As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 14, 2022.
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
___________________________
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
___________________________
FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
___________________________
Delaware | | 6770 | | 86-2846271 |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | | (Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) | | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
___________________________
40 Burton Hills Boulevard, Suite 100
Nashville, TN, 37215
(615) 601-1090
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
___________________________
Jonathan Phillips
Justin Dearborn
Co-Chief Executive Officers
First Digital Health Acquisition Corp.
40 Burton Hills Boulevard, Suite 100
Nashville, TN, 37215
(615) 601-1090
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
___________________________
Copies to:
Carol Anne Huff Winston & Strawn LLP 35 W. Wacker Drive Chicago, Illinois 60601 (312) 558-5600 | | Sidney Burke Stephen P. Alicanti Michael D. Maline DLA Piper LLP (US) 1251 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10020 (212) 335-4500 |
___________________________
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. ☐
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
Title of Each Class of Security Being Registered | | Amount Being Registered | | Proposed Maximum Offering Price per Security(1) | | Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(1) | | Amount of Registration Fee |
Units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and one-half of one redeemable warrant | | 20,125,000 Units(2) | | $ | 10.00 | | $ | 201,250,000 | | $ | 18,656 | |
Shares of Class A common stock included as part of the units(3) | | 20,125,000 Shares | | | — | | | — | | | — | (4) |
Redeemable warrants included as part of the units(3) | | 10,062,500 Warrants | | | — | | | — | | | — | (4) |
Total | | | | | | | | 201,250,000 | | $ | 18,656 | |
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(1) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee.
(2) Includes 2,625,000 units, consisting of 2,625,000 shares of Class A common stock and 1,312,500 redeemable warrants, which may be issued upon exercise of a 45-day option granted to the underwriters to cover over-allotments, if any.
(3) Pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act, there are also being registered an indeterminable number of additional securities as may be issued to prevent dilution resulting from share splits, share dividends or similar transactions.
(4) No fee pursuant to Rule 457(g) under the Securities Act.
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.
The information in this preliminary 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 preliminary 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.
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS — SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED JANUARY 14, 2022
$175,000,000
First Digital Health Acquisition Corp.
17,500,000 Units
___________________________
First Digital Health Acquisition Corp. is a newly incorporated blank check company, 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 throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not selected any business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry or geographic location, we intend to focus our search for a target business operating in the healthcare technology, healthcare technology-enabled services or digital health sectors.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein, and only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. The warrants will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and 12 months from the closing of this offering, and will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation, as described in this prospectus. We have also granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,625,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account described below calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding shares of Class A common stock that were sold as part of the units in this offering, which we refer to collectively as our public shares, subject to the limitations described herein.
We will initially have 15 months from the closing of this offering to consummate our initial business combination. If we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 15 months from the consummation of this offering, we may, but are not obligated to, if requested by our sponsor (as defined below), extend the period of time to consummate a business combination up to two times by an additional three months (each, a “Paid Extension”) for a total of 21 months (the “Paid Extension Period”). Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement entered into between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company on the date of this prospectus, in order to avail ourselves of the Paid Extension Period to consummate our initial business combination, our sponsor or its affiliates or designees, upon five days’ advance notice prior to the initial business combination deadline, must deposit into the trust account an amount per Paid Extension of $1,750,000, or $2,012,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($0.10 per share in either case), on or prior to the date of the initial business combination deadline.
Our sponsor, First Digital Health Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (which we refer to as our “sponsor” throughout this prospectus), has committed to purchase an aggregate of 9,700,000 warrants (or 10,750,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($9,700,000 in the aggregate or $10,750,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. We refer to these warrants throughout this prospectus as the private placement warrants. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein.
Our initial stockholders currently hold 5,031,250 shares of Class B common stock (which we refer to as “founder shares” as further described herein), up to 656,250 of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities (as described herein), are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which the shares of Class B common stock will convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such anti-dilution adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of all common stock issued and outstanding upon the completion of our initial business combination plus, without duplication, all Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with or in relation to the consummation of our initial business combination, excluding any shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into shares of Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any warrants issued in a private placement to our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor upon conversion of working capital loans or extension loans. In no event will any founder shares convert into shares of Class A common stock at a ratio that is less than one-for-one. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of the shares of Class B common stock will have the right to appoint all of our directors and may remove members of the board of directors for any reason. On any other matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders, holders of the shares of Class B common stock and holders of the Class A common stock will vote together as a single class, except as required by law.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our units, Class A common stock or warrants. We intend to apply to list our units on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) under the symbol “FDHAU” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A common stock and warrants constituting the units will begin separate trading on the 52 day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless William Blair & Company, L.L.C. (“William Blair”) informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our filing a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) containing an audited balance sheet of the company reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering and issuing a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the securities constituting the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on the NYSE under the symbols “FDHA” and “FDHAW,” respectively.
We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus. We and the underwriters take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the units offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of its date.
We are an “emerging growth company” and “smaller reporting company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 34. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.
| | Price to Public | | Underwriting Discounts and Commissions | | Proceeds, Before Expenses, to Us |
Per Unit | | $ | 10.00 | | $ | 0.55 | | $ | 9.45 |
Total | | $ | 175,000,000 | | $ | 9,625,000 | | $ | 165,375,000 |
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(1) Includes $0.35 per unit, or $6,125,000 (or up to $7,043,750 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in the aggregate, payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein. Does not include certain fees and expenses payable to the underwriters in connection with this offering. See also “Underwriting” for a description of compensation and other items of value payable to the underwriters.
Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $178,500,000 or $205,275,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.20 per unit), will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to Class A common stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public stockholders.
The underwriters are offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. Delivery of the units will be made on or about , 2022.
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Sole Book-Running Manager
William Blair
The date of this prospectus is , 2022.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Until , 2022, all dealers that effect transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealer’s obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to unsold allotments or subscriptions.
Trademarks
This prospectus contains references to trademarks and service marks belonging to other entities. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this prospectus may appear without the ® or TM symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that the applicable licensor will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, its rights to these trademarks and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names, trademarks or service marks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.
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SUMMARY
This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under “Risk Factors” starting on page 34 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:
• “amended and restated certificate of incorporation” are to our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be in effect upon completion of this offering;
• the “board” refers to the Board of Directors of First Digital Health Acquisition Corp.;
• “DGCL” refers to the Delaware General Corporation Law as the same may be amended from time to time;
• “directors” are to our current directors and any director nominees named in this prospectus;
• “founder shares” are to our shares of Class B common stock initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to this offering and our shares of Class A common stock that will be issued upon conversion thereof as provided herein;
• “initial stockholders” are to our sponsor and the other holders of our founder shares prior to this offering;
• “letter agreement” refer to the letter agreement, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part;
• “management” or our “management team” are to our directors and officers;
• “common stock” are to our shares of Class A common stock and our shares of Class B common stock;
• “private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor and other holders, as applicable, in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering and upon conversion of working capital loans or extension loans, if any;
• “public stockholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our sponsor, directors and officers to the extent our sponsor, directors or officers purchase public shares, provided their status as a “public stockholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares;
• “public shares” are to our shares of Class A common stock sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market);
• “sponsor” are to First Digital Health Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company;
• “warrants” are to our redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market);
• “we,” “us,” “our” or our “company” are to First Digital Health Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation; and
• “$,” “US$” and “U.S. dollar” each refer to the United States dollar.
Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option and assumes the forfeiture of an aggregate of 656,250 founder shares.
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General
Our Company
We are a newly organized blank check company incorporated on March 24, 2021 as a Delaware corporation for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not selected any specific business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business industry or sector, we intend to capitalize on our management team’s differentiated ability to source, acquire, and manage a business in the healthcare industry, specifically in the healthcare technology, healthcare technology-enabled services, or digital health subsectors. We believe these subsectors present significant opportunities tied to emerging themes, including value-based care, population health, social determinants of health, consumer engagement and empowerment, care coordination, access enhancement and real-world evidence utilization in life sciences. Our management team and advisors have extensive track records of creating value for stockholders by identifying, investing into and acquiring businesses in these sectors and subsectors tied to many of these themes. Our management team and advisors have demonstrated expertise in growth investing while driving operational excellence and financial discipline to create sustained and growing stockholder value.
We are also supported by our sponsor. Members of our sponsor include First Trust Capital Partners and Martin Ventures. First Trust Capital Partners, LLC (“FTCP”) is a private investment firm focused primarily on healthcare and financial services investments. FTCP has made over 60 private market investments in multiple sectors with a substantial focus on investing in and supporting healthcare information technology, healthcare technology-enabled services and healthcare services businesses that are influencing and capitalizing on emerging trends in the healthcare field. FTCP and its affiliates have made 38 investments in healthcare technology and services companies and have fully exited nine of those investments. Martin Ventures, LLC (“Martin Ventures”) is a Nashville-based investment firm focused on building and investing in healthcare technology, healthcare services and healthcare companies, particularly in healthcare information technology and healthcare technology enabled services. Martin Ventures currently has a portfolio of 20 private healthcare investments. FTCP and Martin Ventures, along with our management team and our advisors, provide significant domain knowledge and expertise, and we believe they will deliver insightful strategic perspectives, extensive access to acquisition targets and resources to aid in the identification, diligence, and negotiations associated with our initial business combination. In addition, we anticipate that our sponsor will provide meaningful incremental financial discipline, operational support, and governance after our initial business combination.
Our Management Team
Our management team is led by Charles N. Martin, our Chairman, Justin Dearborn, our Co-Chief Executive Officer, and Jonathan Phillips, our Co-Chief Executive Officer.
Charles N. Martin, Chairman
Charles Martin, our Chairman, is the founder and Chairman of Martin Ventures, a Nashville-based investment firm he founded in 2009. Mr. Martin has more than 50 years of experience operating large, complex healthcare systems. At Martin Ventures, he leads an investment firm dedicated to building and investing in healthcare technology, healthcare services and healthcare technology-enabled services companies that optimize existing healthcare provider businesses, develop new and innovative models of care, and empower the healthcare consumer. Martin Ventures has a current portfolio of 20 healthcare companies and has successfully exited an additional 13 healthcare investments. Prior to launching Martin Ventures, Mr. Martin founded Vanguard Health Systems and served as Vanguard’s Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer for 16 years. Vanguard went public in 2011, and in 2013 was acquired by Tenet Healthcare for $4.3 billion. Before launching Vanguard, Mr. Martin, in conjunction with private equity partners, acquired the hospital chain Republic Health, ultimately founding a new healthcare system called OrNda Healthcare Corp. OrNda became the nation’s third-largest investor-owned hospital chain with 53 hospitals before being sold to Tenet Healthcare Corp. in 1997 for $1.8 billion. Earlier in Mr. Martin’s career, he served in numerous executive roles with Hospital Corporation of America, Inc., General Care Corp. and HealthTrust Inc.
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Mr. Martin has also served on numerous boards of directors, including the University of Pennsylvania Law School and RAND Health, an independent health research group. Mr. Martin received his B.A. from Southern Adventist University.
Justin Dearborn, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director
Justin Dearborn, our Co-Chief Executive Officer and a director, has over 25 years of experience leading healthcare, technology and publishing businesses, and is currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of PatientBond, Inc., a digital patient engagement company powered by healthcare consumer psychographics. Before his role as Chief Executive Officer of PatientBond, Mr. Dearborn served as Chief Executive Officer of Tribune Publishing Company (Nasdaq: TPCO), a media company, from 2016 to 2019 and as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman from 2018 to 2019. Mr. Dearborn was chief executive officer of eMed, an at-home diagnostic testing company, in 2020. Mr. Dearborn was Chief Operating Officer for ICM Partners, a leading talent agency, in 2019. Prior to Tribune, he served as Chief Executive Officer and a director of Merge Healthcare Incorporated (Nasdaq: MRGE), a clinical software solution provider from 2008 until 2016. During his tenure, Mr. Dearborn led the company through a period of transformation and sustainable growth. While serving as Chief Executive Officer of Merge, he executed a multi-faceted growth strategy comprised of significant investments in sales and marketing capabilities across Merge’s core solution offerings while pursuing acquisitions to broaden market reach into adjacent sectors and to increase capabilities and share of current solution offerings. Mr. Dearborn joined Merge as Chief Executive Officer when Merge’s enterprise value was approximately $10 million. Merge was acquired by IBM for $1 billion in 2015 and was integrated into IBM’s Watson Health division to deliver intuitive, cognitive computing solutions to healthcare providers. Over his career, Mr. Dearborn has led the acquisition of numerous companies, including the sales of Merge and the LA Times. Before joining Merge, Mr. Dearborn served as managing director at Merrick Ventures, LLC, a private investment firm.
In addition to serving on the board of directors of PatientBond, Mr. Dearborn is serving out his final term as a director and Chairman of the Audit Committee, of Next Level Health, an Illinois based Medicaid insurance provider that was acquired by Centene Corporation in 2020. Mr. Dearborn received his B.S. in Accounting from Illinois State University and his J.D. from Depaul College of Law.
Jonathan R. Phillips, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director
Jonathan Phillips, our Co-Chief Executive Officer and a director, has over 25 years of experience in healthcare information technology, healthcare services, investment banking and private investing. Mr. Phillips has served as Managing Director and Head of Private Equity for FTCP, headquartered in Wheaton, Illinois, since November 2016. Mr. Phillips is also the founder and Managing Partner of First Health Capital Partners, LLC, a healthcare technology and services investment firm founded in January 2016. Mr. Phillips has led investments in a broad range of healthcare technology and services companies, including Vivify Health (acquired by United Health Group in 2019), Lightbeam Health, AVIA, RxAnte, and Wellvana Health.
Before his role at First Trust Capital Partners, in 2005, Mr. Phillips founded Healthcare Growth Partners, LLC, a provider of strategic and financial advisory services to healthcare technology companies, and he served as its Managing Director until November 2016. Prior to founding Healthcare Growth Partners, Mr. Phillips was a member of the Healthcare Investment Banking Group at William Blair, an investment banking firm. Prior to William Blair, he served in various roles in the healthcare practice of Deloitte Consulting. Mr. Phillips currently serves as a director and as the Audit Committee chair for Streamline Health (Nasdaq: STRM), a publicly traded healthcare information technology company. In addition, Mr. Phillips serves on the boards of a number of private companies including AVIA, Conversio Health, Cordata Healthcare Innovations, Lightbeam Health, PatientBond, RxAnte, Wellbox and Wellvana. Mr. Phillips has completed over 115 transactions involving healthcare companies and has completed over 40 strategic advisory engagements for healthcare technology and services companies. Mr. Phillips earned his MBA in Finance, Marketing and Health Services Management from the J. L. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and his BA in Economics and Management from DePauw University.
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Our Non-Executive Director Nominees
Matthew Etheridge, Director Nominee
Matthew Etheridge is a private investor with over 20 years of investment management experience, with a primary focus on healthcare services and information technology. He has invested in and served on the board of directors of several public and private companies in these areas, including NaviHealth (acquired by Cardinal Health in 2018) Universal American Corp. (NYSE: UAM; acquired by Wellcare in 2017), Lightbeam Health Solutions, Healthmine and Conversio Health. Previously, Mr. Etheridge was a Managing Partner of Perry Capital LLC, a private investment management firm, where he was Co-Portfolio Manager of the firm’s healthcare group, which managed public and private investments in healthcare and other industries. Prior to joining Perry Capital in 2001, Mr. Etheridge was an investment analyst for Stanford Management Company, the investment manager of Stanford University’s endowment. Prior to joining Stanford Management in 1997, Mr. Etheridge was a consultant with McKinsey & Company. Mr. Etheridge received his J.D. from Stanford Law School and his A.B. in Economics from Stanford University.
Jeremy Friese, M.D., Director Nominee
Jeremy Friese, M.D., is a physician executive with a demonstrated passion for improving healthcare, first as an academic physician leader at Mayo Clinic then as an entrepreneur with various healthcare companies. Dr. Friese currently serves as President, Payer Market at Olive, a developer of process automation software designed to build meaningful artificial intelligence for healthcare payers and providers. Prior to Olive, Dr. Friese ran Invenshure, a healthcare venture incubator, and co-founded and led Verata Health, a venture-backed AI technology company that pioneered Frictionless Prior Authorization® for payers and providers, and which was acquired by Olive in 2020. Prior to his transition to entrepreneurship, Dr. Friese was a physician and executive at the Mayo Clinic and Harvard University. During his Mayo career, he held executive leadership positions for the imaging service line, the Mayo Clinic Strategic Investment Fund, and Global Business Development. Additionally, Dr. Friese served on several boards of directors, including the International Monetary Fund and the American Cancer Society. Dr. Friese earned his MD at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and his MBA at Harvard Business School.
Kelly Richmond Pope, Ph.D., Director Nominee
Kelly Richmond Pope, Ph.D., is a professor in the School of Accountancy and Management Information Systems at DePaul University. Prior to joining DePaul, she worked in the forensic accounting practice at KPMG, LLP on anti-money laundering engagements, insurance fraud investigations and fraud risk management projects. She was named as one of the 25 most powerful women in accounting by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (the “AICPA”) and CPA Practice Advisor. She currently serves as director and chair of the Audit Committee for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. She is former director and finance chair for Mercy Hospital & Medical Center, former director of the Illinois CPA Society and former member of the governing council for the AICPA. She received her doctorate in accounting from Virginia Tech, and she is a licensed certified public accountant.
John Glaser Ph.D., Director Nominee
John Glaser, Ph.D., is a former senior vice president of Population Health at Cerner Corporation from 2015 to 2019. Prior to such time, he was Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Heath Services from 2010 to 2015. Prior to Siemens, Dr. Glaser was Chief Information Officer at Partners HealthCare. He was the founding chair of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (“CHIME”) and the past-president of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. He is the former Chair of the Global Agenda Council on Digital Health, World Economic Forum. He is former Senior Advisor to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Dr. Glaser serves on the boards of directors of the Scottsdale Institute, Intouch Health, PatientPing, National Committee for Quality Assurance, the American Telemedicine Association, Wellsheet and Relatient. Dr. Glaser has received numerous industry awards, including the John P. Glaser Innovation Award (established by the School of Biomedical Informatics, UTHealth), William B. Stead Thought Leadership Award (American Medical Informatics Association) and the Lifetime Achievement Award (CHIME). He has authored many articles and books on the strategic application of IT in health care. He is on the faculty of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, the UTHealth School of Biomedical Informatics and the Harvard School of Public Health.
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Anthony Sanzo, Director Nominee
Anthony Sanzo has been a healthcare and healthcare information technology executive for over 20 years and brings a deep understanding of the operational challenges faced by healthcare providers and the ways that technology solutions can be deployed to address them. Mr. Sanzo currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Net Health Systems, a specialized electronic health record software and services vendor providing technology solutions that address the continuum of care from hospital to home. Prior to his role as Chairman, Mr. Sanzo was the Chief Executive Officer of Net Health from 2012 until 2019. Over the course of his tenure, Net Health grew from a single product startup to a multi-product, multimarket, healthcare information technology company. Prior to joining Net Health, Mr. Sanzo served as the Chief Executive Officer for TeleTracking Technologies, a company he joined in late 2001. During his tenure, the company evolved from a workflow automation startup focusing on hospital support services to the world market and innovation leader in patient flow automation, capacity management and related operations improvements. With more than 800 clients in three countries, TeleTracking grew to become the largest vendor in its market. Prior to TeleTracking, Mr. Sanzo held executive positions for two major academic medical centers and served as the Chief Executive Officer for Allegheny General Hospital for nearly a decade. Mr. Sanzo has been a board member of multiple companies and is a graduate of Allegheny College and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Advisory Board
Michael Connolly
Mike Connolly has over 30 years of experience enabling significant performance improvements and driving large scale transformations in healthcare and consulting businesses. Mr. Connolly currently leads PwC’s Transformation Consulting business line. He has P&L responsibility for a revenue business that provides advisory services in areas including strategy, customer success, operations, mergers and acquisitions, finance, workforce management and clinical consulting across various sectors, including healthcare. Prior to his current role, Mr. Connolly served as the leader of PwC’s Health Advisory businesses. Before re-joining PwC in 2019, Mr. Connolly was president of Ciox Health where he was responsible for developing its clinical data exchange and the related AI driven technology platform from 2017 to 2019. He also created a transformation program to integrate multiple acquisitions and improve operating and financial performance. Prior to joining Ciox, Mr. Connolly was a senior partner at PwC, driving PwC’s Platform businesses where he focused on standing up large transformation businesses across PwC. Before joining PwC, Mr. Connolly worked at Booz & Co. as Global Managing Director of Platforms and Functional Practices, Leader of the Global Technology Practice and served as a member of the board of directors and Executive Committee. Prior to joining Booz & Co., Mr. Connolly served as the Chief Technology Officer of Aetna from 2004 to 2006 and the President of Diamond Technology Partners from 1995 to 2005. Mr. Connolly served on the board of directors of Signify Health from 2018 to 2019. Mr. Connolly holds an M.B.A. in management information systems from Northern Illinois University. Mr. Connolly also attended Indiana University, where he received a B.S. degree in Finance with High Distinction and was admitted to the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society.
Steven Tolle
Steven Tolle is a partner with HLM Venture Partners. He brings 30 years of commercial healthcare technology expertise in the areas of strategy, business development, and product management. Mr. Tolle has spent his career helping to develop and manage important themes in healthcare innovation and investment including artificial intelligence, diagnostic imaging/medical devices, electronic health records, population health, managed care and value-based pharmaceutical pricing. He currently sits on the boards of LetsGetChecked and PatientPop and is a board observer at VaxCare, Nordic Consulting and mPulse Mobile. Prior to joining HLM, he served as Chief Strategy Officer at Merge Healthcare, which was acquired by IBM in 2015. After his significant involvement in the transaction, Mr. Tolle was named Vice President of Global Strategy & Business Development at Watson Health Imaging. Prior to joining Merge, Mr. Tolle also served as Senior Vice President/General Manager at Optum from 2009 to 2011, Vice President of Product Management at Allscripts from 2007 to 2009, and Director of Product Management at Pfizer from 1996 to 2007.
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Wyche T. Green III
Mr. Wyche “Tee” Green III is the Chief Executive Officer of 121G, LLC, an investment, business advisory and technology development firm he founded in 2013 where he helps start-up and growth stage company executives lead with purpose, accelerate revenue and intelligently scale operations. In addition, Mr. Green is the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Streamline Health Inc. (Nasdaq: STRM) and is a member of the boards of directors of several technology and healthcare companies, including Pelitas Inc., Elligo Health Research Inc., Sonic Tools USA, Caravan Health, ReferralPoint, Wellbox Inc., GreenCourt and Clearview Installations.
Mr. Green is the former Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Greenway Health, where he served in leadership roles since its founding as Greenway Medical Technologies in 1998. Under Mr. Green’s leadership as Chief Executive Officer, Greenway Health grew to $136 million at the time of its acquisition by Vitera Healthcare. In 2013, Mr. Green led Greenway Health through a go-private transaction with Vista Equity Partners where Greenway Health merged with Vitera Healthcare in a deal that valued Greenway Health at approximately $644 million.
Patrick B. Cline
Patrick Cline currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Lightbeam Health Solutions, Inc., a leader in population health management technology. Prior to Lightbeam, Mr. Cline founded and operated NextGen Healthcare (Nasdaq: NXGN, formerly known as Clinitec International, Inc.), an electronic health record and practice management IT company. Prior to NextGen, Mr. Cline was a software developer. Today, Mr. Cline is a respected strategist and highly experienced operator. He sits on multiple boards and coaches other executives in the areas of leadership, communication, teamwork and goal achievement.
