ordinary shares is computed by dividing net income (loss) allocated to the class by the weighted average number of ordinary shares of the class outstanding during the period. The calculation of diluted income (loss) per share does not consider the effect of the Public Warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, because the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events and the inclusion of such warrants would be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Our management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on our financial statements.
ITEM 3. | QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK |
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.
ITEM 4. | CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES |
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this Report, is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Our management evaluated, with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer (our “Certifying Officers”), the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30, 2022, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our Certifying Officers concluded that, as of September 30, 2022, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all of our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
PART II – OTHER INFORMATION
To the knowledge of our management, there is no litigation currently pending or contemplated against us, any of our officers or directors in their capacity as such or against any of our property.
As of the date of this Report, there have been no material changes to the risk factors disclosed in our Annual Report, except for the below risk factor. We may disclose changes to such factors or disclose additional factors from time to time in our future filings with the SEC.
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 Business Combination, and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our Business Combination, and results of operations.
On March 30, 2022, the SEC issued proposed rules relating to, among other items, enhancing disclosures in business combination transactions involving special purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”) and private operating companies; amending the financial statement requirements applicable to transactions involving shell companies; effectively eliminating the safe harbor relating to the use of projections in SEC filings in connection with proposed business combination transactions; increasing the potential liability of certain participants in proposed business combination transactions; and the extent to which SPACs could become subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940. These rules, if adopted, whether in the form proposed or in revised form, may materially adversely affect our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination and may increase the costs and time related thereto.
ITEM 2. | UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS FROM REGISTERED SECURITIES |
None.
ITEM 3. | DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES |
None.
ITEM 4. | MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES |
Not applicable.
None.
Exhibit No. | | Description |
| | Certification of the Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Securities Exchange Act Rules 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a).* |
| | Certification of the Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Securities Exchange Act Rules 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a).* |
| | Certification of the Principal Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.** |
| | Certification of the Principal Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.** |
101.INS | | Inline XBRL Instance Document. |
101.SCH | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document. |
101.CAL | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document. |
101.DEF | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document. |
101.LAB | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document. |
101.PRE | | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document. |
104 | | Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101). |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, hereunto duly authorized.
| EMERGING MARKETS HORIZON CORP. |
| |
Date: November 14, 2022 | /s/ Jonathan Neill | |
| Name: Jonathan Neill |
| Title: Interim Chief Executive Officer and Director |
| (Principal Executive Officer) |
Date: November 14, 2022 | /s/ Christopher Edwards | |
| Name: Christopher Edwards |
| Title: Interim Chief Financial Officer and Director |
| (Principal Financial Officer) |
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