We believe the reputation and expertise of our management team and advisors in the healthcare industry will make us a desirable partner for potential business combination targets.
Healthcare Industry Attractiveness
The healthcare sector is large and rapidly growing, and our management team will use its deep knowledge of the sector and market participants to efficiently pursue attractive acquisition opportunities that utilize technology to address long-term, structural challenges in the industry. In 2018, U.S. healthcare expenditures amounted to $3.6 trillion, or 17.7% of total GDP, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”). CMS projects U.S. healthcare expenditures will rise to $6.2 trillion through 2028, or 19.7% of GDP, representing a 5.4% compound annual growth rate, meaningfully outpacing projected U.S. GDP growth over the projection period. Absent innovation, the current trajectory of rising healthcare costs will likely result in reduced competitiveness for the broader U.S. economy over time as the healthcare delivery and payment ecosystem consumes ever increasing resources. We believe the healthcare industry needs to continue to pursue initiatives to generate meaningful productivity improvements aiming to reduce cost and improve care outcomes while also increasing consumer access and improving the consumer experience. We believe information technology and technology-enabled services companies will be critical components of any fundamental changes to healthcare delivery and payment.
The ongoing growth of healthcare spending has significantly pressured all industry participants (including consumers, employers, insurers, providers, life sciences companies, and government agencies) to manage costs while simultaneously maintaining or increasing access and improving health outcomes. Many constituents in the healthcare system are pursuing new and innovative technologies and business models aimed at improving the quality of outcomes for individuals, reducing friction in the consumer health journey, and delivering enhanced care at a lower cost.
We intend to focus our acquisition efforts across certain emerging themes in the healthcare market. We believe there is a large and attractive addressable market of potential business combination targets addressing these themes and intend to concentrate on target companies with developed strategies, established customer bases, differentiated solutions and attractive growth prospects with enterprise values of up to $1.5 billion. The breadth of the thematic opportunities and diversity of the target universe across multiple compelling subsectors maximize the likelihood that our management team will be able to identify and execute an attractive transaction with the aim to generate substantial stockholder value over time.
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Our belief that a large addressable market of potential acquisition targets exists is based on our knowledge of the healthcare information technology and technology-enabled healthcare services markets, and, in part, due to the scale of the industry as well as the innovation and technology-enablement currently underway. Many potential targets are held by private equity or venture capital investors with finite investment horizons who will eventually seek to exit their positions. Recent private funding by venture capital and private equity firms has been significant: according to Pitchbook, there was approximately $117 billion of funding into U.S. healthcare companies in 2020, up from approximately $58 billion in 2016. Recently, public market interest has been strong for healthcare technology and tech-enabled healthcare services assets, representing approximately 25% of capital raised in healthcare IPOs since 2018 with higher growth in number of IPOs relative to other healthcare subsectors over the same time period, according to Dealogic. In light of the recent, robust public and private healthcare market activity, we believe that there are still a large number of potential business combination targets with financial and operating characteristics that will be attractive to public equity investors.
Based on our current knowledge and data from Pitchbook, we believe that there are more than 2,000 healthcare information technology or technology-enabled healthcare services companies in the United States, and of such companies, we believe there are more than 500 of appropriate size and scale to be ready for public markets either on their own or combined with another company or companies
Competitive Strengths
Our mission is to create attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders. We intend to acquire a platform company to build a category leader in healthcare technology or technology-enabled healthcare services with a durable long-term growth opportunity driven by macro-market trends and specific competitive advantage. We intend to capitalize on the ability of our management team and advisory board to identify, evaluate, acquire, and operate a business or businesses that will benefit from our team’s differentiated collective experience and capabilities:
Industry Knowledge: Healthcare is a broad, diverse, and local industry comprised of numerous sectors that each require unique institutional knowledge to be properly analyzed. Our management team, advisors, and sponsor can draw on vast experience to drive value creation for stockholders. Our team has expertise in virtually all subsectors of healthcare information technology, healthcare technology-enabled services and healthcare services including provider, payer, life sciences, consumer and employer solutions. In addition, we have significant experience in emerging areas of healthcare, including value-based care, population risk, population health, care coordination, condition management, virtual care, consumer engagement and pharmaceutical development.
Investment Experience: Our management team and sponsor have evaluated thousands of, and invested in hundreds of, public and private companies. We have extensive experience assessing management teams, growth plans, strategic roadmaps, competitive differentiation, operational capabilities, technology infrastructures, and financial and accounting diligence materials. We believe that we can effectively and efficiently review large numbers of potential targets with a discerning view of valuation and expected risk-adjusted returns to determine whether the target(s) will be an appropriate candidate(s) for a potential business combination.
Management Expertise: Our management team, directors and sponsor have decades of diverse experience operating healthcare businesses and driving value creation. The team has successfully led businesses in various stages of their lifecycle, which should allow for a target to receive expert advice from a deep bench of industry experts and contacts. Our team has experience in all facets of growth and operations including deep knowledge of industry best practices across critical functional areas including marketing, sales, operations, business development, product strategy, product development, implementation, risk management and compliance, customer success, and finance and accounting. Moreover, our team’s expertise will be an invaluable resource for management teams to lean on as they continue to operate in a highly regulated and complex marketplace.
Sourcing: Our management team, directors and advisors have an extensive network of relationships with private and public companies, investment bankers, attorneys, accountants, private and public equity investors, industry executives, and advisors that we believe will provide proprietary deal-sourcing opportunities. Our management team, directors and advisors have grown their network by investing in, acquiring and growing businesses, while developing a reputation for integrity and fair dealing with all constituents. This network has provided our management team and sponsor group with a flow of referrals from strategic investors, financial investors, payers, and providers that has resulted in numerous proprietary transactions and participation in transaction processes in which a limited group of investors were invited into the financing and sale processes. We believe that both active outreach and our network of
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contacts and relationships will provide us important sources of investment opportunities and a highly differentiated pipeline of targets. In addition, our management team, directors and advisors have executed transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions and have successfully navigated through numerous changes to healthcare policy and practice.
Transaction Execution: Our management team and sponsor have collectively executed or advised on hundreds of investment, merger and acquisition, private placement, and public offering transactions during their careers. We believe that this experience will allow for flexible structuring solutions that create proper alignment between management and stockholders, as well as efficient negotiations and pricing.
Capital Markets Expertise: Our management team is well-versed in capital markets activities, having advised many companies on capital markets transactions and having run multiple large and complex publicly-traded companies. This experience should allow our team to effectively position a target company with public-market investors. Additionally, the expertise of our management team in pursuing and consummating add-on acquisitions utilizing the flexibility of public-company capital structures is substantial.
Governance Experience: Our management team and directors have extensive experience with board and governance matters through their roles as directors of public and private companies. Our officers and directors have served as board chairs as well as board committee chairs including Audit, Compensation, Strategy and Nominating and Governance Committees.
Long-Term Perspective: Our management team is comprised of seasoned veterans from the healthcare information technology and services markets. As a result, our team understands that building great businesses can take time. We are focused on pursuing long-term value creation upon the consummation of a business combination.
Acquisition Criteria
Consistent with our strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We will use this framework to evaluate acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet all of these criteria and guidelines.
We intend to target potential acquisitions that support one or more emerging sector themes including:
• Transitioning to value-based care and reimbursement and the impact of that transition across the healthcare ecosystem, including evolution in contracting and reimbursement for providers, pharma/biotech and medical device companies.
• Continuing consumerization of healthcare and the importance of meaningful patient/member/employee engagement.
• Focusing on population health initiatives to drive sustainable improvement in health outcomes.
• Tracking, assessing, and impacting social determinants of health.
• Empowering the consumer around health decisions, including prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
• Broadening access to care through virtual care, multi-modal outreach, and hybrid or new care delivery models.
• Collecting, accessing and analyzing large data sets to drive insights into behavior and outcomes utilizing data visualization and artificial intelligence.
• Using real world evidence across the drug development value chain.
• Improving healthcare provider and payer oversight with respect to governance, risk management, cyber-security, and compliance.
• Improving healthcare information technology infrastructure including the lack of healthcare data fluidity, increased demand for interoperability, and general productivity improvement.
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• Improving coordination and management of care across multiple provider types and risk-bearing entities including addressing transitions of care along with institutional and home-based post-acute and chronic care.
• Improving the efficiency of healthcare staffing and labor access to address labor shortages and workforce management challenges.
Our evaluation of potential acquisitions will include customary strategic, operational and financial reviews of the targets in tandem with the engagement of third-party advisors where appropriate. We intend to filter opportunities based on the following criteria:
• Growth Potential: multiple expansion vectors across organic opportunities and / or compelling acquisition opportunities.
• Sector Attractiveness: attractive macro-sector fundamentals and outlook with limited business model exposure to reimbursement and/or policy risk.
• Value Proposition: compelling value proposition to stakeholders within the healthcare ecosystem.
• Business Model/Stage: profitable business model or demonstrable ability to achieve profitability at scale where additional managerial, commercial, strategic and/or operational expertise will accelerate the pathway to profitability while maintaining a favorable growth trajectory.
• Competitive Position: leading or growing market share relative to peer group.
• Unrecognized Value: identifiable value-creation opportunities that can be unlocked leveraging the extensive operational and strategic knowledge and experience of our team.
• Public Market Readiness: strong management, corporate governance, and financial forecasting and reporting functions in place that will establish credibility with public investors and facilitate continued access to public capital markets.
• Valuation discipline: attractive risk-adjusted returns to our stockholders based on the fundamental business and the financial characteristics of the potential target.
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation of a particular initial business combination may be based on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors, and criteria that our management team may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our stockholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents that we would file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
We may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our initial business combination. We intend to acquire a company or companies that, when aggregated, will have an enterprise value above the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the placement units. Depending on the size of the transaction or the number of public shares we become obligated to redeem, we may potentially utilize several additional financing sources, including but not limited to the issuance of additional securities to the sellers of a target business, debt issued by banks or other lenders, a private placement, or a combination of the foregoing. 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 to meet our obligations or our working capital needs, we may need to obtain additional financing.
Ability to Extend Time to Complete Business Combination
If we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 15 months from the consummation of this offering, we may, but are not obligated to, if requested by our sponsor or its affiliates, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination up to two times by an additional three months (each, a “Paid Extension”) for a total of 21 months (the “Paid Extension Period”).
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In the case of the Paid Extension Period, public stockholders will not be offered the opportunity at the time of the extension to vote on or redeem their shares if we choose to make any such Paid Extension. As a result, we may conduct such an extension even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such an extension and will not be able to redeem their shares in connection therewith. Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement entered into between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company on the date of this prospectus, in order to avail ourselves of the Paid Extension Period to consummate our initial business combination, our sponsor or its affiliates or designees, upon five days’ advance notice prior to the initial business combination deadline, must deposit into the trust account an amount per Paid Extension of $1,750,000, or $2,012,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($0.10 per share in either case), on or prior to the date of the initial business combination deadline. Any such payments would be made in the form of a loan, which will be non-interest bearing and payable upon the consummation of our initial business combination. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us or, at the option of the lender, convert such loaned amounts into private placement warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. In the event that we receive notice from our sponsor or its affiliates five days prior to the initial business combination deadline of its wish for us to effect an extension, we intend to issue a press release announcing such intention at least three days prior to the applicable deadline. In addition, we intend to issue a press release the day after the initial business combination deadline announcing whether or not the funds had been timely deposited. Our sponsor and its affiliates or designees are obligated to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination, but our sponsor and its affiliates will not be obligated to extend such time.
Initial Business Combination
The rules of the NYSE require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. We refer to this as the 80% of net assets test. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). Even though our board of directors will rely on generally accepted standards, our board of directors will have discretion to select the standards employed. In addition, the application of the standards generally involves a substantial degree of judgment. Accordingly, investors will be relying on the business judgment of the board of directors in evaluating the fair market value of the target or targets. The proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents used by us in connection with any proposed transaction will provide public stockholders with our analysis of our satisfaction of the 80% of net assets test, as well as the basis for our determinations. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not 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 a target’s assets or prospects.
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, technology reviews, industry research and reviews, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us. We will also utilize our operational and capital planning experience to evaluate the proprietary opportunity.
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 we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company 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 is a member of FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
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Members of our management team and sponsor may directly or indirectly own our common stock and/or private placement warrants following this offering, and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. In particular, because the founder shares were purchased at a purchase price of approximately $0.005 per share, the holders of our founder shares (including certain members of our management team that directly or indirectly own founder shares) could make a substantial profit after our initial business combination even if our public stockholders lose money on their investment as a result of a decrease in the post-business combination value of their shares of Class A common stock (after accounting for any adjustments in connection with an exchange or other transaction contemplated by the 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.
We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration. Our officers and directors have neither individually identified nor considered a target business for our initial business combination. We have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any measure, directly or indirectly, to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate for us, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any such acquisition candidate.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors 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 his or her fiduciary duties under Delaware law. We expect that if an opportunity is presented to one of our officers or directors in his or her capacity as an officer or director of one of those other entities, such opportunity would be presented to such other entity and not to us. For more information on the entities to which our officers and directors currently have fiduciary or contractual obligations, please refer to “Management — Conflicts of Interest.” 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.
Conclusion
We believe the collective experience of our management team, directors and advisors will lead to many potential acquisition opportunities. Upon completion of this offering, members of our management team and advisors will reach out to their networks of relationships to articulate the parameters of our search for a target company and will begin the rigorous process of pursuing and reviewing promising opportunities. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates may be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including healthcare market participants, healthcare private equity and generalist venture capital firms, investment banking firms, consultants, legal and accounting firms and large business enterprises.
We have recruited and organized a group of highly accomplished and engaged directors who will bring to us public company governance, executive leadership, and operations oversight. Our board members have served in director, officer, partner, and other executive and advisory capacities for publicly traded and privately-owned companies. Our directors have extensive experience with public equity investing, private equity investing, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, divestitures and corporate strategy. We believe their collective expertise, contacts and relationships make us a highly desirable merger partner.
In addition to our directors, we have recruited four highly accomplished senior advisors who will serve on our Advisory Board and will bring to us significant experience in operations, investment management, public and private equity and debt capital markets. Our Advisory Board will advise us on executive leadership, human capital management, corporate strategy and capital markets. Our Advisory Board members have served as directors, officers, executives, and partners for publicly-traded and privately-owned companies and private equity firms. In addition to advising us on assessment of key risks and opportunities and due diligence, our senior advisors may also advise us after the completion of our business combination in overseeing our strategy and value creation plan where relevant expertise exists.
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The past performance of our management team, Martin Ventures or First Trust Capital Partners is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. No member of our management team has had management experience with special purpose acquisition corporations in the past. You should not rely on the historical record of our management teams, Martin Ventures, First Trust Capital Partners or their respective affiliates’ performance as indicative of our future performance. Additionally, during their respective careers, members of our management team have been involved in businesses and deals that were unsuccessful. Our officers and directors may have conflicts of interest with other entities to which they owe fiduciary or contractual obligations with respect to initial business combination opportunities. For a list of our officers and directors and entities for which a conflict of interest may or does exist between such persons and the company, as well as the priority and preference that such entity has with respect to performance of obligations and presentation of business opportunities to us, please refer to the table and subsequent explanatory paragraph under “Management — Conflicts of Interest”.
Corporate Information
Our executive offices are located at 40 Burton Hills Boulevard, Suite 100, Nashville, Tennessee 37215.
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, or 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, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act 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 common stock 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 securities during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $250 million as of the end of the prior June 30th, and (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year or the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the prior June 30th.
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THE OFFERING
In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of the members of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company and the fact that this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section below entitled “Risk Factors” of this prospectus.
Securities offered | | 17,500,000 units (or 20,125,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of: • one share of Class A common stock; and • one-half of one redeemable warrant. |
Proposed NYSE symbols | | Units: “FDHAU” Class A common stock: “FDHA” Warrants: “FDHAW” |
Trading commencement and separation of Class A common stock and warrants | |
The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A common stock and warrants constituting the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless William Blair 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 common stock 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 common stock and warrants. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination. |
Separate trading of the Class A common stock and warrants is prohibited until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K | |
In no event will the Class A common stock and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet of the company reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the underwriters’ 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 issued and outstanding before this offering | | 0
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Number issued and outstanding after this offering | | 17,500,000(1)
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Common stock: | | |
Number issued and outstanding before this offering | | 5,031,250(2)(3)
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Number issued and outstanding after this offering | | 21,875,000(1)(3)(4)
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Warrants: | | |
Number of private placement warrants to be sold in a private placement simultaneously with this offering | |
9,700,000(1)
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Number of warrants to be outstanding after this offering and the sale of private placement warrants | |
18,450,000(1)
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Exercisability | | Each whole warrant offered in this offering is exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock, subject to adjustment as provided herein, and only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. We structured each unit to contain one-half of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Class A common stock, as compared to units issued by some other similar blank check companies which contain whole warrants exercisable for one whole share. We structured each unit this way to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of our initial business combination as compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole share, which we believe will make us a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses. |
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(1) Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the forfeiture of 656,250 founder shares.
(2) Consists solely of founder shares and includes up to 656,250 common stock that are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.
(3) Founder shares are currently classified as Class B common stock, which shares will convert into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights.”
(4) Includes 17,500,000 public shares and 4,375,000 founder shares.
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Exercise price | | $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. In addition, if (x) we issue additional common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our shares of Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 and $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00” and “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 100% and 180%, respectively, of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. |
Exercise period | | The warrants will become exercisable on the later of: • 30 days after the consummation of an initial business combination, and • 12 months from the closing of this offering; provided, in each case, that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement, including as a result of a notice of redemption described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00”). We are not registering shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed; provided that if our shares of Class A common stock 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) |
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| | 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. 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 share of Class A common stock 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 to each warrant holder, which we refer to as the “30-day redemption period;” and • if, and only if, the last reported sale price (the “closing price”) of our Class A common stock for any 20 trading days within the 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”). We will not redeem the warrants as described above unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, unless we have elected to require the exercise of the warrants on a cashless basis and 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 warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 | |
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants:
• in whole and not in part; • at 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 — Redeemable Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants” based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock (as defined below) except as otherwise described in “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants;” |
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| | • if, and only if, the closing price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within the 30-trading day period ending three trading days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and • if the closing price of our Class A common stock for any 20 trading days within the 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 — Redeemable Warrants — Public Stockholders’ 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. The “fair market value” of our Class A common stock shall mean the volume weighted average price of our Class A common stock as reported during the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to 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 many other blank check offerings. In no event will the warrants be exercisable on a cashless basis in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 shares of Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment). No fractional shares of Class A common stock will be issued upon redemption. If, upon redemption, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued to the holder. Please see the section entitled “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants” for additional information. |
Accounting for the public warrants and private warrants | | The public warrants that are to be issued in this offering and the private warrants that are to be issued concurrently with this offering will be accounted for as a liability measured at the estimated fair value of the total outstanding public and private warrants.
In addition, 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 statements of operations. |
Founder shares | | On May 12, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in exchange for an aggregate of 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share. On November 30, 2021, our sponsor surrendered 718,750 founder shares for no consideration, resulting in our sponsor holding 5,031,250 shares of Class B common stock, representing an effective purchase price of approximately $0.005 per share. Our sponsor also transferred an aggregate of 200,000 founder shares to our outside directors, resulting in our sponsor holding 4,831,250 founder shares. |
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| | Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The purchase price of these founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to us by the number of founder shares issued. Our initial stockholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding common stock upon the consummation of this offering. |
| | The founder shares are identical to the Class A common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, except that: • prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason; • the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; • our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive: (1) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (2) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to Class A common stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame). If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed to vote any founder shares and public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 6,562,501, or 37.50% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 1,093,751, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 17,500,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business |
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| | combination in order to have such initial business combination approved (the number of public shares set forth above that would need to be voted in favor of an initial business combination would be reduced to the extent of any public shares held by our initial stockholders, directors and officers). We have agreed that we will not enter into a definitive agreement with respect to an initial business combination without the approval of our sponsor; • the founder shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described in more detail below; and • the founder shares are entitled to registration rights. |
Transfer restrictions on founder shares | | Our initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, rights issuances, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their common stock for cash, securities or other property (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Stockholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial stockholders with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up.
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Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights | | We have 5,031,250 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, issued and outstanding. The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share splits, share dividends, rights issuances, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which the shares of Class B common stock will convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such anti-dilution adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of all common stock issued and outstanding upon the completion of our initial business combination plus, without duplication, all Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with or in relation to the consummation of our initial business combination, excluding any shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into shares of Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any warrants issued in a private placement to our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor upon conversion of working capital loans or extension loans.
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| | In no event will any founder shares convert into shares of Class A common stock at a ratio that is less than one-for-one. The term “equity-linked securities” refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for our Class A common stock issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt. |
Appointment of directors; Voting rights | | Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended by approval of at least 90% of the shares of our Class B common stock. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.
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Private placement warrants | | Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 9,700,000 (or 10,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($9,700,000 in the aggregate or $10,750,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Each private placement warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. Private placement warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants will not be redeemable by us (except as described above under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00”) so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. Our sponsor, as well as its permitted transferees, have the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. |
Transfer restrictions on private placement warrants | | The private placement warrants (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except as described herein under “Principal Stockholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.”
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Proceeds to be held in trust account | | The rules of the NYSE provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the $184,700,000 in proceeds we will receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, or $212,000,000 if the underwriters’ |
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| | over-allotment option is exercised in full, $178,500,000 ($10.20 per unit), or $205,275,000 ($10.20 per unit) if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full (including $6,125,000 (or up to $7,043,750 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions), will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and $2.7 million will be used to pay expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following this offering. The funds in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to Class A common stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public stockholders. |
Anticipated expenses and funding sources | | Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, no proceeds held in the trust account will be available for our use, except the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes or to redeem our public shares in connection with an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, as described above.
Based upon current interest rates, we expect the trust account to generate approximately $142,800 of interest annually (assuming an interest rate of 0.08% per year). Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, we may pay our expenses only from: • the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account, which will be approximately $1,950,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $750,000 in expenses relating to this offering (other than underwriting commissions); and • any loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their affiliates or other third parties, although they are under no obligation to loan funds to, or otherwise invest in, us; and provided that any such loans will not have any claim on the proceeds held in the trust account unless such proceeds are released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. |
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Conditions to completing our initial business combination | | There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. The rules of the NYSE require that an initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account). We refer to this as the 80% of net assets test. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). Even though our board of directors will rely on generally accepted standards, our board of directors will have discretion to select the standards employed. In addition, the application of the standards generally involves a substantial degree of judgment. Accordingly, investors will be relying on the business judgment of the board of directors in evaluating the fair market value of the target or targets. The proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents used by us in connection with any proposed transaction will provide public stockholders with our analysis of our satisfaction of the 80% of net assets test, as well as the basis for our determinations. If our board of directors is not able independently to determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria.
We will complete our initial business combination only if the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test; provided that in the event that our initial 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. |
Ability to Extend Time to Complete Business Combination | | If we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 15 months from the consummation of this offering, we may, but are not obligated to, if requested by our sponsor or its affiliates, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination with up to two Paid Extensions (up to an additional six months) for a total of 21 months.
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| | In the case of the Paid Extension Period, public stockholders will not be offered the opportunity at the time of the extension to vote on or redeem their shares if we choose to make any such Paid Extension. As a result, we may conduct such an extension even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such an extension and will not be able to redeem their shares in connection therewith. Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement entered into between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company on the date of this prospectus, in order to avail ourselves of each Paid Extension to consummate our initial business combination, our sponsor or its affiliates or designees, upon five days’ advance notice prior to the then-applicable initial business combination deadline, must deposit into the trust account an amount per Paid Extension of $1,750,000, or $2,012,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($0.10 per share in either case), on or prior to the date of the then-applicable initial business combination deadline. Any such payments would be made in the form of a loan, which will be non-interest bearing and payable upon the consummation of our initial business combination. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us or, at the option of the lender, convert such loaned amounts into private placement warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. In the event that we receive notice from our sponsor or its affiliates five days prior to the then-applicable initial business combination deadline of its wish for us to effect an extension, we intend to issue a press release announcing such intention at least three days prior to the applicable deadline. In addition, we intend to issue a press release the day after the then-applicable initial business combination deadline announcing whether or not the funds had been timely deposited. Our sponsor and its affiliates or designees are obligated to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination, but our sponsor and its affiliates will not be obligated to extend such time. |
Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities | |
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Any such price per share may be different than the amount per share a public stockholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in
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| | favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates are under no obligation or duty to do so and they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions. If our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates engage in such transactions, they will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). See “Proposed Business — Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to enter into private transactions with. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will be restricted from making any purchases if such purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) of, or Rule 10b-5 under, the Exchange Act. |
Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination | |
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein.
The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. |
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Manner of conducting redemptions | | We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (1) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (2) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would typically require stockholder approval. We intend to conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other reasons. If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation: • conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E under 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 under the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our common stock in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act. In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination. |
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| | If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, we will: • conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and • file proxy materials with the SEC. We expect that a final proxy statement would be mailed to public stockholders at least 10 days prior to the stockholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such stockholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Although we are not required to do so, we currently intend to comply with the substantive and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any stockholder vote even if we are not able to maintain our NYSE listing or Exchange Act registration. If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the Company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company entitled to vote at such meeting. In such case, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, our initial stockholders have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. We expect that at the time of any stockholder vote relating to our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon. Our directors and officers also have agreed to vote in favor of our initial business combination with respect to any public shares acquired by them. These voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem their public shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (1) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (2) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (3) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all public shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination. |
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Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights | |
We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve our initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option, rather than simply voting against the initial business combination. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares.
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Limitation on redemption rights of stockholders holding more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold stockholder vote | |
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering, without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described above will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us or our sponsor or its affiliates to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder 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 or our sponsor or its affiliates at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those stockholders that hold more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering) for or against our initial business combination.
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Redemption rights in connection with proposed amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation | |
Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain charter provisions. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that any of its provisions (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of at least 90% of the shares of our Class B common stock) related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances) may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our common stock who attend and vote in a stockholder meeting, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our common stock.
Our initial stockholders, who will beneficially own 20% of our common stock upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (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 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to Class A common stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. Our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. |
Release of funds in trust account on closing of our initial business combination | |
On the completion of our initial business combination, all amounts held in the trust account will be disbursed directly by the trustee or released to us to pay amounts due to any public stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination,” to pay the underwriters their deferred underwriting commissions, to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination and to pay other expenses associated with our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or the redemption of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
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Redemption of public shares and distribution and liquidation if no initial business combination | |
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed that we will have only 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such 15-month period (subject to any extensions), we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the 15-month time period (subject to any extensions).
Our initial stockholders have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial stockholders acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 15-month time frame (subject to any extensions). The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission held in the trust account in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the allotted time frame and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the trust account that will be available to fund the redemption of our public shares. Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (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 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to Class A common stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. |
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Limited payments to insiders | | There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made by us to our sponsor, directors or officers, or our or any of their affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, other than the following payments, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination: • repayment of an aggregate of up to $350,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses; • payments to affiliates of our sponsor of $10,000 per month in aggregate for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team; • reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination; • repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the terms of which have not been determined nor have any written agreements been executed with respect thereto. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender; and • repayment of loans in an amount per Paid Extension up to $1,750,000, or $2,012,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination as described in this prospectus. These payments may be funded using the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account or, upon completion of the initial business combination, from any amounts remaining from the proceeds of the trust account released to us in connection therewith. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, directors or officers, or our or any of their affiliates. |
Audit committee | | Prior to the effectiveness of this registration statement, we will have established and will maintain an audit committee to, among other things, monitor compliance with the terms described above and the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to promptly take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise to cause compliance with the terms of this offering. For more information, see the section entitled “Management — Committees of the Board of Directors — Audit Committee.” |
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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 another 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. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation. 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. For more information, see the section entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest.” |
Indemnity | | Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.00 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations. |
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RISKS
We are a newly incorporated company that has conducted no operations and has generated no revenues. Until we complete our initial business combination, we will have no operations and will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. This offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. For additional information concerning how Rule 419 blank check offerings differ from this offering, please see “Proposed Business — Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.” You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 34 of this prospectus.
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 newly incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
• Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.
• Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of such business combination.
• If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
• The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
• The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
• The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
• The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
• 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.
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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.
• We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may receive only $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
• If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities.
• If a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
• You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore you may be forced to sell your public shares and/or warrants, potentially at a loss.
• The NYSE 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.
• If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, and we may depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search, to pay our taxes and to complete our initial business combination.
• If we acquire a company in the healthcare or healthcare services industry, our future operations may be subject to risks associated with such sectors.
• Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.
The other risks and uncertainties discussed in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus.
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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, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination and Post-Business Combination Risks
Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.
We may not hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange rules or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons. For instance, the rules of the NYSE currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a stockholder meeting, but would still require us to obtain stockholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding shares to a target business as consideration in any business combination. Therefore, if we were structuring a business combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding shares, we would seek stockholder approval of such business combination. However, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow stockholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek stockholder approval. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding common stock do not approve of the business combination we consummate. Please see the section entitled “Proposed Business — Effecting Our Initial Business Combination — Stockholders may not have the ability to approve our initial business combination” for additional information.
Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of such business combination.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of any target businesses. Additionally, since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such stockholder approval. Accordingly, if we do not seek stockholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Unlike many other blank check companies in which the initial stockholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public stockholders in connection with an initial business combination, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 6,562,501, or 37.50% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 1,093,751, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 17,500,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have such initial business
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combination approved (the number of public shares set forth above that would need to be voted in favor of an initial business combination would be reduced to the extent of any public shares held by our initial stockholders, directors and officers). Our directors and officers have also entered into the letter agreement, imposing similar obligations on them with respect to public shares acquired by them, if any. The number of public shares set forth above that would need to be voted in favor of an initial business combination would be reduced to the extent of any public shares held by our initial stockholders, directors and officers. We expect that our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding common stock at the time of any such stockholder vote. Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary stockholder approval will be received than would be the case if such persons agreed to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public stockholders.
The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with a business combination and such amount of deferred underwriting discount is not available for us to use as consideration in an initial business combination. If we are able to consummate an initial business combination, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming stockholders will reflect our obligation to pay and the payment of the deferred underwriting commissions. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights and, therefore, we will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful increases. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
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The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the end of the 15-month period (subject to any extensions). 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.
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 companies preparing for an initial public offering. 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.
Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination.
In recent months, the market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. There can be no assurance that these trends will not continue.
The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. However, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
In addition, even after we were to complete an initial business combination, our directors and officers could still be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to the initial business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity, and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors.
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Because our trust account will initially contain $10.20 per share of Class A common stock, public stockholders 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 share of Class A common stock. This is different than some other similarly structured blank check companies for which the trust account will only contain $10.00 per share of Class A common stock. As a result of the additional funds that could be available to public stockholders upon redemption of public shares, our public stockholders may be more incentivized to redeem their public shares and not to hold those shares of Class A common stock through our initial business combination. A higher percentage of redemptions by our public stockholders could make it more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may receive only $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we must complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the U.S. and global markets 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. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire.
If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public stockholders may receive only $10.20 per share, or less than $10.20 per share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors herein.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Any such price per share may be different than the amount per share a public stockholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates are under no obligation or duty to do so and they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. See “Proposed Business — Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a
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description of how our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which stockholders to enter into private transactions with. The purpose of such transactions could be to vote such shares in favor of our initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of our initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. This may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our securities and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
If a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the tender offer documents or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See “Proposed Business — Effecting Our Initial Business Combination — Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights.”
If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we may depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search, to pay our taxes and to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, only approximately $1,950,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $750,000, 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 $750,000, 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 loan funds to, or otherwise invest in, us in such circumstances. Any such loans may be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In such case, our public stockholders may receive only $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors herein.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our shares of Class A common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our shares of Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or
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any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. 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. As a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on our redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, in the event we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we are obligated to pay cash for our shares of Class A common stock, it will potentially reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors herein.
If the funds not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 15 months following the closing of this offering, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) following the closing of this offering, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering and potential loans from certain of our affiliates are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” However, our affiliates are not obligated to make loans to us in the future, and we may not be able to raise additional financing from unaffiliated parties necessary to fund our expenses. Any such event in the future may negatively impact the analysis regarding our ability to continue as a going concern at such time.
We believe that, upon the closing of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account, will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) following the closing of this offering; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do
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not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors herein.
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to subsequently take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write down or write off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our incurring 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 in conjunction with or following a business combination. Accordingly, any stockholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a stockholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver only if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where we are unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.20 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors.
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Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Our sponsor may not have sufficient funds available to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations, and therefore, no funds are currently set aside to cover any such obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.20 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our directors or officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
• restrictions on the nature of our investments; and
• restrictions on the issuance of securities;
each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
• registration as an investment company with the SEC;
• adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and
• reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that we are currently not subject to.
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. The proceeds held in the trust account may be invested by the trustee only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Because the investment of the proceeds will be restricted to these instruments, we believe we will meet the requirements for the exemption provided in Rule 3a-1 promulgated under the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation
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and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
If we have not completed our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) of the closing of this offering, our public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond such 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) before redemption from our trust account.
If we have not completed our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering, we will distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), pro rata to our public stockholders by way of redemption and cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up of our affairs, as further described herein. Any redemption of public stockholders from the trust account shall be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to windup, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public stockholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the DGCL. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond the initial 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless, prior thereto, we consummate our initial business combination or amend certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and then only in cases where investors have properly sought to redeem their shares of Class A common stock. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public stockholders be entitled to distributions if we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period and do not amend certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation prior thereto.
We may not hold an annual meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination. Our public stockholders will not have the right to elect or remove directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate a business combination (unless required by the NYSE), and thus may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting of stockholders be held for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with a company’s bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to our consummation of a business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL. In addition, as holders of our Class A common stock, our public stockholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors prior to consummation of our initial business combination. In addition, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our shares of Class A common stock.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into on or prior to the closing of this offering, at or after the time of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of their shares of Class A common stock into which founder shares are convertible, the private placement warrants and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans or extension loans, and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of such warrants. The registration rights will be exercisable with respect to the founder shares, the private placement warrants and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise
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of such private placement warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our shares of Class A common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the stockholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our shares of Class A common stock that is expected when the common stock owned by our initial stockholders or their permitted transferees, our private placement warrants or warrants issued in connection with working capital loans or extension loans are registered for resale.
Because we are not limited to a particular industry or any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
We may seek to complete a business combination with an operating company of any size (subject to our satisfaction of the 80% of net assets test) and in any industry, sector or geography. However, we will not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or development stage entity. Although our directors and officers will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to our investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a stockholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
If we acquire a company in the healthcare or healthcare services industry, our future operations may be subject to risks associated with such sectors.
While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any stage of its corporate evolution or in any industry, sector or geographic location, we intend to focus our search across certain emerging themes in the healthcare market. We intend to concentrate our efforts in identifying companies that offer innovative software, hardware, products, operations or services to the healthcare industry. Because we have not yet identified or approached any specific target business, we cannot provide specific risks of any initial business combination. However, risks inherent in investments in this sector may include, but are not limited to, the following:
• adverse changes in international, national, regional or local economic, demographic and market conditions;
• competition from other healthcare companies and businesses;
• the ability to develop successful new products or improve existing ones;
• the disruption or failure of our networks, systems, platform or technology that frustrate or thwart our users’ ability to access our products and services, which may cause our users, advertisers, and partners to cut back on or stop using our products and services altogether, which could harm our business;
• malware, viruses, hacking and phishing attacks, spamming, and improper or illegal use of our products, which could harm our business and reputation;
• litigation and other legal proceedings;
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• the ability to attract and retain highly skilled employees;
• environmental risks; and
• civil unrest, labor strikes, acts of God, including earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters and acts of war or terrorism, which may result in uninsured losses.
Any of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on our operations following an initial business combination. However, our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses will not be limited to healthcare companies. Accordingly, if we acquire a target business in another industry, we will be subject to risks associated with such industry, which may or may not be different than the risks listed above.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these criteria and guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our directors and officers will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm regarding fairness. Consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
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We may issue additional shares of Class A common stock or preferred shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon the conversion of the shares of Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will authorize the issuance of up to 280,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 262,500,000 and 15,625,000 (assuming that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option) authorized but unissued shares of Class A common stock and shares of Class B common stock, respectively, available for issuance, which amount does not take into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants or upon conversion of the Class B common stock. Shares of Class B common stock are convertible into shares of Class A common stock, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein. Immediately after this offering, there will be no preferred shares issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock, and may issue preferred shares, in order to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock to redeem the warrants as described in “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00” or upon conversion of the shares of Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation . However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional common stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares on any initial business combination. The issuance of additional common stock or preferred shares:
• may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B common stock resulted in the issuance of shares of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the shares of Class B common stock;
• may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock;
• could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present directors and officers;
• may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;
• may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, common stock and/or warrants; and
• may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants.
Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be
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recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may have limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business which, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any stockholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a stockholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following this offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
• default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating cash flows after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
• acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;
• our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand;
• our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding;
• our inability to pay dividends on our common stock;
• using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our common stock if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
• limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
• increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and
• limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, liquidity, 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 be able to complete only one business combination with the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
The net proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will provide us with $172,375,000 assuming no redemptions and after payment of $6,125,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or $198,231,250 assuming no redemptions and after payment of $7,043,750 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in each case, after estimated offering expenses of $750,000 and full spend of the working capital held outside the trust account that we may use to complete our initial business combination.
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
• solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or
• dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
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 stockholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we
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will complete such business combination only if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of common stock in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete a business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all public shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that some of our stockholders 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. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances) may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our outstanding common stock who attend and vote in a stockholder meeting, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our outstanding common stock. 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 number of the then outstanding private placement warrants. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that it may be amended by holders of a majority of our common stock, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules.
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In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require us to provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) of the closing of this offering or with respect to any other material provisions relating to Class A common stockholders’ 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.
Certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our common stock who attend and vote at an annual meeting, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that any of its provisions related to pre- business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. Our initial stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our common stock upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other special purpose acquisition companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our stockholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Our sponsor, 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 certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering or with respect to any other material provisions relating to Class A common stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, executive officers, directors or director nominees for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of this
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offering and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate.
In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our directors, officers or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our initial stockholders will control the appointment of our board of directors until consummation of our initial business combination and will hold a substantial interest in us. As a result, they will appoint all of our directors prior to our initial business combination and may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon the closing of this offering, our initial stockholders will own 20% of our issued and outstanding common stock (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of the founder shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and may remove members of the board of directors for any reason. Holders of our public shares will have no right to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended by approval of at least 90% of the shares of our Class B common stock voting. As a result, you will not have any influence over the appointment of directors prior to our initial business combination.
Neither our initial stockholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our directors or officers, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this prospectus. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include the current trading price of our shares of Class A common stock. In addition, as a result of their substantial ownership in our company, our initial stockholders may exert a substantial influence on other actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase any shares of Class A common stock in this offering or in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their influence over these actions. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will exert significant influence over actions requiring a stockholder vote at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
Since our initial stockholders will have the right to vote on the election of directors, upon the listing of our shares on the NYSE, the NYSE may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.
After completion of this offering, our initial stockholders will have the right to vote on the election of directors. As a result, the NYSE may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE corporate governance standards. Under the NYSE corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
• we have a board that includes a majority of “independent directors,” as defined under the rules of the NYSE;
• we have a compensation committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and
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• we have a nominating and corporate governance committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities.
We do not intend to utilize these exemptions and intend to comply with the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE, subject to applicable phase-in rules. However, if we determine in the future to utilize some or all of these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike most blank check companies, if
(i) we issue additional common stock 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 share of Class A common stock;
(ii) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and
(iii) the Market Value is below $9.20 per share,
then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices described below under “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00” and “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our shares of Class A common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We will be issuing warrants to purchase 8,750,000 shares of Class A common stock (or up to 10,062,500 shares of Class A common stock if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), at a price of $11.50 per whole share (subject to adjustment as provided herein), as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing in a private placement an aggregate of 9,700,000 (or 10,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. Our initial stockholders currently hold 5,031,250 shares of Class B common stock (up to 656,250 of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised). The shares of Class B common stock are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers make any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. In addition, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination, we may extend the period of time to consummate a business combination as described in this prospectus. For a Paid Extension, our sponsor and its affiliates or designees are obligated to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination, but our sponsor and its affiliates will not be obligated to extend such time. Any such payments would be made in the form of a loan, which will be non-interest bearing and payable upon the consummation of our initial business combination. For each Paid Extension, up to $1,750,000, or $2,012,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, of such loans to extend such period of time may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. To the extent we issue shares of Class A common stock to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants or conversion rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of Class A common stock and reduce the value of the shares of Class A common stock issued to complete the business combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
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The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees: (1) they will not be redeemable by us (except as described below under “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Redeemable Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00”); (2) they (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) they (including the common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights.
Because we must furnish our stockholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or U.S. GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
If our management team pursues a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If our management team pursues a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign market, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
• costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets;
• rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;
• complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;
• laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;
• tariffs and trade barriers;
• regulations related to customs and import/export matters;
• longer payment cycles;
• tax consequences, such as tax law changes, including termination or reduction of tax and other incentives that the applicable government provides to domestic companies, and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;
• currency fluctuations and exchange controls;
• rates of inflation;
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• challenges in collecting accounts receivable;
• cultural and language differences;
• employment regulations;
• crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars;
• deterioration of political relations with the United States;
• obligatory military service by personnel; and
• government appropriation of assets.
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such combination or, if we complete such combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial business combination, any or all of our management could resign from their positions as officers of the company, and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination could remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with U.S. securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with U.S. securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
After our initial business combination, our results of operations and prospects could be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political, social and government policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on businesses and debt and equity markets could have a material adverse effect on our search for an initial business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate an initial business combination.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a widespread health crisis that has adversely impacted the economies and financial markets worldwide, business operations and the conduct of commerce generally. There is no way of being certain how long these adverse impacts will last. The coronavirus, or other disease outbreaks, could have a material adverse effect on the business of any potential target business with which we consummate an initial business combination. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete an initial business combination if concerns relating to the coronavirus pandemic continue to 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 the coronavirus impacts our search for an initial business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the coronavirus pandemic and the actions to contain the coronavirus or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by the coronavirus or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, it could have a material adverse effect on our ability to consummate an initial business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination.
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In addition, our ability to consummate an initial business combination may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing and the coronavirus pandemic and other related events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise adequate financing, 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.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2023. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
We may issue our shares to investors in connection with our initial business combination at a price which is less than the prevailing market price of our shares at that time.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may issue shares to investors in private placement transactions (so-called PIPE transactions) at a price of $10.20 per share or which approximates the per-share amounts in our trust account at such time, which is generally approximately $10.20. A purpose of such issuances may be to enable us to provide sufficient liquidity to the post-business combination entity. The price of the shares we issue may therefore be less, and potentially significantly less, than the market price for our shares at such time.
Risks Relating to the Offering and our Securities
We are a newly incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a blank check company incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware 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.
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares and/or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow 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 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to Class A common stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination,
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as described herein) from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares and/or warrants, potentially at a loss.
The NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
We intend to have our units listed on the NYSE on or promptly after the date of this prospectus and our Class A common stock and warrants listed on or promptly after their date of separation. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the NYSE listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on the NYSE in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on the NYSE prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. In general, we must maintain a minimum of 300 public holders. Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with the NYSE’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than the NYSE’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on the NYSE. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and we would be required to have a minimum of 400 round lot holders. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If the NYSE delists any of our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect such securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
• a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
• reduced liquidity for our securities;
• a determination that our shares of Class A common stock are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;
• a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and
• a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because we expect that our units and eventually our Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on the NYSE, our units, Class A common stock and warrants will qualify as covered securities under such statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of covered securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on the NYSE, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under such statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
You will not be entitled to 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 U.S. securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the successful completion of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet of the company demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419.
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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.”
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
As of September 30, 2021, we had $12,500 in cash and negative working capital of $380,908. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Our plans to raise capital and to consummate our initial business combination may not be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this prospectus do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to consummate this offering or our inability to continue as a going concern.
The nominal purchase price paid by our sponsor for the founder shares may significantly dilute the implied value of your public shares in the event we complete an initial business combination. In addition, the value of the sponsor’s founder shares will be significantly greater than the amount our sponsor paid to purchase such shares in the event we complete an initial business combination, even if the business combination causes the trading price of our Class A common stock to materially decline.
Our sponsor has committed to invest an aggregate of $9,725,000 in us in connection with this offering, comprised of the $25,000 purchase price for the founder shares and the $9,700,000 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 $0.005 per share for the founder shares, the value of your public shares may be significantly diluted as a result of the automatic conversion of our sponsor’s founder shares into shares of Class A common stock upon our completion of an initial business combination.
The following table shows the public stockholders’ and our sponsor’s investment per share and how these compare to the implied value of one share of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination. The following table assumes that (i) our valuation is $178,500,000 (which is the amount we would have in the trust account for our initial business combination assuming the underwriters’ overallotment option is not exercised), (ii) no interest is earned on the funds held in the trust account, (iii) no public shares are redeemed in connection with our initial business combination and (iv) all founder shares are held by our initial stockholders 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 (A) the value of our public and private placement warrants, (B) the trading price of our Class A common stock, (iii) the initial business combination transaction costs (including payment of $6,125,000 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.
Shares of Class A common stock held by public stockholders | | | 17,500,000 shares |
Shares of Class B common stock held by our sponsor | | | 4,375,000 shares |
Total shares of common stock | | | 21,875,000 shares |
Total funds in trust at the initial business combination | | $ | 178,500,000 |
Public stockholders’ investment per share of Class A common stock(1) | | $ | 10.00 |
Our sponsor’s investment per share of Class B common stock(2) | | $ | 2.22 |
Implied value per share of Class A common stock upon the initial business combination(3) | | $ | 8.16 |
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(1) While the public stockholders’ investment is in both the public shares and the public warrants, for purposes of this table the full investment amount is ascribed to the public shares only.
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(2) The sponsor’s total investment in the equity of the company, inclusive of the founder shares and the sponsor’s $9,700,000 investment in the private placement warrants, is $9,725,000. For purposes of this table, the full investment amount is ascribed to the founder shares only.
(3) All founder shares held by our sponsor would automatically convert into Class A common stock upon completion of our initial business combination.
Based on these assumptions, each share of Class A common stock would have an implied value of $8.16 per share upon completion of our initial business combination, representing a 20.0% decrease from the initial implied value of $10.20 per public share. While the implied value of $8.16 per share of Class A common stock upon completion of our initial business combination would represent a dilution to our public stockholders, this would represent a significant increase in value for our sponsor relative to the price it paid for each founder share. At $8.16 per share of Class A common stock, the 4,375,000 shares of Class A common stock that the sponsor would own upon completion of our initial business combination (after automatic conversion of the sponsor’s 4,375,000 founder shares) would have an aggregate implied value of $35,700,000. As a result, even if the trading price of our Class A common stock significantly declines, the value of the founder shares held by our sponsor 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 common stock after the initial business combination is as low as $2.22 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 common stock even if the trading price of our Class A common stock 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 stockholders paid for their public shares.
This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the founder shares result in the issuance of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the founder shares at the time of our initial business combination and would become exacerbated to the extent that public stockholders seek redemptions from the trust for their public shares. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A common stock.
An investment in the units may result in uncertain or adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.
An investment in the units may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there are no authorities that directly address instruments similar to the units, the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of a unit between the share of Class A common stock and the one-half of one redeemable warrant to purchase one share of our Class A common stock included in each unit could be challenged by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) or the courts. Furthermore, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of a cashless exercise of warrants is unclear under current law and may be treated in part as a taxable exchange. In addition, an adjustment to the exercise price of the warrants could give rise to dividend income to investors without a corresponding payment of cash. Finally, it is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to our shares of common stock suspend the running of a U.S. holder’s holding period for purposes of determining whether any gain or loss realized by such holder on the sale or exchange of common stock is long-term capital gain or loss and for determining whether any dividend we pay would be considered “qualified dividends” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. See the section titled “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” for a summary of the material U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to an investment in our securities. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences applicable to their specific circumstances when purchasing, holding or disposing of our securities.
The securities in which we invest the funds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share.
The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. government treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open
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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 certificate of incorporation, our public stockholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income, net of taxes paid or payable (less, in the case we are unable to complete our initial business combination, $100,000 of interest). Negative interest rates could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders may be less than $10.20 per share.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or insolvency laws as a voidable performance. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable insolvency law, and may be included in our liquidation estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any liquidation claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation would be reduced.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.20 per share.
We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.
We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial
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business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the issuance of such shares, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, 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, complete or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the above requirements, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, in which case, the number of shares of Class A common stock that you will receive upon cashless exercise will be based on a formula subject to a maximum amount of shares equal to 0.361 shares of Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment). However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our shares of Class A common stock 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, but we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws and no exemption is available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant shall not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the shares of Class A common stock included in the units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the public warrants included as part of units sold in this offering. In such an instance, our sponsor and its permitted transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to exercise their warrants and sell the common stock underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying common stock. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying shares of Class A common stock for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise their warrants.
Our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.005 per founder share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution upon the purchase of our shares of Class A common stock.
The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the common stock and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our sponsor acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon the closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public stockholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 92.9% (or $9.29 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $0.71 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B common stock result in the issuance of shares of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the shares of Class B common stock at the time of our initial business combination and would become exacerbated to the extent that public stockholders seek redemptions from the trust. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our shares of Class A common stock.
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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.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment 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 number of the then-outstanding private placement warrants. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
Our warrant agreement will designate the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our warrant agreement will provide that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.
This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. In addition, this choice-of-forum provision may result in our warrant holders incurring increased costs to bring an action, proceeding or claim due to, but not limited to, the warrant holder’s physical location or knowledge of the applicable laws, when the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is the exclusive forum. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
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We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant if, among other things, the last reported sale price of our shares of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the public warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to: (1) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so; (2) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants; or (3) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us (except as described under “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00”) so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees.
In addition, we have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants commencing ninety days after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant if, among other things, the last reported sale price of our shares of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within the 30-trading day period ending three trading days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. In such a case, the holders will be able to exercise their warrants for cash or on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares of Class A common stock determined by reference to the table set forth under “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants” based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our shares of Class A common stock except as otherwise described in “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants.” Any such redemption may have similar consequences to a cash redemption described above. In addition, such redemption may occur at a time when the warrants are “out-of-the-money,” in which case you would lose any potential embedded value from a subsequent increase in the value of the shares of Class A common stock had your warrants remained outstanding. The value received upon exercise of the warrants (1) may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had exercised their warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (2) may not compensate the holders for the value of the warrants, including because the number of common stock received is capped at 0.361 shares of Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants.
Because each unit contains one-half of one warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.
Each unit contains one-half of one warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole warrants will trade. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one share of Class A common stock and one whole warrant to purchase one share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of 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 whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if they included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
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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 underwriter, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of this offering, prices and terms of the units, including the shares of Class A common stock and warrants underlying the units, include:
• the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies;
• prior offerings of those companies;
• our prospects for acquiring an operating business at attractive values;
• a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions;
• our capital structure;
• an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies;
• general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and
• other factors as were deemed relevant.
Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.
There is currently no market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
There is currently no market for our securities. Stockholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following this offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our shares of Class A common stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred stock, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make 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.
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We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the end of any second quarter of a fiscal year, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the end of such fiscal year. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.
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Our warrants are expected to be accounted for as a warrant liability and will be recorded at fair value upon issuance with any changes in fair value each period reported in earnings, which may have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities or may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Upon consummation of this offering we will have 18,450,000 warrants outstanding (20,812,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). We currently expect to account for these warrants as a warrant liability, which means that we will record at fair value upon issuance with any changes in fair value each period reported in earnings. The impact of changes in fair value on earnings may have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities. In addition, potential targets may seek a business combination partner that does not have warrants that are accounted for as a warrant liability, which may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
Risks Relating to our Sponsor, Management Team and Board of Directors
Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the company.
Information regarding performance by our management team and their affiliates is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team and their affiliates is not a guarantee either (1) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (2) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team or their affiliates or any related investment’s performance as indicative of our future performance of an investment in the company or the returns the company will, or is likely to, generate going forward.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of our or a target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
In addition, the directors and officers of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with the company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could
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provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of our initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to his or her fiduciary duties. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination or remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
We are dependent upon our directors and officers and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our directors and officers, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our directors and officers 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 directors and officers will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our directors and officers 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. Our officers are engaged in several other business endeavors for which they may be entitled to substantial compensation and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Certain of our independent directors also serve as officers 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. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “Management — Directors, Director Nominees and Officers.”
We may engage our underwriter or one or more of its affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering, which may include acting as M&A advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as arranger or underwriter of any associated debt financing. Our underwriter is entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that will be released from the trust account only upon a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after this offering, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
We may engage our underwriter or one or more of its affiliates to provide additional services to us after this offering, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing M&A advisory services, acting as an arranger or underwriter of any associated debt financing. We may pay our underwriter or one or more of its affiliates fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with our underwriter or any of its affiliates and no fees or other compensation for such services will be paid to our underwriter or any of its affiliates prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of this prospectus, unless such payment would not be deemed underwriter’s compensation in connection with this offering. Our underwriter is also entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. Our underwriter’s or its affiliates’ financial interests tied to the consummation of a business combination transaction may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
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Since our initial stockholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
Our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.005 per share, to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in exchange for an aggregate of 5,031,250 founder shares (up to 656,250 of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised). Our initial stockholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, 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 common stock upon the consummation of this offering. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination.
In addition, our sponsor, has committed to purchase an aggregate of 9,700,000 (or 10,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants, each exercisable for one share of Class A common stock, for a purchase price of $9,700,000 in the aggregate (or $10,750,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $1.00 per warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete a business combination. Each private placement warrant may be exercised for one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein.
The founder shares are identical to the common stock included in the units being sold in this offering except that: (1) prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason; (2) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions; (3) our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive: (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to Class A common stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame); (4) the founder shares will automatically convert into our shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described in more detail below; and (5) the founder shares are entitled to registration rights. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree), pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them purchased during or after this offering in favor of our initial business combination.
The personal and financial interests of our sponsor, directors and officers may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 15-month deadline following the closing of this offering nears, which is the deadline for the completion of our initial business combination. In particular, because the founder shares were purchased at a purchase price of approximately $0.005 per share, the holders of our founder shares (including certain members of our management team that directly or indirectly own founder shares) could make a substantial profit after our initial business combination even if our public stockholders lose money on their investment as a result of a decrease in the post-combination value of their shares of Class A common stock (after accounting for any adjustments in connection with an exchange or
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other transaction contemplated by the business combination). For example, a holder of 1,000 founder shares would have paid approximately $4.00 to purchase such shares. At the time of an initial business combination, such holder would be able to convert such founder shares into 1,000 shares of Class A common stock and would receive the same consideration in connection with our initial business combination as a public stockholder for the same number of shares of Class A common stock. If the trading price of our shares of Class A common stock on a post-business combination basis (after accounting for any adjustments in connection with an exchange or other transaction contemplated by the business combination) were to decrease to $5.00 per share of Class A common stock, such holder of our founder shares would obtain a profit of approximately $4,996 on account of the 1,000 founder shares that the holder had converted into shares of Class A common stock in connection with the initial business combination. By contrast, a public stockholder holding 1,000 shares of Class A common stock acquired as part of the units in this offering would lose approximately $5,000 (excluding the value of warrants included in the units) in connection with the same transaction.
While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to or waiver of the letter agreement or registration rights agreement prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to or waivers of such agreements in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Any such amendments or waivers would not require approval from our stockholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
Certain of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of this offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor and directors and officers are, or may in the future become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in a business similar to our company. Our sponsor and directors and officers are also not prohibited from sponsoring, or otherwise becoming involved with, any other blank check companies prior to us completing our initial business combination.
Our directors and officers also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to other entities prior to its presentation to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis.
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 — Directors, Director Nominees and Officers,” “Management — Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Our directors, officers, 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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In particular, affiliates of our sponsor have invested in a diverse set of industries. As a result, there may be substantial overlap between companies that would be a suitable business combination for us and companies that would make an attractive target for such other affiliates.
We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, directors and officers with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, directors and officers. Certain of our directors and officers also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including those described under “Management — Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, directors and officers are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no preliminary discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria and guidelines for a business combination as set forth in “Proposed Business — Effecting Our Initial Business Combination — Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement that we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the FINRA or from an independent accounting firm, regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, that (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware, except any claim (A) as to which the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction, or (D) any action arising under the Securities Act, as to which the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of Delaware shall have concurrent jurisdiction. If an action is brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, a court may determine that this provision is unenforceable, and to the extent it is enforceable, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
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Additionally, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal courts shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act against us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or agents. Section 22 of the Securities Act, however, created concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Accordingly, 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. While the Delaware courts have determined that such exclusive forum provisions are facially valid, a stockholder may nevertheless seek to bring a claim in a venue other than those designated in the exclusive forum provisions, and there can be no assurance that such provisions will be enforced by a court in those other jurisdictions. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in our securities shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to these provisions; however, we note that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, the provision may limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us and may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers. In addition, this provision may result in our stockholders incurring increased costs to bring a claim or action due to, but not limited to, the stockholder’s physical location or knowledge of the applicable laws, when the federal district courts or the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or an alternative forum, with our consent, is the sole and exclusive forum.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Some statements contained in this prospectus are forward-looking in nature. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our 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,” “intends,” “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 a prospective target business or businesses;
• our expectations around the performance or projections of markets or industries;
• our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;
• our directors and officers allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with or otherwise conflicting contractual obligations in connection with our business or in approving or consummating our initial business combination;
• our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination;
• our pool of prospective target businesses and industries;
• the ability of our directors and officers to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities;
• our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading;
• the lack of a market for our securities;
• the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance;
• the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; 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.
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USE OF PROCEEDS
We are offering 17,500,000 units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit. We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering, together with the funds we will receive from the sale of the private placement warrants, will be used as set forth in the following table.
| | Without Over-Allotment Option | | Over-Allotment Option Exercised |
Gross proceeds | | | | | | | | |
Gross proceeds from units offered to public(1) | | $ | 175,000,000 | | | $ | 201,250,000 | |
Gross proceeds from private placement warrants offered in the private placement | | | 9,700,000 | | | | 10,750,000 | |
Total gross proceeds | | $ | 184,700,000 | | | $ | 212,000,000 | |
Estimated offering expenses(2) | | | | | | | | |
Underwriting commissions (excluding deferred portion)(3) | | $ | 3,500,000 | | | $ | 4,025,000 | |
Legal fees and expenses | | | 400,000 | | | | 400,000 | |
Accounting fees and expenses | | | 120,000 | | | | 120,000 | |
Printing and engraving expenses | | | 25,000 | | | | 25,000 | |
SEC expenses | | | 18,656 | | | | 18,656 | |
FINRA expenses | | | 35,000 | | | | 35,000 | |
NYSE listing fees | | | 85,000 | | | | 85,000 | |
Miscellaneous expenses(5) | | | 66,344 | | | | 66,344 | |
Total estimated offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) | | $ | 750,000 | | | $ | 750,000 | |
Proceeds after estimated offering expenses | | $ | 180,450,000 | | | $ | 207,225,000 | |
Held in trust account(3) | | $ | 178,500,000 | | | $ | 205,275,000 | |
% of public offering size | | | 102 | % | | | 102 | % |
Not held in trust account(2)(3) | | $ | 1,950,000 | | | $ | 1,950,000 | |
The following table shows the use of the approximately $1,950,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust
account(6).
| | Amount | | % of Total |
Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses in connection with any business combination(7) | | $ | 380,000 | | 20 | % |
Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations | | | 85,0004 | | 4 | % |
Reserve for liquidation expenses | | | 100,000 | | 5 | % |
Directors and officers’ insurance premiums(4) | | | 950,000 | | 49 | % |
NYSE continued listing fees | | | 85,000 | | 4 | % |
Payment for office space, secretarial and administrative services | | | 240,000 | | 12 | % |
Other miscellaneous expenses | | | 110,000 | | 6 | % |
Total | | $ | 1,950,000 | | 100.00 | % |
____________
(1) Includes amounts payable to public stockholders who properly redeem their shares in connection with our successful completion of our initial business combination.
(2) A portion of the offering expenses will be paid from the proceeds of a loan from our sponsor of up to $350,000 as described in this prospectus. This loan will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $750,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account. As of September 30, 2021, $100,000 was outstanding under this loan. These expenses are estimates only. In the event that offering expenses are less than as set forth in this table, any such amounts will be used for post-closing working capital expenses. In the event that the offering expenses are more than as set forth in this table, we may fund such excess with funds not held in the trust account.
(3) The underwriters have agreed to defer underwriting commissions equal to 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering. Upon completion of our initial business combination, $6,125,000, which constitutes the underwriters’ deferred commissions (or up to $7,043,750 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be paid to the
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underwriters from the funds held in the trust account, and the remaining funds, less amounts used to pay redeeming stockholders, will be released to us and can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial business combination occurs or for general corporate purposes, including payment of principal or interest on indebtedness incurred in connection with our initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other companies or for working capital. The underwriters will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions. No portion of this decreased amount would be held in the trust account and such amount would instead be available to pay offering expenses and/or for working capital.
(4) This amount represents the approximate amount of annualized director and officer liability insurance premiums we anticipate paying following the completion of this offering and until we complete a business combination.
(5) Includes organizational and administrative expenses and may include amounts related to above-listed expenses in the event actual amounts exceed estimates.
(6) These expenses are estimates only. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring a business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify an acquisition target in a specific industry subject to specific regulations, we may incur additional expenses associated with legal due diligence and the engagement of special legal counsel. In addition, our staffing needs may vary and as a result, we may engage a number of consultants to assist with legal and financial due diligence. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would not be available for our expenses. The amount in the table above does not include interest available to us from the trust account. Based upon current interest rates, estimate that the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $142,800 per year; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. This estimate assumes an interest rate of 0.08% per annum based upon current yields of securities in which the trust account may be invested. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
(7) Includes estimated amounts that may also be used in connection with our initial business combination to fund a “no shop” provision and commitment fees for financing.
The rules of the NYSE provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $178,500,000 (or $205,275,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), including $6,125,000 (or up to $7,043,750 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions, will, upon the consummation of this offering, be placed in a U.S.-based trust account at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. The funds in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Based on current interest rates, we estimate that the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $142,800 per year, assuming an interest rate of 0.08% per year. We will not be permitted to withdraw any of the principal or interest held in the trust account except for the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes, if any. The funds held in the trust account will not otherwise be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to Class A common stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Based on current interest rates, we expect that interest earned on the trust account will be sufficient to pay taxes.
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The net proceeds held in the trust account may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we ultimately complete our initial business combination and to pay the deferred underwriting commissions. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or the redemption of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We believe that amounts not held in trust will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. This belief is based on the fact that while we may begin preliminary due diligence of a target business in connection with an indication of interest, we intend to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective acquisition, only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of a business combination. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. If we are required to seek additional capital, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to loan funds to, or otherwise invest in, us.
Subsequent to the closing of this offering, we will pay affiliates of our sponsor $10,000 per month in aggregate for office space, secretarial and administrative 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 $350,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of March 31, 2022 and the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $750,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account. As of September 30, 2021, there was $100,000 outstanding under such promissory note.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may also purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Please see “Proposed Business — Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities” for a description of how such persons will determine from which stockholders to seek to acquire shares. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public stockholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. However, such persons have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by
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Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
We may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions and the agreement for our initial business combination may require as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights so that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement or any net worth or cash requirements, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination, and may instead search for an alternate business combination.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow 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 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to Class A common stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants.
Our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination or certain amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation as described elsewhere in this prospectus. In addition, our initial stockholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if our initial stockholders acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
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DIVIDEND POLICY
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any share dividends in the foreseeable future, except if we increase the size of this offering, in which case we will effect a capitalization or other appropriate mechanism immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding common stock 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.
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DILUTION
The difference between the public offering price per share of Class A common stock, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering pursuant to this prospectus or the private placement warrants, and the pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of warrants, including the private placement warrants, which would cause the actual dilution to the public stockholders to be higher, particularly where a cashless exercise is utilized. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of the shares of Class A common stock which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of issued and outstanding common stock.
At September 30, 2021, our net tangible book deficit was $(380,908), or approximately $ (0.08) per share of Class B common stock. After giving effect to the sale of 17,500,000 shares of Class A common stock included in the units we are offering by this prospectus, the sale of the private placement warrants and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at September 30, 2021 would have been $5,000,001 or $0.71 per share (or $5,000,001 or $0.62 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 the 14,841,136 shares of Class A common stock that may be redeemed for cash, which is the maximum number of shares of Class A common stock that may be redeemed for cash to effect a business combination, and assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) of $0.79 per share to our initial stockholders as of the date of this prospectus. The dilution to new investors from this offering will be $9.29 per share or $9.38 per share if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full.
In calculating the pro forma net tangible book value after this offering, we have given effect to the provision of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that will provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. Accordingly, we have calculated pro forma net tangible book value in the table below assuming that holders of approximately 84.8% of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account.
The following table illustrates the dilution to the public stockholders on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units or the private placement warrants:
| | No exercise of over-allotment option | | Exercise of over-allotment option in full |
Public offering price | | $ | 10.00 | | | $ | 10.00 | |
Net tangible book value before this offering | | | (0.08 | ) | | | (0.08 | ) |
Increase attributable to public stockholders | | | 0.79 | | | | 0.71 | |
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants | | | 0.71 | | | | 0.62 | |
Dilution to public stockholders | | $ | 9.29 | | | $ | 9.38 | |
Percentage of dilution to new investors | | | 92.9 | % | | | 93.8 | % |
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 $151,379,591 assuming holders of up to approximately 84.8% of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per-share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of shares of Class A common stock sold in this offering.
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The following table sets forth information with respect to our initial stockholders and the public stockholders:
| | Shares Purchased | | Total Consideration | | Average Price Per Share |
| | Number | | Percentage | | Amount | | Percentage | |
Initial Stockholders(1)(2) | | 4,375,000 | | 20.0 | % | | $ | 25,000 | | 0.01 | % | | $ | 0.006 |
Public Stockholders | | 17,500,000 | | 80.0 | % | | $ | 175,000,000 | | 99.99 | % | | $ | 10.00 |
| | 21,875,000 | | 100.00 | % | | $ | 175,025,000 | | 100.000 | % | | | |
____________
(1) Assumes the full forfeiture of 656,250 shares that are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.
(2) Excludes 718,750 founder shares surrendered for no consideration by the sponsor on November 30, 2021.
The pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, is calculated as follows, subject to the assumption described above:
| | Without Over-allotment | | With Over-allotment |
Numerator: | | | | | | | | |
Net tangible book value before this offering | | $ | (380,908 | ) | | $ | (380,908 | ) |
Proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement warrants, net of expenses (including non-deferred underwriting commissions)(1) | | | 180,450,000 | | | | 207,225,000 | |
Offering costs accrued for and paid in advance, excluded from net tangible book value before this offering | | | 60,000 | | | | 60,000 | |
Less: fair value of warrants from this offering and private placement | | | (17,624,500 | ) | | | (19,879,375 | ) |
Less: deferred underwriters’ commissions payable | | | (6,125,000 | ) | | | (7,043,750 | ) |
Less: proceeds held in trust subject to maximum redemptions to effect a business combination(2) | | | (151,379,591 | ) | | | (174,980,966 | ) |
| | $ | 5,000,001 | | | $ | 5,000,001 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Denominator: | | | | | | | | |
Shares of Class B common stock issued and outstanding prior to this offering(3) | | | 5,031,250 | | | | 5,031,250 | |
Class B shares forfeited if over-allotment is not exercised | | | (656,250 | ) | | | — | |
Shares of Class A common stock included in the units offered | | | 17,500,000 | | | | 20,125,000 | |
Less: maximum shares eligible to effect a business combination | | | (14,841,136 | ) | | | (17,154,977 | ) |
| | | 7,033,864 | | | | 8,001,253 | |
____________
(1) Expenses applied against gross proceeds include offering expenses of $750,000 and underwriting commissions of $3,500,000 (or $4,025,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), excluding deferred underwriting fees. See “Use of Proceeds.”
(2) If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. In the event of any such purchases of our shares prior to the completion of our initial business combination, the number of shares of Class A common stock subject to redemption will be reduced by the amount of any such purchases, increasing the pro forma net tangible book value per share. See “Proposed Business — Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities.”
(3) Excludes 718,750 founder shares surrendered by our sponsor for no consideration on November 30, 2021.
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CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our capitalization at September 30, 2021, and as adjusted to give effect to the sale of our 17,500,000 units in this offering for $175,000,000 (or $10.00 per unit) and the sale of 9,700,000 private placement warrants for $9,700,000 (or $1.00 per warrant) and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities:
| | September 30, 2021 |
| | Actual | | As Adjusted(2) |
Promissory note(1) | | $ | 100,000 | | | $ | — | |
Deferred underwriting commissions | | | — | | | | 6,125,000 | |
Warrant liabilities(3) | | | — | | | | 17,624,500 | |
Class A common stock, subject to possible redemption; $0.0001 par value, 280,000,000 shares authorized (actual and as adjusted); no shares issued and outstanding (actual); 17,500,000 shares issued and outstanding (as adjusted)(4) | | | — | | | | 156,805,313 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Stockholders’ equity: | | | | | | | | |
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized (actual and as adjusted); none issued or outstanding (actual and as adjusted) | | | — | | | | — | |
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value, 20,000,000 shares authorized (actual and as adjusted); 5,031,250 issued and outstanding (actual) 4,375,000 issued and outstanding (as adjusted)(5) | | | 503 | | | | 437 | |
Additional paid-in capital(6) | | | 24,497 | | | | 412,563 | |
Accumulated deficit(7) | | | (89,874 | ) | | | (582,687 | ) |
Total stockholders’ equity | | | (64,874 | ) | | | (169,687 | ) |
Total capitalization | | $ | 35,126 | | | $ | 180,385,126 | |
____________
(1) Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $350,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of September 30, 2021, there was $100,000 outstanding under such promissory note.
(2) Assumes the full forfeiture of 656,250 shares that are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. The proceeds of the sale of such shares will not be deposited into the trust account, the shares will not be eligible for redemption from the trust account nor will they be eligible to vote upon the initial business combination.
(3) We will account for the 18,450,000 warrants to be issued in connection with this offering (the 8,750,000 warrants included in the units and the 9,700,000 private placement warrants, assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised) in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40. 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, we will 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 our statement of operations. The warrants are also subject to re-evaluation of the proper classification and accounting treatment at each reporting period.
(4) Upon the completion of our initial business combination, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), subject to the limitations described herein whereby our net tangible assets will be maintained at a minimum of $5,000,001 following such redemptions, and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed business combination. The “as adjusted” amount is presented net of proceeds allocated to the public warrants and net of allocated transaction costs related to this offering. The Class A common stock contain redemption rights that make them redeemable by our public stockholders. Accordingly, they are classified within temporary equity in accordance with the guidance provided in ASC 480-10-S99-3A, and will be subsequently accreted to redemption value.
(5) Actual share amount is after surrender of 718,750 shares by the sponsor on November 30, 2021 and prior to any forfeiture of founder shares by our sponsor. As adjusted share amount assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
(6) As adjusted additional paid in capital includes the excess of the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants over their estimated fair value at issuance as a deemed capital contribution from our sponsor.
(7) As adjusted accumulated deficit includes transaction costs allocated to warrant liability. Such costs will be immediately expensed.
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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Overview
We are a newly organized blank check company incorporated on March 24, 2021 as a Delaware corporation for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our shares (including to the target or pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following the consummation of this offering or otherwise), debt or a combination of cash, shares and debt.
The issuance of additional common stock or preferred shares in a business combination:
• may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B common stock resulted in the issuance of shares of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock;
• may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock;
• could cause a change of control if a substantial number of our common stock are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present directors and officers;
• may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;
• may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, common stock and/or warrants; and
• may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants.
Similarly, if we issue debt or otherwise incur significant indebtedness, it could result in:
• default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
• acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;
• our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand;
• our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding;
• our inability to pay dividends on our common stock;
• using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our common stock if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
• limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
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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 we had $12,500 in cash, negative working capital of $380,908 and deferred offering costs of approximately $316,034. Further, we expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for this offering. Following this offering, we will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after this offering. There has been no significant change in our financial or trading position and no material adverse change has occurred since the date of our audited financial statements. After this offering, we expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. We expect our expenses to increase substantially after the closing of this offering.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to the completion of this offering through $25,000 paid by the sponsor to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in exchange for the issuance of the founder shares to our sponsor and up to $350,000 in loans from our sponsor under an unsecured promissory note. As of September 30, 2021, there was $100,000 outstanding under such promissory note. We estimate that the net proceeds from (1) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $750,000 and underwriting commissions of $3,500,000 (or up to $4,025,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), excluding deferred underwriting commissions of $6,125,000 (or up to $7,043,750 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), and (2) the sale of the private placement warrants for a purchase price of $9,700,000 (or $10,750,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be $180,450,000 (or $207,225,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). Of this amount, $178,500,000 or $205,275,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, including $6,125,000 (or up to $7,043,750 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions will be deposited into the trust account. The funds in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries. The remaining $1,950,000 will not be held in the trust account. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $750,000 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 $750,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and excluding deferred underwriting commissions) to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay taxes, if any. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. We expect the interest earned on the amount in the trust account will be sufficient to pay our taxes. We expect the only taxes payable by us out of the funds in the trust account will be income and franchise taxes, if any. To the extent that our common stock or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
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Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us $1,950,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account. We will use these funds primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, structure, negotiate and complete a business combination, and to pay taxes to the extent the interest earned on the trust account is not sufficient to pay our taxes.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $380,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses in connection with any business combinations; $85,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $ 950,000 for directors and officers’ insurance premiums; $85,000 for continued exchange listing fees; $100,000 as a reserve for liquidation expenses; and $110,000 for other miscellaneous expenses. We will also pay affiliates of our sponsor $10,000 per month in aggregate for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team subsequent to the closing of this offering.
These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses. In addition, we could use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust to pay commitment fees for financing, fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business or as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into an agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision would be determined based on the terms of the specific business combination and the amount of our available funds at the time. Our forfeiture of such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise) could result in our not having sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, prospective target businesses.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing 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. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account.
Controls and Procedures
We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control reporting requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal
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control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.
Prior to the closing of this offering, we have not completed an assessment, nor has our independent registered public accounting firm tested our systems, of internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Many small and mid-sized target businesses we may consider for our initial business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:
• staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties;
• reconciliation of accounts;
• proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate;
• evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions;
• documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and
• documentation of accounting policies and procedures.
Because it will take time, management involvement and perhaps outside resources to determine what internal control improvements are necessary for us to meet regulatory requirements and market expectations for our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expenses in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.
Once our management’s report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent registered public accounting firm to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The independent registered public accounting firm may identify additional issues concerning a target business’s internal controls while performing their audit of internal control over financial reporting.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
The net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be invested in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
We will account for the 18,450,000 warrants to be issued in connection with this offering (the 8,750,000 warrants included in the units and the 9,700,000 private placement warrants, assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised) in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40. Such guidance provides that because the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded as a liability.
Related Party Transactions
On May 12, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in exchange for an aggregate of 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share. On November 30, 2021, our sponsor surrendered 718,750 founder shares for no consideration, resulting in our sponsor holding 5,031,250 shares of Class B common stock, representing an effective purchase price of approximately $0.005 per share. Our sponsor also transferred an aggregate of 200,000 founder shares to our outside directors, resulting in our sponsor holding 4,831,250 founder shares. Our initial stockholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as
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applicable, with respect to our Class B common stock 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 common stock upon the consummation of this offering.
Our sponsor, directors and officers, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, directors, officers or our or any of their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $350,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of March 31, 2022 and the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $750,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account. As of September 30, 2021, there was $100,000 outstanding under such promissory note.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
Our sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 9,700,000 (or 10,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($9,700,000 in the aggregate or $10,750,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees: (1) they will not be redeemable by us (except as described below under “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Redeemable Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00”); (2) they (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) they (including the common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement that we will enter into with our initial stockholders, officers and directors on or prior to the closing of this offering, we may be required to register certain securities for sale under the Securities Act. To the extent such parties hold any of our securities, they and holders of warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans or extension loans, if any, are entitled under the registration rights agreement to make up to three demands that we register certain of our securities held by them for sale under the Securities Act and to have the securities covered thereby registered for resale pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders have the right to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until the securities covered thereby are released from their lock-up restrictions, as described herein. We will bear the costs and expenses of filing any such registration statements. See “Principal Stockholders — Registration Rights.”
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Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Results
As of September 30, 2021, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in this prospectus as we have conducted no operations to date.
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.
Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things: (1) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; (2) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; (3) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis); and (4) disclose certain executive compensation-related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the 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
Our Company
We are a newly organized, blank check company incorporated on March 24, 2021 as a Delaware corporation for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not selected any specific business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business industry or sector, we intend to capitalize on our management team’s differentiated ability to source, acquire, and manage a business in the healthcare industry, specifically in the healthcare technology, healthcare technology-enabled services, or digital health subsectors. We believe these subsectors present significant opportunities tied to emerging themes including value-based care, population health, social determinants of health, consumer engagement and empowerment, care coordination, access enhancement and real-world evidence utilization in life sciences. Our management team and advisors have extensive track records of creating value for stockholders by identifying, investing into and acquiring businesses in these sectors and subsectors tied to many of these themes. Our management team and advisors have demonstrated expertise in growth investing while driving operational excellence and financial discipline to create sustained and growing stockholder value.
We are also supported by our sponsor. Members of our sponsor include FTCP and Martin Ventures. FTCP is a private investment firm focused primarily on healthcare and financial services investments. FTCP has made over 60 private market investments in multiple sectors with a substantial focus on investing in and supporting healthcare information technology, healthcare technology-enabled services and healthcare technology, healthcare services and healthcare businesses that are influencing and capitalizing on emerging trends in the healthcare field. FTCP and its affiliates have made 38 investments in healthcare technology and services companies and have fully exited nine of those investments. Martin Ventures is a Nashville-based investment firm focused on building and investing in healthcare companies, particularly in healthcare information technology and healthcare technology enabled services. Martin Ventures currently has a portfolio of 20 private healthcare investments. FTCP and Martin Ventures, along with our management team and our advisors, provide significant domain knowledge and expertise, and we believe they will deliver insightful strategic perspectives, extensive access to acquisition targets and resources to aid in the identification, diligence, and negotiations associated with our initial business combination. In addition, we anticipate that our sponsor will provide meaningful incremental financial discipline, operational support, and governance after our initial business combination.
Healthcare Industry Attractiveness
The healthcare sector is large and rapidly growing, and our management team will use its deep knowledge of the sector and market participants to efficiently pursue attractive acquisition opportunities that utilize technology to address long-term, structural challenges in the industry. In 2018, U.S. healthcare expenditures amounted to $3.6 trillion, or 17.7% of total GDP, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”). CMS projects U.S. healthcare expenditures will rise to $6.2 trillion through 2028, or 19.7% of GDP, representing a 5.4% compound annual growth rate, meaningfully outpacing projected U.S. GDP growth over the projection period. Absent innovation, the current trajectory of rising healthcare costs will likely result in reduced competitiveness for the broader U.S. economy over time as the healthcare delivery and payment ecosystem consumes ever increasing resources. We believe the healthcare industry needs to continue to pursue initiatives to generate meaningful productivity improvements aiming to reduce cost and improve care outcomes while also increasing consumer access and improving the consumer experience. We believe information technology and technology-enabled services companies will be critical components of any fundamental changes to healthcare delivery and payment.
The ongoing growth of healthcare spending has significantly pressured all industry participants (including consumers, employers, insurers, providers, life sciences companies, and government agencies) to manage costs while simultaneously maintaining or increasing access and improving health outcomes. Many constituents in the healthcare system are pursuing new and innovative technologies and business models aimed at improving the quality of outcomes for individuals, reducing friction in the consumer health journey, and delivering enhanced care at a lower cost.
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We intend to focus our acquisition efforts across certain emerging themes in the healthcare market. We believe there is a large and attractive addressable market of potential business combination targets addressing these themes and intend to concentrate on target companies with developed strategies, established customer bases, differentiated solutions and attractive growth prospects with enterprise values of up to $1.5 billion. The breadth of the thematic opportunities and diversity of the target universe across multiple compelling subsectors maximize the likelihood that our management team will be able to identify and execute an attractive transaction with the aim to generate substantial stockholder value over time.
Our belief that a large addressable market of potential acquisition targets exists is based on our knowledge of the healthcare information technology and technology-enabled healthcare services markets, and, in part, due to the scale of the industry as well as the innovation and technology-enablement currently underway. Many potential targets are held by private equity or venture capital investors with finite investment horizons who will eventually seek to exit their positions. Recent private funding by venture capital and private equity firms has been significant; according to Pitchbook, there was approximately $117 billion of funding into U.S. healthcare companies in 2020, up from approximately $58 billion in 2016. Recently, public market interest has been strong for healthcare technology and tech-enabled healthcare services assets, representing approximately 25% of capital raised in healthcare IPOs since 2018 with higher growth in number of IPOs relative to other healthcare subsectors over the same time period, according to Dealogic. In light of the recent, robust public and private healthcare market activity, we believe that there are still a large number of potential business combination targets with financial and operating characteristics that will be attractive to public equity investors.
Based on our current knowledge and data from Pitchbook, we believe that there are more than 2,000 healthcare information technology or technology-enabled healthcare services companies in the United States, and of such companies, we believe there are more than 500 of appropriate size and scale to be ready for public markets either on their own or combined with another company or companies
Our Management Team
Our management team is led by Charles N. Martin, our Chairman, Justin Dearborn, our Co-Chief Executive Officer, and Jonathan Phillips, our Co-Chief Executive Officer.
Charles N. Martin, Chairman
Charles Martin, our Chairman, is the founder and Chairman of Martin Ventures, a Nashville-based investment firm he founded in 2009. Mr. Martin has more than 50 years of experience operating large, complex healthcare systems. At Martin Ventures, he leads an investment firm dedicated to building and investing in healthcare technology, healthcare services and healthcare technology-enabled services companies that optimize existing healthcare provider businesses, develop new and innovative models of care, and empower the healthcare consumer. Martin Ventures has a current portfolio of 20 healthcare companies and has successfully exited an additional 13 healthcare investments. Prior to launching Martin Ventures, Mr. Martin founded Vanguard Health Systems and served as Vanguard’s Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer for 16 years. Vanguard went public in 2011, and in 2013 was acquired by Tenet Healthcare for $4.3 billion. Before launching Vanguard, Mr. Martin, in conjunction with private equity partners, acquired the hospital chain Republic Health, ultimately founding a new healthcare system called OrNda Healthcare Corp. OrNda became the nation’s third-largest investor-owned hospital chain with 53 hospitals before being sold to Tenet Healthcare Corp. in 1997 for $1.8 billion. Earlier in Mr. Martin’s career, he served in numerous executive roles with Hospital Corporation of America, Inc., General Care Corp. and HealthTrust Inc.
Mr. Martin has also served on numerous boards of directors, including the University of Pennsylvania Law School and RAND Health, an independent health research group. Mr. Martin received his B.A. from Southern Adventist University.
Justin Dearborn, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director
Justin Dearborn, our Co-Chief Executive Officer and a director, has over 25 years of experience leading healthcare, technology and publishing businesses, and is currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of PatientBond, Inc., a digital patient engagement company powered by healthcare consumer psychographics. Before his role as Chief
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Executive Officer of PatientBond, Mr. Dearborn served as Chief Executive Officer of Tribune Publishing Company (Nasdaq: TPCO), a media company, from 2016 to 2019 and as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman from 2018 to 2019. Mr. Dearborn was chief executive officer of eMed, an at-home diagnostic testing company, in 2020. Mr. Dearborn was Chief Operating Officer for ICM Partners, a leading talent agency, in 2019. Prior to Tribune, he served as Chief Executive Officer and a director of Merge Healthcare Incorporated (Nasdaq: MRGE), a clinical software solution provider from 2008 until 2016. During his tenure, Mr. Dearborn led the company through a period of transformation and sustainable growth. While serving as Chief Executive Officer of Merge, he executed a multi-faceted growth strategy comprised of significant investments in sales and marketing capabilities across Merge’s core solution offerings while pursuing acquisitions to broaden market reach into adjacent sectors and to increase capabilities and share of current solution offerings. Mr. Dearborn joined Merge as Chief Executive Officer when Merge’s enterprise value was approximately $10 million. Merge was acquired by IBM for $1 billion in 2015 and was integrated into IBM’s Watson Health division to deliver intuitive, cognitive computing solutions to healthcare providers. Over his career, Mr. Dearborn has led the acquisition of numerous companies, including the sales of Merge and the LA Times. Before joining Merge, Mr. Dearborn served as managing director at Merrick Ventures, LLC, a private investment firm.
In addition to serving on the board of directors of PatientBond, Mr. Dearborn is serving out his final term as a director and Chairman of the Audit Committee, of Next Level Health, an Illinois based Medicaid insurance provider that was acquired by Centene Corporation in 2020. Mr. Dearborn received his B.S. in Accounting from Illinois State University and his J.D. from Depaul College of Law.
Jonathan R. Phillips, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director
Jonathan Phillips, our Co-Chief Executive Officer and a director, has over 25 years of experience in healthcare information technology, healthcare services, investment banking and private investing. Mr. Phillips has served as Managing Director and Head of Private Equity for FTCP, headquartered in Wheaton, Illinois, since November 2016. Mr. Phillips is also the founder and Managing Partner of First Health Capital Partners, LLC, a healthcare technology and services investment firm founded in January 2016. Mr. Phillips has led investments in a broad range of healthcare technology and services companies, including Vivify Health (acquired by United Health Group in 2019), Lightbeam Health, AVIA, RxAnte, and Wellvana Health.
Before his role at First Trust Capital Partners, in 2005, Mr. Phillips founded Healthcare Growth Partners, LLC, a provider of strategic and financial advisory services to healthcare technology companies, and he served as its Managing Director until November 2016. Prior to founding Healthcare Growth Partners, Mr. Phillips was a member of the Healthcare Investment Banking Group at William Blair, an investment banking firm. Prior to William Blair, he served in various roles in the healthcare practice of Deloitte Consulting. Mr. Phillips currently serves as a director and as the Audit Committee chair for Streamline Health (Nasdaq: STRM), a publicly traded healthcare information technology company. In addition, Mr. Phillips serves on the boards of a number of private companies including AVIA, Conversio Health, Cordata Healthcare Innovations, Lightbeam Health, PatientBond, RxAnte, Wellbox and Wellvana. Mr. Phillips has completed over 115 transactions involving healthcare companies and has completed over 40 strategic advisory engagements for healthcare technology and services companies. Mr. Phillips earned his MBA in Finance, Marketing and Health Services Management from the J. L. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and his BA in Economics and Management from DePauw University.
Our Non-Executive Director Nominees
Matthew Etheridge, Director Nominee
Matthew Etheridge is a private investor with over 20 years of investment management experience, with a primary focus on healthcare services and information technology. He has invested in and served on the board of directors of several public and private companies in these areas, including NaviHealth (acquired by Cardinal Health in 2018) Universal American Corp. (NYSE: UAM; acquired by Wellcare in 2017), Lightbeam Health Solutions, Healthmine and Conversio Health. Previously, Mr. Etheridge was a Managing Partner of Perry Capital LLC, a private investment management firm, where he was Co-Portfolio Manager of the firm’s healthcare group, which managed public and private investments in healthcare and other industries. Prior to joining Perry Capital in 2001, Mr. Etheridge was an investment analyst for Stanford Management Company, the investment manager of Stanford University’s endowment. Prior to joining Stanford Management in 1997, Mr. Etheridge was a consultant with McKinsey & Company. Mr. Etheridge received his J.D. from Stanford Law School and his A.B. in Economics from Stanford University.
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Jeremy Friese, M.D., Director Nominee
Jeremy Friese, M.D., is a physician executive with a demonstrated passion for improving healthcare, first as an academic physician leader at Mayo Clinic then as an entrepreneur with various healthcare companies. Dr. Friese currently serves as President, Payer Market at Olive, a developer of process automation software designed to build meaningful artificial intelligence for healthcare payers and providers. Prior to Olive, Dr. Friese ran Invenshure, a healthcare venture incubator, and co-founded and led Verata Health, a venture-backed AI technology company that pioneered Frictionless Prior Authorization® for payers and providers, and which was acquired by Olive in 2020. Prior to his transition to entrepreneurship, Dr. Friese was a physician and executive at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and his MBA at Harvard Business School. During his Mayo career, he held executive leadership positions for the imaging service line, the Mayo Clinic Strategic Investment Fund, and Global Business Development. Additionally, Dr. Friese served on several boards of directors, including the International Monetary Fund and the American Cancer Society. Dr. Friese earned his MD at Mayo Clinic and his MBA at Harvard Business School.
Kelly Richmond Pope, Ph.D., Director Nominee
Kelly Richmond Pope, Ph.D., is a professor in the School of Accountancy and Management Information Systems at DePaul University. Prior to joining DePaul, she worked in the forensic accounting practice at KPMG, LLP on anti-money laundering engagements, insurance fraud investigations and fraud risk management projects. She was named as one of the 25 most powerful women in accounting by the AICPA and CPA Practice Advisor. She currently serves as director and chair of the Audit Committee for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. She is former director and finance chair for Mercy Hospital & Medical Center, former director of the Illinois CPA Society and former member of the governing council for the AICPA. She received her doctorate in accounting from Virginia Tech and she is a licensed certified public accountant.
John Glaser Ph.D., Director Nominee
John Glaser, Ph.D., is a former senior vice president of Population Health at Cerner Corporation from 2015 to 2019. Prior to such time, he was Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Heath Services from 2010 to 2015. Prior to Siemens, Dr. Glaser was Chief Information Officer at Partners HealthCare. He was the founding chair of CHIME and the past-president of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. He is the former Chair of the Global Agenda Council on Digital Health, World Economic Forum. He is former Senior Advisor to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Dr. Glaser serves on the boards of directors of the Scottsdale Institute, Intouch Health, PatientPing, National Committee for Quality Assurance, the American Telemedicine Association, Wellsheet and Relatient. Dr. Glaser has received numerous industry awards, including the John P. Glaser Innovation Award (established by the School of Biomedical Informatics, UTHealth), William B. Stead Thought Leadership Award (American Medical Informatics Association) and the Lifetime Achievement Award (CHIME). He has authored many articles and books on the strategic application of IT in health care. He is on the faculty of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, the UTHealth School of Biomedical Informatics and the Harvard School of Public Health.
Anthony Sanzo, Director Nominee
Anthony Sanzo has been a healthcare and healthcare information technology executive for over 20 years and brings a deep understanding of the operational challenges faced by healthcare providers and the ways that technology solutions can be deployed to address them. Mr. Sanzo currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Net Health Systems, a specialized electronic health record software and services vendor providing technology solutions that address the continuum of care from hospital to home. Prior to his role as Chairman, Mr. Sanzo was Chief Executive Officer of Net Health from 2012 until 2019. Over the course of his tenure, Net Health grew from a single product startup to a multi-product, multimarket, healthcare information technology company. Prior to joining Net Health, Mr. Sanzo served as the Chief Executive Officer for TeleTracking Technologies, a company he joined in late 2001. During his tenure, the company evolved from a workflow automation startup focusing on hospital support services to the world market and innovation leader in patient flow automation, capacity management and related operations improvements. With more than 800 clients in three countries, TeleTracking grew to become the largest vendor in its market. Prior to TeleTracking, Mr. Sanzo held executive positions for two major academic medical centers and
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served as the Chief Executive Officer for Allegheny General Hospital for nearly a decade. Mr. Sanzo has been a board member of multiple companies and is a graduate of Allegheny College and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Advisory Board
Michael Connolly
Mike Connolly has over 30 years of experience enabling significant performance improvements and driving large scale transformations in healthcare and consulting businesses. Mr. Connolly currently leads PwC’s Transformation Consulting business line. He has P&L responsibility for a business that provides advisory services in areas including strategy, customer success, operations, mergers and acquisitions, finance, workforce management and clinical consulting across various sectors, including healthcare. Prior to his current role, Mr. Connolly served as the leader of PwC’s Health Advisory businesses. Before re-joining PwC in 2019, Mr. Connolly was president of Ciox Health where he was responsible for developing its clinical data exchange and the related AI driven technology platform from 2017 to 2019. He also created a transformation program to integrate multiple acquisitions and improve operating and financial performance. Prior to joining Ciox, Mr. Connolly was a senior partner at PwC, driving PwC’s Platform businesses where he focused on standing up large transformation businesses across PwC. Before joining PwC, Mr. Connolly worked at Booz & Co. as Global Managing Director of Platforms and Functional Practices, Leader of the Global Technology Practice and served as a member of the board of directors and Executive Committee. Prior to joining Booz & Co., Mr. Connolly served as the Chief Technology Officer of Aetna from 2004 to 2006 and the President of Diamond Technology Partners from 1995 to 2005. Mr. Connolly served on the board of directors of Signify Health from 2018 to 2019. Mr. Connolly holds an M.B.A. in management information systems from Northern Illinois University. Mr. Connolly also attended Indiana University, where he received a B.S. degree in Finance with High Distinction and was admitted to the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society.
Steven Tolle
Steven Tolle is a partner with HLM Venture Partners. He brings 30 years of commercial healthcare technology expertise in the areas of strategy, business development, and product management. Mr. Tolle has spent his career helping to develop and manage important themes in healthcare innovation and investment including artificial intelligence, diagnostic imaging/medical devices, electronic health records, population health, managed care and value-based pharmaceutical pricing. He currently sits on the boards of LetsGetChecked and PatientPop and is a board observer at VaxCare, Nordic Consulting and mPulse Mobile. Prior to joining HLM, he served as Chief Strategy Officer at Merge Healthcare, which was acquired by IBM in 2015. After his significant involvement in the transaction, Mr. Tolle was named Vice President of Global Strategy & Business Development at Watson Health Imaging. Prior to joining Merge, Mr. Tolle also served as Senior Vice President/General Manager at Optum from 2009 to 2011, Vice President of Product Management at Allscripts from 2007 to 2009, and Director of Product Management at Pfizer from 1996 to 2007.
Wyche T. Green III
Mr. Wyche “Tee” Green III is the Chief Executive Officer of 121G, LLC, an investment, business advisory and technology development firm he founded in 2013 where he helps start-up and growth stage company executives lead with purpose, accelerate revenue and intelligently scale operations. In addition, Mr. Green is the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Streamline Health Inc. (Nasdaq: STRM) and is a member of the boards of directors of several technology and healthcare companies, including Pelitas Inc., Elligo Health Research Inc., Sonic Tools USA, Caravan Health, ReferralPoint, Wellbox Inc., GreenCourt and Clearview Installations.
Mr. Green is the former Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Greenway Health, where he served in leadership roles since its founding as Greenway Medical Technologies in 1998. Under Mr. Green’s leadership as Chief Executive Officer, Greenway Health grew to $136 million at the time of its acquisition by Vitera Healthcare. In 2013, Mr. Green led Greenway Health through a go-private transaction with Vista Equity Partners where Greenway Health merged with Vitera Healthcare in a deal that valued Greenway Health at approximately $644 million.
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Patrick B. Cline
Patrick Cline currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Lightbeam Health Solutions, Inc., a leader in population health management technology. Prior to Lightbeam, Mr. Cline founded and operated NextGen Healthcare (Nasdaq: NXGN, formerly known as Clinitec International, Inc.), an electronic health record and practice management IT company. Prior to NextGen, Mr. Cline was a software developer. Today, Mr. Cline is a respected strategist and highly experienced operator. He sits on multiple boards and coaches other executives in the areas of leadership, communication, teamwork and goal achievement.
We believe the reputation and expertise of our management team and advisors in the healthcare industry will make us a desirable partner for potential business combination targets.
Competitive Strengths
Our mission is to create attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders. We intend to acquire a platform company to build a category leader in healthcare technology or technology-enabled healthcare services with a durable long-term growth opportunity driven by macro-market trends and specific competitive advantage. We intend to capitalize on the ability of our management team and advisory board to identify, evaluate, acquire, and operate a business or businesses that will benefit from our team’s differentiated collective experience and capabilities:
• Industry Knowledge: Healthcare is a broad, diverse, and local industry comprised of numerous sectors that each require unique institutional knowledge to be properly analyzed. Our management team, advisors, and sponsor can draw on vast experience to drive value creation for stockholders. Our team has expertise in virtually all subsectors of healthcare information technology, healthcare technology-enabled services and healthcare services including provider, payer, life sciences, consumer and employer solutions. In addition, we have significant experience in emerging areas of healthcare, including value-based care, population risk, population health, care coordination, condition management, virtual care, consumer engagement and pharmaceutical development.
• Investment Experience: Our management team and sponsor have evaluated thousands of, and invested in hundreds of, public and private companies. We have extensive experience assessing management teams, growth plans, strategic roadmaps, competitive differentiation, operational capabilities, technology infrastructures, and financial and accounting diligence materials. We believe that we can effectively and efficiently review large numbers of potential targets with a discerning view of valuation and expected risk-adjusted returns to determine whether the target(s) will be an appropriate candidate(s) for a potential business combination.
• Management Expertise: Our management team, directors and sponsor have decades of diverse experience operating healthcare businesses and driving value creation. The team has successfully led businesses in various stages of their lifecycle which should allow for a target to receive expert advice from a deep bench of industry experts and contacts. Our team has experience in all facets of growth and operations including deep knowledge of industry best practices across critical functional areas including marketing, sales, operations, business development, product strategy, product development, implementation, risk management and compliance, customer success, and finance and accounting. Moreover, our team’s expertise will be an invaluable resource for management teams to lean on as they continue to operate in a highly regulated and complex marketplace.
• Sourcing: Our management team, directors and advisors have an extensive network of relationships with private and public companies, investment bankers, attorneys, accountants, private and public equity investors, industry executives, and advisors that we believe will provide proprietary deal-sourcing opportunities. Our management team, directors and advisors have grown their network by investing in, acquiring and growing businesses, while developing a reputation for integrity and fair dealing with all constituents. This network has provided our management team, directors and advisors with a flow of referrals from strategic investors, financial investors, payers, and providers, that has resulted in numerous proprietary transactions and participation in transaction processes in which a limited group of
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investors were invited into the financing and sale processes. We believe that both active outreach and our network of contacts and relationships will provide us important sources of investment opportunities and a highly differentiated pipeline of targets. In addition, our management team, directors and advisors have executed transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions and have successfully navigated through numerous changes to healthcare policy and practice.
• Transaction Execution: Our management team and sponsor have collectively executed or advised on hundreds of investment, merger and acquisition, private placement, and public offering transactions during their careers. We believe that this experience will allow for flexible structuring solutions that create proper alignment between management and stockholders, as well as efficient negotiations and pricing.
• Capital Markets Expertise: Our management team is well-versed in capital markets activities, having advised many companies on capital markets transactions and having run multiple large and complex publicly-traded companies. This experience should allow our team to effectively position a target company with public-market investors. Additionally, the expertise of our management team in pursuing and consummating add-on acquisitions utilizing the flexibility of public-company capital structures is substantial.
• Governance Experience: Our management team and directors have extensive experience with board and governance matters through their roles as directors of public and private companies. Our officers and directors have served as board chairs as well as board committee chairs including Audit, Compensation, Strategy and Nominating and Governance Committees.
• Long-Term Perspective: Our management team is comprised of seasoned veterans from the healthcare information technology and services markets. As a result, our team understands that building great businesses can take time. We are focused on pursuing long-term value creation upon the consummation of a business combination.
Acquisition Criteria
Consistent with our strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We will use this framework to evaluate acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet all of these criteria and guidelines.
We intend to target potential acquisitions that support one or more emerging sector themes including:
• Transitioning to value-based care and reimbursement and the impact of that transition across the healthcare ecosystem including evolution in contracting and reimbursement for providers, pharma/biotech and medical device companies.
• Continuing consumerization of healthcare and the importance of meaningful patient/member/employee engagement.
• Focusing on population health initiatives to drive sustainable improvement in health outcomes.
• Tracking, assessing, and impacting social determinants of health.
• Empowering the consumer around health decisions, including prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
• Broadening access to care through virtual care, multi-modal outreach, and hybrid or new care delivery models.
• Collecting, accessing and analyzing large data sets to drive insights into behavior and outcomes utilizing data visualization and artificial intelligence.
• Using real world evidence across the drug development value chain.
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• Improving healthcare provider and payer oversight with respect to governance, risk management, cyber-security, and compliance.
• Improving healthcare information technology infrastructure including the lack of healthcare data fluidity, increased demand for interoperability, and general productivity improvement.
• Improving coordination and management of care across multiple provider types and risk-bearing entities including addressing transitions of care along with institutional and home-based post-acute and chronic care.
• Improving the efficiency of healthcare staffing and labor access to address labor shortages and workforce management challenges.
Our evaluation of potential acquisitions will include customary strategic, operational and financial reviews of the targets in tandem with the engagement of third-party advisors where appropriate. We intend to filter opportunities based on the following criteria:
• Growth Potential: multiple expansion vectors across organic opportunities and/or compelling acquisition opportunities.
• Sector Attractiveness: attractive macro-sector fundamentals and outlook with limited business model exposure to reimbursement and / or policy risk.
• Value Proposition: compelling value proposition to stakeholders within the healthcare ecosystem.
• Business Model/Stage: profitable business model or demonstrable ability to achieve profitability at scale where additional managerial, commercial, strategic and/or operational expertise will accelerate the pathway to profitability while maintaining a favorable growth trajectory.
• Competitive Position: leading or growing market share relative to peer group.
• Unrecognized Value: identifiable value-creation opportunities that can be unlocked leveraging the extensive operational and strategic knowledge and experience of our team.
• Public Market Readiness: strong management, corporate governance, and financial forecasting and reporting functions in place that will establish credibility with public investors and facilitate continued access to public capital markets.
• Valuation discipline: attractive risk-adjusted returns to our stockholders based on the fundamental business and the financial characteristics of the potential target.
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation of a particular initial business combination may be based on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors, and criteria that our management team may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our stockholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents that we would file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
We may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our initial business combination. We intend to acquire a company, or companies that when aggregated, will have an enterprise value above the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the placement units. Depending on the size of the transaction or the number of public shares we become obligated to redeem, we may potentially utilize several additional financing sources, including but not limited to the issuance of additional securities to the sellers of a target business, debt issued by banks or other lenders, a private placement, or a combination of the foregoing. 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 to meet our obligations or our working capital needs, we may need to obtain additional financing.
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Ability to Extend Time to Complete Business Combination
If we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 15 months from the consummation of this offering, we may, but are not obligated to, if requested by our sponsor or its affiliates, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination with up to two Paid Extensions (up to an additional six months) for a total of 21 months. In the case of the Paid Extension Period, public stockholders will not be offered the opportunity at the time of the extension to vote on or redeem their shares if we choose to make any such Paid Extension. As a result, we may conduct such an extension even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such an extension and will not be able to redeem their shares in connection therewith. Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement entered into between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company on the date of this prospectus, in order to avail ourselves of each Paid Extension to consummate our initial business combination, our sponsor or its affiliates or designees, upon five days advance notice prior to the then-applicable initial business combination deadline, must deposit into the trust account an amount per Paid Extension of $1,750,000, or $2,012,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($0.10 per share in either case), on or prior to the date of the then-applicable initial business combination deadline. Any such payments would be made in the form of a loan, which will be non-interest bearing and payable upon the consummation of our initial business combination. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us or, at the option of the lender, convert such loaned amounts into private placement warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. In the event that we receive notice from our sponsor or its affiliates five days prior to the then-applicable initial business combination deadline of its wish for us to effect an extension, we intend to issue a press release announcing such intention at least three days prior to the applicable deadline. In addition, we intend to issue a press release the day after the then-applicable initial business combination deadline announcing whether or not the funds had been timely deposited. Our sponsor and its affiliates or designees are obligated to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination, but our sponsor and its affiliates will not be obligated to extend such time.
Initial Business Combination
The rules of the NYSE require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. We refer to this as the 80% of net assets test. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). Even though our board of directors will rely on generally accepted standards, our board of directors will have discretion to select the standards employed. In addition, the application of the standards generally involves a substantial degree of judgment. Accordingly, investors will be relying on the business judgment of the board of directors in evaluating the fair market value of the target or targets. The proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents used by us in connection with any proposed transaction will provide public stockholders with our analysis of our satisfaction of the 80% of net assets test, as well as the basis for our determinations. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not 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 a target’s assets or prospects.
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.
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Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, technology reviews, industry research and reviews, as well as review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us. We will also utilize our operational and capital planning experience to evaluate the proprietary opportunity.
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 we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company 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 is a member of FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Members of our management team and sponsor may directly or indirectly own our common stock and/or private placement warrants following this offering, and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. In particular, because the founder shares were purchased at a purchase price of approximately $0.005 per share, the holders of our founder shares (including certain members of our management team that directly or indirectly own founder shares) could make a substantial profit after our initial business combination even if our public stockholders lose money on their investment as a result of a decrease in the post-business combination value of their shares of Class A common stock (after accounting for any adjustments in connection with an exchange or other transaction contemplated by the 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.
We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration. Our officers and directors have neither individually identified nor considered a target business for our initial business combination. We have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, taken any measure, directly or indirectly, to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate for us, nor have we engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any such acquisition candidate.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors 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 his or her fiduciary duties under Delaware law. We expect that if an opportunity is presented to one of our officers or directors in his or her capacity as an officer or director of one of those other entities, such opportunity would be presented to such other entity and not to us. For more information on the entities to which our officers and directors currently have fiduciary or contractual obligations, please refer to “Management — Conflicts of Interest.” 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.
Sourcing of Potential Business Combination Targets
We believe our management team’s significant operating and transaction experience and relationships with companies will provide us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships around the world. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring, financing and selling businesses, our management team’s relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of our management team in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions.
In addition, members of our management team have developed contacts from serving on the boards of directors of several companies.
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We believe this network provides our management team with a robust and consistent flow of acquisition opportunities which were proprietary or where a limited group of investors were invited to participate in the sale process. We believe that the network of contacts and relationships of our management team will provide us with important sources of acquisition opportunities. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.
As more fully discussed in “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our directors and officers currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
Our executive offices are located at 40 Burton Hills Boulevard, Suite 100, Nashville, Tennessee 37215 and our telephone number is (615) 601-1090.
Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer target businesses an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their capital stock, shares or other equity securities in the target business for our shares or for a combination of our shares and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more certain and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, road show and public reporting efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interests. It can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
Financial Position
With funds available for a business combination initially in the amount of $172,375,000 assuming no redemptions and after payment of $6,125,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or $198,231,250 assuming no redemptions and after payment of $7,043,750 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in each case, after estimated offering expenses of $750,000 and full spend of the working capital held outside the trust account, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its
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owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third-party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our shares (including to the target or pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following the consummation of this offering or otherwise), debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or the redemptions of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We have not selected any business combination target, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target.
We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account.
In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our tender offer documents or proxy materials disclosing the business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law or we decide to do so for business or other reasons, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.
Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination
The rules of the NYSE require that our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding any deferred underwriters fees and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account). We refer to this as the 80% of net assets test. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation or value of comparable businesses. If our board of directors is not able independently to determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
In any case, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment
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Company Act. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. There is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information, which will be made available to us.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
Lack of business diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
• subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination; and
• cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services.
Limited ability to evaluate the target’s management team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our 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 our initial business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
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Stockholders may not have the ability to approve our initial business combination
We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other reasons.
Under the rules of the NYSE, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
• we issue shares of Class A common stock (other than in a public offering) that will either (a) be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of Class A common stock then outstanding or (b) have voting power equal to or in excess of 20% of the voting power then outstanding;
• any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by the NYSE rules) has a 5% or greater interest, directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired and the number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued, or if the number of shares of Class A common stock into which the securities may be convertible or exercisable, exceeds either (a) common shares or voting power of 1% outstanding before the issuance in the case of any of our directors or officers or (b) common shares or voting power of 5% or more in the case of any substantial stockholders; or
• the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control.
Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities
In the event we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of securities such persons may purchase. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. In the event our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates determine to undertake any such transactions, such transactions could have the effect of influencing the vote necessary to approve such transaction. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions. They will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. Subsequent to the consummation of this offering, we will adopt an insider trading policy which will require insiders to (1) refrain from purchasing securities during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information and (2) clear certain trades prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary.
In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will be required to comply with such rules.
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The purpose of such a transaction could be to (1) vote in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of our initial business combination, (2) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (3) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. This may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our securities and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and/or any of their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated transactions by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders (in the case of public shares) following our mailing of tender offer or proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates enter into a private transaction, they would identify and contact only potential selling or redeeming stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination. Such persons would select the stockholders from whom to acquire shares based on the number of shares available, the negotiated price per share and such other factors as any such person may deem relevant at the time of purchase. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public stockholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will be restricted from purchasing shares if such purchases do not comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our sponsor, directors, officers and/or any of their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will be restricted unless such purchases are made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) of, and Rule 10b-5 under, the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, directors, officers and/or any of their affiliates will be restricted from making purchases of common stock if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) of, or Rule 10b-5 under, the Exchange Act.
Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. At the completion of our initial business combination, we will be required to purchase any common stock properly delivered for redemption and not withdrawn. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (1) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (2) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek
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stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would typically require stockholder approval. We intend to conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other reasons.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
• conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E under 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 under the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our common stock in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination.
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
• conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and
• file proxy materials with the SEC.
We expect that a final proxy statement would be mailed to public stockholders at least 10 days prior to the stockholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such stockholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Although we are not required to do so, we currently intend to comply with the substantive and procedural requirements of Regulation 14A in connection with any stockholder vote even if we are not able to maintain our NYSE listing or Exchange Act registration.
In the event that we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the Company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company
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entitled to vote at such meeting. In such case, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, our initial stockholders have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to vote their founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. Our directors and officers also have agreed to vote in favor of our initial business combination with respect to public shares acquired by them, if any. We expect that at the time of any stockholder vote relating to our initial business combination, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees will own at least 20% of our issued and outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem their public shares without voting and, if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. In addition, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the completion of a business combination.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions. Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (1) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (2) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (3) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all public shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
Limitation on redemption upon completion of our initial business combination if we seek stockholder approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to Excess Shares, without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our sponsor or its affiliates to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our sponsor or its affiliates at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights
We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, rather than simply voting against the initial business combination. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order
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to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Pursuant to the tender offer rules, the tender offer period will be not less than 20 business days and, in the case of a stockholder vote, a final proxy statement would be mailed to public stockholders at least 10 days prior to the stockholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such stockholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the stockholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s shares in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the annual meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming holder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or two business days prior to the scheduled date of the annual meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable (unless we elect to allow additional withdrawal rights). Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public stockholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering.
Redemption of public shares and liquidation if no initial business combination
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed that we will have only 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such 15-month period (subject to any extensions), we will: (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish
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public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the 15-month time period (subject to any extensions).
Our initial stockholders have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial stockholders acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 15-month time period (subject to any extensions).
Our sponsor, directors and officers have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to Class A common stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the $1,950,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.20. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.20. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver only if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where we are unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our
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public shares, if we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our other officers 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 (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be substantially less than $10.20 per share.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to $1,950,000 from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $750,000, 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 $750,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
If we file a winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable insolvency law, and may be included in our insolvency estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any insolvency claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.20 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary winding-up or bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or insolvency laws as a voidable performance. As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
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Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow 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 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to Class A common stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants.
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of the holders of 65% of our common stock. Our initial stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our common stock upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that:
• If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering, 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 and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and in all cases subject to the requirements of other 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 as a class with our public shares (a) on our initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering or (y) amend the foregoing provisions;
• Although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our executive officers, we are not prohibited from doing so. In the event we enter into such a transaction, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm that such a business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view;
• If a stockholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E under 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 under the Exchange Act. Whether or not we maintain our registration under the Exchange Act or our listing on the NYSE, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares by one of the two methods listed above;
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• Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the 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;
• If our stockholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering, or with respect to any other material provisions relating to Class A common stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A common stock upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein; and
• We will not effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that under no circumstances will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001.
Comparison of redemption or purchase prices in connection with our initial business combination and if we fail to complete our initial business combination.
The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we have not completed our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering.
| | Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination | | Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by our Affiliates | | Redemptions if we fail to Complete an Initial Business Combination |
Calculation of redemption price | | Redemptions at the time of our initial business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a stockholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a stockholder vote. In either case, our public stockholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per share), including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, | | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Such purchases will be restricted except to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) of, and Rule 10b-5 under, the Exchange Act. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions. | | If we have not completed our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering, we will redeem all public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.20 per share), including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. |
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| | Redemptions in Connection with our Initial Business Combination | | Other Permitted Purchases of Public Shares by our Affiliates | | Redemptions if we fail to Complete an Initial Business Combination |
| | subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination. | | | | |
Impact to remaining stockholders | | The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining stockholders, who will bear the burden of the deferred underwriting commissions and interest withdrawn in order to pay taxes (to the extent not paid from amounts accrued as interest on the funds held in the trust account). | | If the permitted purchases described above are made, there will be no impact to our remaining stockholders 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 stockholders, who will be our only remaining stockholders after such redemptions. |
Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419
The following table compares the terms of this offering to the terms of an offering by a blank check company subject to the provisions of Rule 419. This comparison assumes that the gross proceeds, underwriting commissions and underwriting expenses of our offering would be identical to those of an offering undertaken by a company subject to Rule 419, and that the 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 | | The rules of the NYSE provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. $178,500,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. | | Approximately $148,837,500 of the offering proceeds, representing the gross proceeds of this offering less allowable underwriting commissions under Rule 419, would be required to be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account. |
Investment of net proceeds | | $178,500,000 of the net offering proceeds and the sale of the private placement warrants held in trust will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. | | Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States. |
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| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
Receipt of interest on escrowed funds | | Interest on proceeds from the trust account to be paid to stockholders is reduced by (1) any taxes paid or payable and (2) in the event of our liquidation for failure to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time, up to $100,000 of net interest that may be released to us should we have no or insufficient working capital to fund the costs and expenses of our dissolution and liquidation. | | Interest on funds in escrow account would be held for the sole benefit of investors, unless and only after the funds held in escrow were released to us in connection with our completion of a business combination. |
Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business | | The rules of the NYSE require that our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding any deferred underwriters fees and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account). | | 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 will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The shares of Class A common stock and warrants constituting the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless William Blair informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the underwriters’ 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. | | No trading of the units or the underlying common stock and warrants would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account. |
Exercise of the warrants | | The warrants cannot be exercised until the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination or 12 months from the closing of this offering. | | 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 stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest, which interest shall be net of taxes payable, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by law to hold a stockholder vote. If we are not required by applicable law or stock exchange rules and do not otherwise decide to hold a stockholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, we hold a stockholder vote, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. Pursuant to the tender offer rules, the tender offer period will be not less than 20 business days and, in the case of a stockholder vote, a final proxy statement would be mailed to public stockholders at least 10 days prior to the stockholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such stockholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the Company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company entitled to vote at such meeting. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares without voting and, if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. | | 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 stockholder 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 stockholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all funds on deposit in the escrow account must be returned to all of the investors and none of the securities are issued. |
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| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
Business combination deadline | | If we have not completed our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering, we will (1) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (2) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (3) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under the laws of the State of Delaware to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. | | If an acquisition has not been completed within 18 months after the effective date of the company’s registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account are returned to investors. |
Release of funds | | Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (1) our completion of an initial business combination; (2) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to Class A common stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (3) the redemption of our public shares if | | 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 |
| | we have not completed an initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. | | |
Limitation on redemption rights of stockholders holding more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold a stockholder vote | | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect Excess Shares (more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering), without our prior consent. Our public stockholders’ inability to redeem Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and they could suffer a material loss on their investment in us if they sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. | | Most blank check companies provide no restrictions on the ability of stockholders to redeem shares based on the number of shares held by such stockholders in connection with an initial business combination. |
Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights | | We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve our initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials | | In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, holders could vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holders were seeking to exercise their redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholders to arrange for them to deliver their certificate to verify ownership. |
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| | Terms of Our Offering | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
| | until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. | | |
Competition
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, in the event we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we are obligated to pay cash for our shares of Class A common stock, it will potentially reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination.
Conflicts of Interest
Our management team, in their capacities as directors, officers or employees of our sponsor or its affiliates or in their other endeavors, may choose to present potential business combinations to the related entities described above, current or future entities affiliated with or managed by our sponsor, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under the laws of the State of Delaware and any other applicable fiduciary duties. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. For more information, see the section entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest.”
Our directors and officers presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may need to honor these fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, or in the case of a non-compete restriction, may not present such opportunity to us at all, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Delaware law. See “Risk Factors — Certain of our directors and officers are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.”
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our directors or officers will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Indemnity
Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (1) $10.20 per public share or (2) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as
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of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy their indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company and, therefore, our sponsor may not be able to satisfy those obligations. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such obligations.
Facilities
We currently maintain our executive offices at 40 Burton Hills Boulevard, Suite 100, Nashville, Tennessee 37215. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have two officers and do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any such person will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We will register our units, Class A common stock and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accounting firm.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, U.S. GAAP or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with PCAOB standards. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
Prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we will be subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.
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We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” will have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates equaled or exceeded $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any of our officers, directors or sponsor in their capacity as such, and we and our officers, directors and sponsor have not been subject to any such proceeding in the 12 months preceding the date of this prospectus.
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MANAGEMENT
Directors, Director Nominees and Officers
Name | | Age | | Title |
Charles Martin | | 78 | | Chairman |
Justin Dearborn | | 52 | | Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director |
Jonathan Phillips | | 48 | | Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director |
Matthew Etheridge | | 49 | | Director Nominee |
Jeremy Friese | | 46 | | Director Nominee |
Kelly Richmond Pope | | 47 | | Director Nominee |
John Glaser | | 66 | | Director Nominee |
Anthony Sanzo | | 67 | | Director Nominee |
Our directors, director nominees and officers are as follows:
Our Management Team
Charles N. Martin, Chairman
Charles Martin, our Chairman, is the founder and Chairman of Martin Ventures, a Nashville-based investment firm he founded in 2009. Mr. Martin has more than 50 years of experience operating large, complex healthcare systems. At Martin Ventures, he leads an investment firm dedicated to building and investing in healthcare technology, healthcare services and healthcare technology-enabled services companies that optimize existing healthcare provider businesses, develop new and innovative models of care, and empower the healthcare consumer. Martin Ventures has a current portfolio of 20 healthcare companies and has successfully exited an additional 13 healthcare investments. Prior to launching Martin Ventures, Mr. Martin founded Vanguard Health Systems and served as Vanguard’s Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer for 16 years. Vanguard went public in 2011, and in 2013 was acquired by Tenet Healthcare for $4.3 billion. Before launching Vanguard, Mr. Martin, in conjunction with private equity partners, acquired the hospital chain Republic Health, ultimately founding a new healthcare system called OrNda Healthcare Corp. OrNda became the nation’s third-largest investor-owned hospital chain with 53 hospitals before being sold to Tenet Healthcare Corp. in 1997 for $1.8 billion. Earlier in Mr. Martin’s career, he served in numerous executive roles with Hospital Corporation of America, Inc., General Care Corp. and HealthTrust, Inc.
Mr. Martin has also served on numerous boards of directors, including the University of Pennsylvania Law School and RAND Health, an independent health research group. Mr. Martin received his B.A. from Southern Adventist University.
Mr. Martin is well qualified to serve as our Chairman and on our Board of Directors. He has extensive experience in investing, acquiring and leading public and private companies. He also has comprehensive understanding and insight into trends impacting the evolution of the healthcare industry given his experience in the space.
Justin Dearborn, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director
Justin Dearborn, our Co-Chief Executive Officer and a director, has over 25 years of experience leading healthcare, technology and publishing businesses and is currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of PatientBond, Inc., a digital patient engagement company powered by healthcare consumer psychographics. Before his role as Chief Executive Officer of PatientBond, Mr. Dearborn served as Chief Executive Officer of Tribune Publishing Company (Nasdaq: TPCO), a media company, from 2016 to 2019 and as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman from 2018 to 2019. Mr. Dearborn was chief executive officer of eMed, an at-home diagnostic testing company, in 2020. Mr. Dearborn was Chief Operating Officer for ICM Partners, a leading talent agency, in 2019. Prior to Tribune, he served as Chief Executive Officer and a director of Merge Healthcare Incorporated (Nasdaq: MRGE), a clinical software solution provider from 2008 until 2016. During his tenure, Mr. Dearborn led the company through a period of transformation and sustainable growth. While serving as Chief Executive Officer of Merge, he executed a multi-faceted growth strategy comprised of significant investments in sales and marketing capabilities
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across Merge’s core solution offerings while pursuing acquisitions to broaden market reach into adjacent sectors and to increase capabilities and share of current solution offerings. Mr. Dearborn joined Merge as Chief Executive Officer when Merge’s enterprise value was approximately $10 million. Merge was acquired by IBM for $1 billion in 2015 and was integrated into IBM’s Watson Health division to deliver intuitive, cognitive computing solutions to healthcare providers. Over his career, Mr. Dearborn has led the acquisition of numerous companies, including the sales of Merge and the LA Times. Before joining Merge, Mr. Dearborn served as managing director at Merrick Ventures, LLC, a private investment firm.
In addition to serving on the board of directors of PatientBond, Mr. Dearborn is serving out his final term as a director and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Next Level Health, an Illinois based Medicaid insurance provider that was acquired by Centene Corporation in 2020. Mr. Dearborn received his B.S. in Accounting from Illinois State University and his J.D. from Depaul College of Law.
Mr. Dearborn is well qualified to serve has deep experience in digital health, healthcare IT, and digital healthcare marketing and has demonstrated strong leadership results across multiple business sectors and multiple publicly traded entities. Mr. Dearborn also has consummated a large number of acquisitions in the healthcare technology field, demonstrating knowledge of target sourcing, due diligence, transaction structuring and integration.
Jonathan R. Phillips, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director
Jonathan Phillips, our Co-Chief Executive Officer and a director, has over 25 years of experience in healthcare information technology, healthcare services, investment banking and private investing. Mr. Phillips has served as Managing Director and Head of Private Equity for FTCP, headquartered in Wheaton, Illinois, since November 2016. Mr. Phillips is also the founder and Managing Partner of First Health Capital Partners, LLC, a healthcare technology and services investment firm founded in January 2016. Mr. Phillips has led investments in a broad range of healthcare technology and services companies, including Vivify Health (acquired by United Health Group in 2019), Lightbeam Health, AVIA, RxAnte, and Wellvana Health.
Before his role at First Trust Capital Partners, in 2005, Mr. Phillips founded Healthcare Growth Partners, LLC, a provider of strategic and financial advisory services to healthcare technology companies, and he served as its Managing Director until November 2016. Prior to founding Healthcare Growth Partners, Mr. Phillips was a member of the Healthcare Investment Banking Group at William Blair, an investment banking firm. Prior to William Blair, he served in various roles in the healthcare practice of Deloitte Consulting. Mr. Phillips currently serves as a director and as the Audit Committee chair for Streamline Health (Nasdaq: STRM), a publicly traded healthcare information technology company. In addition, Mr. Phillips serves on the boards of a number of private companies including AVIA, Conversio Health, Cordata Healthcare Innovations, Lightbeam Health, PatientBond, RxAnte, Wellbox and Wellvana. Mr. Phillips has completed over 115 transactions involving healthcare companies and has completed over 40 strategic advisory engagements for healthcare technology and services companies. Mr. Phillips earned his MBA in Finance, Marketing and Health Services Management from the J. L. Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and his BA in Economics and Management from DePauw University.
Mr. Phillips is well qualified to serve as co-Chief Executive Officer and as a Director as his experiences within the healthcare sector allow Mr. Phillips to provide our Company and board of directors with valuable insights and analysis as to strategic and financial developments within the industry and potential opportunities and consequences such developments create for us. Mr. Phillips brings specific expertise in identifying promising targets and in transaction structuring and negotiation.
Matthew Etheridge, Director Nominee
Matthew Etheridge is a private investor with over 20 years of investment management experience, with a primary focus on healthcare services and information technology. He has invested in and served on the board of directors of several public and private companies in these areas, including NaviHealth (acquired by Cardinal Health in 2018) Universal American Corp. (NYSE: UAM; acquired by Wellcare in 2017), Lightbeam Health Solutions, Healthmine and Conversio Health. Previously, Mr. Etheridge was a Managing Partner of Perry Capital LLC, a private investment management firm, where he was Co-Portfolio Manager of the firm’s healthcare group, which managed public and private investments in healthcare and other industries. Prior to joining Perry Capital in 2001, Mr. Etheridge was an investment analyst for Stanford Management Company, the investment manager of Stanford University’s
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endowment. Prior to joining Stanford Management in 1997, Mr. Etheridge was a consultant with McKinsey & Company. Mr. Etheridge received his J.D. from Stanford Law School and his A.B. in Economics from Stanford University.
Mr. Etheridge is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive experience in evaluating and pursuing investments in the healthcare field. Mr. Etheridge also brings deep understanding of population health, medical risk models, government payment programs including Medicare Advantage and managed Medicaid, as well as innovation models like accountable care organizations, bundles, value-based insurance design, and direct contracting.
Jeremy Friese, M.D., Director Nominee
Jeremy Friese, M.D., is a physician executive with a demonstrated passion for improving healthcare, first as an academic physician leader at Mayo Clinic then as an entrepreneur with various healthcare companies. Dr. Friese currently serves as President, Payer Market at Olive, a developer of process automation software designed to build meaningful artificial intelligence for healthcare payers and providers. Prior to Olive, Dr. Friese ran Invenshure, a healthcare venture incubator, and co-founded and led Verata Health, a venture-backed AI technology company that pioneered Frictionless Prior Authorization® for payers and providers, and which was acquired by Olive in 2020. Prior to his transition to entrepreneurship, Dr. Friese was a physician and executive at the Mayo Clinic and Harvard University. During his Mayo career, he held executive leadership positions for the imaging service line, the Mayo Clinic Strategic Investment Fund, and Global Business Development. Additionally, Dr. Friese served on several boards of directors, including the International Monetary Fund and the American Cancer Society. Dr. Friese earned his MD at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and his MBA at Harvard Business School.
Dr. Friese is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive experience and relationships in the healthcare industry and his demonstrated expertise in launching, scaling and exiting healthcare information technology and services companies. Dr. Friese also has deep knowledge of healthcare providers, healthcare payers, and life sciences providers based on his operational and investing experience.
Kelly Richmond Pope, Ph.D., Director Nominee
Kelly Richmond Pope, Ph.D., is a professor in the School of Accountancy and Management Information Systems at DePaul University. Prior to joining DePaul, she worked in the forensic accounting practice at KPMG, LLP on anti-money laundering engagements, insurance fraud investigations and fraud risk management projects. She was named as one of the 25 most powerful women in accounting by the AICPA and CPA Practice Advisor. She currently serves as director and chair of the Audit Committee for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. She is former director and finance chair for Mercy Hospital & Medical Center, former director of the Illinois CPA Society and former member of the governing council for the AICPA. She received her doctorate in accounting from Virginia Tech and she is a licensed certified public accountant.
John Glaser Ph.D., Director Nominee
John Glaser, Ph.D., is a former senior vice president of Population Health at Cerner Corporation from 2015 to 2019. Prior to such time, he was Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Heath Services from 2010 to 2015. Prior to Siemens, Dr. Glaser was Chief Information Officer at Partners HealthCare. He was the founding chair of CHIME and the past-president of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. He is the former Chair of the Global Agenda Council on Digital Health, World Economic Forum. He is former Senior Advisor to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Dr. Glaser serves on the boards of directors of the Scottsdale Institute, Intouch Health, PatientPing, National Committee for Quality Assurance, the American Telemedicine Association, Wellsheet and Relatient. Dr. Glaser has received numerous industry awards, including the John P. Glaser Innovation Award (established by the School of Biomedical Informatics, UTHealth), William B. Stead Thought Leadership Award (American Medical Informatics Association) and the Lifetime Achievement Award (CHIME). He has authored many articles and books on the strategic application of IT in health care. He is on the faculty of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, the UTHealth School of Biomedical Informatics and the Harvard School of Public Health.
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Anthony Sanzo, Director Nominee
Anthony Sanzo has been a healthcare and healthcare information technology executive for over 20 years and brings a deep understanding of the operational challenges faced by healthcare providers and the ways that technology solutions can be deployed to address them. Mr. Sanzo currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Net Health Systems, a specialized electronic health record software and services vendor providing technology solutions that address the continuum of care from hospital to home. Prior to his role as Chairman, Mr. Sanzo was Chief Executive Officer of Net Health from 2012 until 2019. Over the course of his tenure, Net Health grew from a single product startup to a multi-product, multimarket, healthcare information technology company. Prior to joining Net Health, Mr. Sanzo served as the Chief Executive Officer for TeleTracking Technologies, a company he joined in late 2001. During his tenure, the company evolved from a workflow automation startup focusing on hospital support services to the world market and innovation leader in patient flow automation, capacity management and related operations improvements. With more than 800 clients in three countries, TeleTracking grew to become the largest vendor in its market. Prior to TeleTracking, Mr. Sanzo held executive positions for two major academic medical centers and served as the Chief Executive Officer for Allegheny General Hospital for nearly a decade. Mr. Sanzo has been a board member of multiple companies and is a graduate of Allegheny College and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Number, Terms of Office and Appointment of Directors and Officers
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we expect that our board of directors will consist of eight members. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our founder shares will have the right to appoint all of our directors and remove members of the board of directors for any reason, and holders of our public shares will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended by approval of at least 90% of the shares of our Class B common stock. Each of our directors will hold office for a three-year term. Subject to any other special rights applicable to the stockholders, any vacancies on our board of directors may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors present and voting at the meeting of our board of directors or by a majority of the holders of our common stock (or, prior to our initial business combination, holders of our founder shares).
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation as it deems appropriate. Our bylaws provide that our officers may consist of a Chairman, a Chief Executive Officer, a President, a Chief Operating Officer, a Chief Financial Officer, Vice Presidents, a Secretary, Assistant Secretaries, a Treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Director Independence
The NYSE listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our initial public offering. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we expect to have five “independent directors” as defined in the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules prior to completion of this offering. Our board has determined that each of Matthew Etheridge, Jeremy Friese, Kelly Richmond Pope, Anthony Sanzo and John Glaser is an independent director under applicable SEC rules and the NYSE listing standards.
Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Officer and Director Compensation
None of our directors or officers has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Our sponsor, directors and officers, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, directors, officers or our or any of their affiliates. Commencing on the date that
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our securities are first listed on the NYSE through the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination and our liquidation, we will pay affiliates of our sponsor $10,000 per month in aggregate for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team. Our sponsor will transfer to each of our independent directors 40,000 founder shares prior to the consummation of this offering. See “Principal Stockholders.”
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other compensation from the combined company. All compensation will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed business combination. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers after the completion of our initial business combination will be determined by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors.
We are not party to any agreements with our directors and officers that provide for benefits upon termination of employment. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business, and we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination should be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Pursuant to the rules of the NYSE, we will establish three standing committees — an audit committee in compliance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee, each comprised of independent directors. Under NYSE Rule 303A.00, a company listing in connection with its initial public offering is permitted to phase in its compliance with the independent committee requirements. We do not intend to rely on the phase-in schedules set forth in NYSE Rule 303A.00.
Audit Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish an audit committee of the board of directors. The members of our audit committee will be Kelly Richmond Pope, Anthony Sanzo, and John Glaser. Kelly Richmond Pope will serve as chairperson of the audit committee.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
We will adopt an audit committee charter, which will detail the purpose and principal functions of the audit committee, including:
• assisting board oversight of (1) the integrity of our financial statements, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) our independent registered public accounting firm’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent registered public accounting firm;
• the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm and any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us;
• pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures;
• reviewing and discussing with the independent registered public accounting firm all relationships the independent registered public accounting firm has with us in order to evaluate their continued independence;
• setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm;
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• setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
• obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent registered public accounting firm describing (1) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues;
• meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent registered public accounting firm, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations;”
• reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and
• reviewing with management, the independent registered public accounting firm, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities.
Compensation Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a compensation committee of the board of directors. The members of our compensation committee will be Anthony Sanzo, Kelly Richmond Pope and John Glaser. Anthony Sanzo will serve as chairperson of the compensation committee. We will adopt a compensation committee charter, which will detail the purpose and responsibility of the compensation committee, including:
• reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officers’ compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officers’ performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation;
• reviewing and making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to the compensation, and any incentive-compensation and equity-based plans that are subject to board approval of all of our other officers;
• reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans;
• implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans;
• assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements;
• approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees;
• producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and
• reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors.
The charter will also provide that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, independent legal counsel or other advisor and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such advisor. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other advisor, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such advisor, including the factors required by the NYSE and the SEC.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, other than the payment to affiliates of our sponsor of $10,000 per month in aggregate, for office space, and secretarial and administrative support and reimbursement of expenses,
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no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing stockholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate the consummation of an initial business combination.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a nominating and corporate governance committee of the board of directors. The members of our nominating and corporate governance will be John Glaser, Kelly Richmond Pope and Anthony Sanzo. John Glaser will serve as chairperson of the nominating and corporate governance committee.
We will adopt a nominating and corporate governance committee charter, which will detail the purpose and responsibilities of the nominating and corporate governance committee, including:
• identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors, consistent with criteria approved by the board, and recommending to the board candidates for nomination for election at the annual meeting of stockholders or to fill vacancies on the board of directors;
• developing and recommending to the board of directors and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines;
• coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the board of directors, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the company; and
• reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary.
The charter will also provide that the nominating and corporate governance committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of, and terminate, any search firm to be used to identify director candidates, and will be directly responsible for approving the search firm’s fees and other retention terms.
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our executive officers currently serves, and in the past year has not served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of directors.
Code of Ethics
Prior to the closing of this offering, we will adopt a code of ethics and business conduct (our “Code of Ethics”) applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We will file a copy of our form of our Code of Ethics as an exhibit to the registration statement. You will be able to review this document by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of our Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K. See “Where You Can Find Additional Information.”
Corporate Governance Guidelines
Prior to the closing of this offering, we will adopt corporate governance guidelines no that will serve as a flexible framework within which our board and its committees operate. These guidelines will cover a number of areas including board membership criteria and director qualifications, director responsibilities, board agenda, roles of the chairperson of the board, chief executive officer and presiding director, meetings of independent directors, committee resolutions and assignments, board member access to management and independent advisors, director
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communications with third parties, director compensation, director orientation and continuing education, evaluation of senior management and management succession planning. A copy of our corporate governance guidelines will be posted on our website.
Conflicts of Interest
In general, officers and directors of a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware are required to present business opportunities to a corporation if:
• the corporation could financially undertake the opportunity;
• the opportunity is within the corporation’s line of business; and
• it would not be fair to our company and its stockholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another 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. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination.
Potential investors should also be aware of the following potential conflicts of interest:
• None of our directors or officers is required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities.
• In the course of their other business activities, our directors and officers may become aware of investment and business opportunities that may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. For a complete description of our management’s other affiliations, see “— Directors, Director Nominees and Officers.”
• Our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Additionally, our initial stockholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) after the closing of this offering. However, if our initial stockholders (or any of our directors, officers or affiliates) acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we do not complete our initial business combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our initial stockholders until the earlier of: (1) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; and (2) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our shares of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, rights issuances, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar
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transaction that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their common stock for cash, securities or other property. With certain limited exceptions, the private placement warrants and the common stock underlying such warrants, will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Since our sponsor, directors and officers may directly or indirectly own common stock and warrants following this offering, our directors and officers may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination.
• Our directors and officers may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether to proceed with a particular business combination.
• Our directors and officers may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such directors and officers was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.
Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our directors and officers have similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our directors, officers and director nominees currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
Individual | | Entity | | Entity’s Business | | Affiliation |
Charles Martin | | Martin Ventures | | Investment Firm | | Chairman |
Justin Dearborn | | PatientBond, Inc. | | Digital Patient Engagement Company | | Chief Executive Officer |
| | Next Level Health | | Medicaid Insurance Provider | | Director |
Jonathan Phillips | | FTCP | | Investment Firm | | Managing Director and Head of Private Equity |
| | First Health Capital Partners, LLC | | Healthcare Technology and Services Investment Firm | | Founder and Managing Partner |
Jeremy Friese | | Olive | | Process Automation Software Developer | | President, Payer Market |
Kelly Richmond Pope | | DePaul University | �� | Higher Education | | Professor |
John Glaser | | Scottsdale Institute | | Not-for-profit Healthcare Membership Organization | | Director |
| | Intouch Health | | Telehealth Platform | | Director |
| | PatientPing | | Patient Healthcare Collaboration Platform | | Director |
| | National Committee for Quality Assurance | | Non-profit Healthcare Organization | | Director |
| | American Telemedicine Association | | Non-profit Healthcare Organization | | Director |
| | Wellsheet | | Healthcare Cloud Platform | | Director |
| | Relatient | | Healthcare Patient Engagement Platform | | Director |
Anthony Sanzo | | Net Health Systems | | Electronic Health Record Software and Services Vendor | | Chairman |
Accordingly, if any of the above directors or officers become aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for any of the above entities to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties
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under Delaware law. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. We do not believe, however, that any of the foregoing fiduciary duties or contractual obligations will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or complete our initial business combination.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, directors or officers. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with such a company, we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Furthermore, in no event will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, be paid by the company any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination; provided that commencing on the date our securities are first listed on the NYSE, we will pay affiliates of our sponsor $10,000 per month in aggregate for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team.
In addition, our sponsor or any of its affiliates may make additional investments in the company in connection with the initial business combination, although our sponsor and its affiliates have no obligation or current intention to do so. If our sponsor or any of its affiliates elects to make additional investments, such proposed investments could influence our sponsor’s motivation to complete an initial business combination.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders, directors and officers have agreed, pursuant to the terms of a letter agreement entered into with us, to vote any founder shares (and their permitted transferees will agree) and public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Directors and Officers
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our officers and directors will be indemnified by us to the fullest extent authorized by Delaware law, as it now exists or may in the future be amended. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our directors will not be personally liable for monetary damages to us or our stockholders for breaches of their fiduciary duty as directors, unless they violated their duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders, acted in bad faith, knowingly or intentionally violated the law, authorized unlawful payments of dividends, unlawful stock purchases or unlawful redemptions, or derived an improper personal benefit from their actions as directors.
We will enter into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our bylaws also will permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director or employee for any liability arising out of his or her actions, regardless of whether Delaware law would permit such indemnification. We will purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors. Except with respect to any public shares they may acquire in this offering or thereafter (in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination), our officers and directors have agreed to waive (and any other persons who may become an officer or director prior to the initial business combination will also be required to waive) any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and not to seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever, including with respect to such indemnification.
These provisions may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
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PRINCIPAL STOCKHOLDERS
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of the date of this prospectus, and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our shares of Class A common stock included in the units offered by this prospectus, and assuming no purchase of units in this offering, by:
• each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our issued and outstanding common stock;
• each of our directors, officers and director nominees that beneficially owns common stock; and
• all our directors, officers and director nominees as a group.
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all common stock beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this prospectus.
The post-offering ownership percentage column below assumes that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, that 656,250 founder shares are forfeited, and that there are 21,875,000 common stock issued and outstanding after this offering.
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned(2) | | Approximate Percentage of Issued and Outstanding Common Stock Shares |
Before Offering | | After Offering(2) |
First Digital Health, LLC (our sponsor)(3) | | 4,831,250 | | 96.0 | % | | 19.1 | % |
Charles Martin(4) | | — | | — | | | — | |
Justin Dearborn(3) | | 4,831,250 | | 96.0 | % | | 19.1 | % |
Jonathan Phillips(3) | | 4,831,250 | | 96.0 | % | | 19.1 | % |
Matthew Etheridge(4) | | 40,000 | | * | | | * | |
Jeremy Friese(4) | | 40,000 | | * | | | * | |
Kelly Richmond Pope(4) | | 40,000 | | * | | | * | |
John Glaser(4) | | 40,000 | | * | | | * | |
Anthony Sanzo(4) | | 40,000 | | * | | | * | |
All directors, officers and director nominees as a group (8 individuals) | | 5,031,250 | | 100 | % | | 20.0 | % |
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* Less than one percent.
(1) Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o First Digital Health Acquisition Corp., 40 Burton Hills Boulevard, Suite 100, Nashville, Tennessee 37215.
(2) Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B common stock. Such common stock will convert into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, as described in the section entitled “Description of Securities.”
(3) First Digital Health, LLC, our sponsor, is the record holder of the Class B common stock reported herein. Our sponsor is managed by Jonathan Phillips and Justin Dearborn as Managers, in each case acting by unanimous consent. Each of Jonathan Phillips and Justin Dearborn may be deemed to beneficially own the shares of Class B common stock held by our sponsor. Each of Jonathan Phillips and Justin Dearborn disclaims beneficial ownership of the reported shares of Class B Common stock except to the extent of their respective pecuniary interests therein.
(4) Excludes any shares of Class B common stock in which such person has an indirect interest through our sponsor and as to which such person does not have any voting or dispositive power.
Immediately after this offering, our initial stockholders will beneficially own 20.0% of the then issued and outstanding common stock (assuming our initial stockholders do not purchase any units in this offering) and will have the right to elect all of our directors prior to our initial business combination as a result of holding all of the founder shares. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to appoint any directors to our board of directors prior to our initial business combination. In addition, because of their ownership block, our initial stockholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including
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amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of significant corporate transactions. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and common stock upon the consummation of this offering.
Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 9,700,000 (or 10,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($9,700,000 in the aggregate or $10,750,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees: (1) they will not be redeemable by us (except as described below under “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Redeemable Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00”); (2) they (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, as described below; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) they (including the common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights, as described below.
Our sponsor and our directors and officers are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” for additional information regarding our relationships with our promoters.
Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants
The founder shares, private placement warrants and any shares of Class A common stock issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in the letter agreement with us to be entered into by our initial stockholders, directors and officers. Those lock-up provisions provide that such securities are not transferable or salable (1) in the case of the founder shares, until the earlier of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination; and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination (x) if the last reported sale price of our shares of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, rights issuances, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their common stock for cash, securities or other property, and (2) in the case of the private placement warrants and the respective shares of Class A common stock underlying such warrants, until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except in each case (a) to our directors or officers, any affiliates or family members of any of our directors or officers, the sponsor, any affiliate of the sponsor, any members or partners of our sponsor or any of their affiliates, (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or an affiliate of such person, or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased; (f) in the event of our liquidation prior to our completion of our initial business combination; (g) by virtue of the laws of the State of Delaware or our Sponsor’s limited liability company agreement upon dissolution of our Sponsor; or (h) in the event of our completion of a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction which results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (e) or (g) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions.
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Registration Rights
Our directors and officers and any other holders of the founder shares, private placement warrants and any warrants that may be issued on conversion of working capital loans or extension loans (and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the working capital loans or extension loans and upon conversion of the founder shares) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering requiring us to register such securities for resale (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion to our shares of Class A common stock). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period as described under “Principal Stockholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.” We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
On May 12, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in exchange for an aggregate of 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share. On November 30, 2021, our sponsor surrendered 718,750 founder shares for no consideration, resulting in our sponsor holding 5,031,250 shares of Class B common stock, representing an effective purchase price of approximately $0.005 per share. Our sponsor also transferred an aggregate of 200,000 founder shares to our outside directors, resulting in our sponsor holding 4,831,250 founder shares. Our initial stockholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our founder shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and common stock upon the consummation of this offering.
Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 9,700,000 (or 10,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants for a purchase price of $1.00 per warrant ($9,700,000 in the aggregate or $10,750,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Each private placement warrant may be exercised for one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. The private placement warrants (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by it until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.
As more fully discussed in “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our directors and officers currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
Our sponsor, directors and officers, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, directors, officers or our or any of their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $350,000 under an unsecured promissory note to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of March 31, 2022 and the closing of this offering. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $750,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account. The value of our sponsor’s interest in this loan transaction corresponds to the principal amount outstanding under any such loan. As of September 30, 2021, there was $100,000 outstanding under such promissory note.
We currently utilize office space at 40 Burton Hills Boulevard, Suite 100, Nashville, Tennessee 37215 from an affiliate of our sponsor. Subsequent to the closing of this offering, we will pay an affiliate of our sponsor $10,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative 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.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans may be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at
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a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our stockholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of an annual meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive officer and director compensation.
We have entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to the founder shares, private placement warrants, warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans or extension loans (if any) and other securities held by our directors and officers (if any), which is described under the heading “Principal Stockholders — Registration Rights.”
We have entered into a letter agreement with our initial stockholders, officers and directors pursuant to which (i) they have agreed to waive: (a) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (b) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (1) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering, or (2) with respect to any other material provision relating to Class A common stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (c) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame), and the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described under “Description of Securities — Founder Shares.” We have agreed that we will not enter into a definitive agreement regarding a proposed business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor.
Related Party Policy
We have not yet adopted a formal policy for the review, approval or ratification of related party transactions. Accordingly, the transactions discussed above were not reviewed, approved or ratified in accordance with any such policy.
Prior to the closing of this offering, we will adopt our Code of Ethics requiring us to avoid, wherever possible, all conflicts of interests, except under guidelines or resolutions approved by our board of directors (or the appropriate committee of our board of directors) or as disclosed in our public filings with the SEC. Under our Code of Ethics, conflict of interest situations will include any financial transaction, arrangement or relationship (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) involving the company.
In addition, our audit committee, pursuant to a written charter that we will adopt prior to the consummation of this offering, will be responsible for reviewing and approving related party transactions to the extent that we enter into such transactions. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the audit committee present at a meeting at which a quorum is present will be required in order to approve a related party transaction. A majority of the members of the entire audit committee will constitute a quorum. Without a meeting, the unanimous written consent of all of the members of the audit committee will be required to approve a related party transaction. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, directors or officers, or our or any of their affiliates.
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These procedures are intended to determine whether any such related party transaction impairs the independence of a director or presents a conflict of interest on the part of a director, employee or officer.
To further minimize conflicts of interest, we have agreed not to consummate an initial business combination with an entity that is affiliated with any of our sponsor, directors or officers unless we, or a committee of independent and disinterested directors, have obtained an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Furthermore, there will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made by us to our sponsor, directors or officers, or our or any of their affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, other than the following payments, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:
• Repayment of an aggregate of up to $350,000 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 office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team;
• Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination;
• Repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our directors and officers to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the terms of which have not been determined nor have any written agreements been executed with respect thereto. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender; and
• repayment of loans in an amount per Paid Extension up to $1,750,000, or $2,012,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination as described in this prospectus.
The above payments may be funded using the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account or, upon completion of the initial business combination, from any amounts remaining from the proceeds of the trust account released to us in connection therewith.
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DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our authorized capital stock consists of 280,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value, and 1,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, $0.0001 par value. The following description summarizes the material terms of our capital stock. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.
Units
Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade.
We expect the Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless William Blair informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the shares of Class A common stock 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 shares of Class A common stock and warrants.
In no event will the Class A common stock and warrants be traded separately until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC, which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes this audited balance sheet upon the completion of this offering, which closing is anticipated to take place three business days after the date of this prospectus. 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.
Common Stock
Upon the closing of this offering, 21,875,000 shares of our common stock will be outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of 656,250 founder shares by our sponsor), consisting of:
• 17,500,000 shares of our Class A common stock underlying the units being offered in this offering; and
• 4,375,000 shares of Class B common stock held by our initial stockholders.
If we increase or decrease the size of the offering we will effect a stock dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial stockholders at 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering.
Common stockholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders. Holders of record of the Class A common stock and holders of record of the Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders, with each share of common stock entitling the holder to one vote except as required by law. Unless specified in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or as required by applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our shares of common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our stockholders. Our board of directors will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the election of directors can elect all of the directors. Our stockholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor. Notwithstanding the foregoing, prior to the closing of our initial business combination, the holders of Class B common stock, voting together as a single class, shall have the exclusive right to elect and remove any director, and the holders of Class A common stock shall have no right to vote on the election or removal of any director.
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Because our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will authorize the issuance of up to 280,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, if we were to enter into an initial business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such an initial business combination) be required to increase the number of shares of Class A common stock which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our stockholders vote on the initial business combination to the extent we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.
In accordance with the NYSE’s corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws, unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.
We will provide our stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account 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 described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.20 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by 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 any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the initial business combination or (ii) without a stockholder vote by means of a tender offer. If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the Company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company entitled to vote at such meeting. If we conduct redemptions by means of a tender offer, the tender offer documents 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 we seek stockholder approval, the participation of our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates in privately negotiated transactions (as described in this prospectus), if any, could result in the approval of our initial business combination even if a majority of our public stockholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. We intend to give approximately 30 days’ (but not less than 10 days’ nor more than 60 days’) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares of common stock sold in this offering, which we refer to as the Excess Shares. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Our stockholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination, and such stockholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such stockholders will not receive
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redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete the initial business combination. And, as a result, such stockholders will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose such shares would be required to sell their stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
If we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, pursuant to a 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.
As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 6,562,501, or 37.50% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), or 1,093,751, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of the 17,500,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have such initial business combination approved (the number of public shares set forth above that would need to be voted in favor of an initial business combination would be reduced to the extent of any public shares held by our initial stockholders, directors and officers). Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a stockholder on the record date for the stockholder meeting held to approve the proposed transaction (subject to the limitation described in the preceding paragraph).
Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than 10 business days thereafter subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial stockholders acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we 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 an initial business combination, our stockholders are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of stock, if any, having preference over the common stock. Our stockholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock, except that we will provide our stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which will be net of taxes paid by us) upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.
Founder Shares
The founder shares are identical to the shares of Class A common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of founder shares have the same stockholder rights as public stockholders, except that (i) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below, (ii) our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (A) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (B) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to (i) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we
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extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other material provisions relating to Class A common stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (C) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within such time period, (iii) the founder shares are shares of our Class B common stock that will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights as described herein and (iv) are entitled to registration rights. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) pursuant to the letter agreement to 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.
In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which the shares of Class B common stock will convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such anti-dilution adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of all common stock issued and outstanding upon the completion of our initial business combination plus, without duplication, all Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with or in relation to the consummation of our initial business combination, excluding any shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into shares of Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any warrants issued in a private placement to our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor upon conversion of working capital loans or extension loans. In no event will any founder shares convert into shares of Class A common stock at a ratio that is less than one-for-one. We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B common stock at the time of any future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. They may waive such adjustment due to (but not limited to) the following: (i) closing conditions that are part of the agreement for our initial business combination; (ii) negotiation with Class A stockholders on structuring an initial business combination; or (iii) negotiation with parties providing financing that would trigger the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B common stock. If such adjustment is not waived, the issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B common stock, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A common stock. If such adjustment is waived, the issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our common stock. The term “equity-linked securities” refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for shares of Class A common stock issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt. Securities could be “deemed issued” for purposes of the conversion rate adjustment if such shares are issuable upon the conversion or exercise of convertible securities, warrants or similar securities.
With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares are not transferable, assignable or salable (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 (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the reported closing price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date, following the completion of our initial business combination, on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Prior to the closing of our initial business combination, the holders of Class B common stock, voting together as a single class, shall have the exclusive right to elect and remove any director, and the holders of Class A common stock shall have no right to vote on the election or removal of any director. These provisions may only be amended by approval of holders of at least ninety percent (90%) of the Class B common stock. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.
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Preferred Stock
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that shares of preferred stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors will be authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors will be able to, without stockholder approval, issue preferred stock with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the common stock and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preferred stock outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any shares of preferred stock, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No shares of preferred stock are being issued or registered in this offering.
Redeemable Warrants
Public Stockholders’ Warrants
Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing on the later of 12 months from the closing of this offering or 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of Class A common stock. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at a given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
We will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless Class A common stock issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant, if not cash settled, will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the share of Class A common stock underlying such unit.
We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed; provided that if our shares of Class A common stock 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. If a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act; provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis.
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Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock 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 to each warrant holder; and
• if, and only if, for any 20 trading days within the 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “— Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”).
We will not redeem the warrants as described above unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, unless we have elected to require the exercise of the warrants on a cashless basis and 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.
We have established the last of the redemption criteria 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. Any such exercise would not be done on a “cashless” basis and would require the exercising warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised. However, the price of the Class A common stock may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “— Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”) as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00.
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants:
• in whole and not in part;
• at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined by reference to the table below, based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock (as defined below) except as otherwise described below;
• if, and only if, the closing price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described under the heading “— Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants — Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within the 30-trading day period ending three trading days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. Beginning on the date the notice of redemption is given until the warrants are redeemed or exercised, holders may elect to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. The numbers in the table below represent the number of Class A common stock 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 common stock on the corresponding redemption date (assuming holders elect to exercise their warrants and such warrants are not redeemed for $0.10 per warrant), determined for these purposes based on volume weighted average price of our Class A common stock as reported during the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to 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; and
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• if the closing price of our Class A common stock for any 20-trading days within the 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 “— Warrants — Public Stockholders’ 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.
Pursuant to the warrant agreement, references above to Class A common stock shall include a security other than Class A common stock into which the Class A common stock have been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination. The numbers in the table below will not be adjusted when determining the number of Class A common stock to be issued upon exercise of the warrants if we are not the surviving entity following our initial business combination.
The 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 “— Anti-dilution Adjustments” below. If the number of shares issuable upon exercise 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 price multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price as set forth under the heading “— Anti-dilution Adjustments” and the denominator of which is $10.00 and (b) in the case of an adjustment pursuant to the second paragraph under the heading “— Anti-dilution Adjustments” below, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the unadjusted share price less the decrease in the exercise price of a warrant pursuant to such exercise price adjustment.
Redemption Date (period to expiration of warrants) | | Fair Market Value of Class A Common Stock |
≤10.00 | | 11.00 | | 12.00 | | 13.00 | | 14.00 | | 15.00 | | 16.00 | | 17.00 | | ≥18.00 |
60 months | | 0.261 | | 0.281 | | 0.297 | | 0.311 | | 0.324 | | 0.337 | | 0.348 | | 0.358 | | 0.361 |
57 months | | 0.257 | | 0.277 | | 0.294 | | 0.310 | | 0.324 | | 0.337 | | 0.348 | | 0.358 | | 0.361 |
54 months | | 0.252 | | 0.272 | | 0.291 | | 0.307 | | 0.322 | | 0.335 | | 0.347 | | 0.357 | | 0.361 |
51 months | | 0.246 | | 0.268 | | 0.287 | | 0.304 | | 0.320 | | 0.333 | | 0.346 | | 0.357 | | 0.361 |
48 months | | 0.241 | | 0.263 | | 0.283 | | 0.301 | | 0.317 | | 0.332 | | 0.344 | | 0.356 | | 0.361 |
45 months | | 0.235 | | 0.258 | | 0.279 | | 0.298 | | 0.315 | | 0.330 | | 0.343 | | 0.356 | | 0.361 |
42 months | | 0.228 | | 0.252 | | 0.274 | | 0.294 | | 0.312 | | 0.328 | | 0.342 | | 0.355 | | 0.361 |
39 months | | 0.221 | | 0.246 | | 0.269 | | 0.290 | | 0.309 | | 0.325 | | 0.340 | | 0.354 | | 0.361 |
36 months | | 0.213 | | 0.239 | | 0.263 | | 0.285 | | 0.305 | | 0.323 | | 0.339 | | 0.353 | | 0.361 |
33 months | | 0.205 | | 0.232 | | 0.257 | | 0.280 | | 0.301 | | 0.320 | | 0.337 | | 0.352 | | 0.361 |
30 months | | 0.196 | | 0.224 | | 0.250 | | 0.274 | | 0.297 | | 0.316 | | 0.335 | | 0.351 | | 0.361 |
27 months | | 0.185 | | 0.214 | | 0.242 | | 0.268 | | 0.291 | | 0.313 | | 0.332 | | 0.350 | | 0.361 |
24 months | | 0.173 | | 0.204 | | 0.233 | | 0.260 | | 0.285 | | 0.308 | | 0.329 | | 0.348 | | 0.361 |
21 months | | 0.161 | | 0.193 | | 0.223 | | 0.252 | | 0.279 | | 0.304 | | 0.326 | | 0.347 | | 0.361 |
18 months | | 0.146 | | 0.179 | | 0.211 | | 0.242 | | 0.271 | | 0.298 | | 0.322 | | 0.345 | | 0.361 |
15 months | | 0.130 | | 0.164 | | 0.197 | | 0.230 | | 0.262 | | 0.291 | | 0.317 | | 0.342 | | 0.361 |
12 months | | 0.111 | | 0.146 | | 0.181 | | 0.216 | | 0.250 | | 0.282 | | 0.312 | | 0.339 | | 0.361 |
9 months | | 0.090 | | 0.125 | | 0.162 | | 0.199 | | 0.237 | | 0.272 | | 0.305 | | 0.336 | | 0.361 |
6 months | | 0.065 | | 0.099 | | 0.137 | | 0.178 | | 0.219 | | 0.259 | | 0.296 | | 0.331 | | 0.361 |
3 months | | 0.034 | | 0.065 | | 0.104 | | 0.150 | | 0.197 | | 0.243 | | 0.286 | | 0.326 | | 0.361 |
0 months | | — | | — | | 0.042 | | 0.115 | | 0.179 | | 0.233 | | 0.281 | | 0.323 | | 0.361 |
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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 common stock to be issued for each warrant exercised will be determined by a straight-line interpolation between the number of shares set forth for the higher and lower fair market values and the earlier and later redemption dates, as applicable, based on a 365 or 366-day year, as applicable. For example, if the volume weighted average price of our Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to 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 common stock for each whole warrant. For an example where the exact fair market value and redemption date are not as set forth in the table above, if the volume weighted average price of our Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to 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 common stock 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 common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment). Finally, 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 common stock.
This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in many other blank check offerings, which typically only provide for a redemption of warrants for cash (other than the private placement warrants) when the trading price for the Class A common stock exceeds $18.00 per share for a specified period of time. This redemption feature is structured to allow for all of the outstanding warrants to be redeemed when the Class A common stock are trading at or above $10.00 per public share, which may be at a time when the trading price of our Class A common stock is below the exercise price of the warrants. We have established this redemption feature to provide us with the flexibility to redeem the warrants without the warrants having to reach the $18.00 per share threshold set forth above under “— Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00.” Holders choosing to exercise their warrants in connection with a redemption pursuant to this feature will, in effect, receive a number of shares for their warrants based on an option pricing model with a fixed volatility input as of the date of this prospectus. This redemption right provides us with an additional mechanism by which to redeem all of the outstanding warrants, and therefore have certainty as to our capital structure as the warrants would no longer be outstanding and would have been exercised or redeemed. We will be required to pay the applicable redemption price to warrant holders if we choose to exercise this redemption right and it will allow us to quickly proceed with a redemption of the warrants if we determine it is in our best interest to do so. As such, we would redeem the warrants in this manner when we believe it is in our best interest to update our capital structure to remove the warrants and pay the redemption price to the warrant holders.
As stated above, we can redeem the warrants when the Class A common stock are trading at a price starting at $10.00, which is below the exercise price of $11.50, because it will provide certainty with respect to our capital structure and cash position while providing warrant holders with the opportunity to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis for the applicable number of shares. If we choose to redeem the warrants when the Class A common stock are trading at a price below the exercise price of the warrants, this could result in the warrant holders receiving fewer Class A common stock than they would have received if they had chosen to wait to exercise their warrants for Class A common stock if and when such Class A common stock were trading at a price higher than the exercise price of $11.50.
No fractional Class A common stock will be issued upon exercise. If, upon exercise, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of Class A common stock to be issued to the holder. If, at the time of redemption, the warrants are exercisable for a security other than the Class A common stock pursuant to the warrant agreement (for instance, if we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination), the warrants may be exercised for such security. At such time as the warrants become exercisable for a security other than the Class A common stock, the Company (or surviving company) will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register under the Securities Act the security issuable upon the exercise of the warrants.
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Maximum Percentage 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% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) of the Class A common stock issued and outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
Anti-Dilution Adjustments. If the number of outstanding Class A common stock is increased by a capitalization or share dividend payable in Class A common stock, or by a split-up of common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such capitalization or share dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of Class A common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding common stock. A rights offering made to all or substantially all holders of common stock entitling holders to purchase Class A common stock at a price less than the “historical fair market value” (as defined below) will be deemed a share dividend of a number of Class A common stock equal to the product of (i) the number of Class A common stock actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for Class A common stock) and (ii) one minus the quotient of (x) the price per share of Class A common stock paid in such rights offering and (y) the historical fair market value. For these purposes, (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Class A common stock, in determining the price payable for Class A common stock, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) “historical fair market value” means the volume weighted average price of Class A common stock as reported during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the Class A common stock trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.
In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to all or substantially all of the holders of the Class A common stock on account of such Class A common stock (or other securities into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) any cash dividends or cash distributions which, when combined on a per share basis with all other cash dividends and cash distributions paid on the Class A common stock during the 365-day period ending on the date of declaration of such dividend or distribution does not exceed $0.50 (as adjusted to appropriately reflect any other adjustments and excluding cash dividends or cash distributions that resulted in an adjustment to the exercise price or to the number of Class A common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant) but only with respect to the amount of the aggregate cash dividends or cash distributions equal to or less than $0.50 per share, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A common stock in connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A common stock the right to have their shares redeemed 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 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A common stock, or (e) in connection with the redemption of our public shares upon our failure to complete our initial business combination, then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each share of Class A common stock in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding Class A common stock is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse share splits or reclassification of Class A common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse share splits, reclassification or similar event, the number of Class A common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding Class A common stock.
Whenever the number of Class A common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of Class A common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of Class A common stock so purchasable immediately thereafter.
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In addition, if (x) we issue additional Class A common stock or equity-linked securities, for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described above under “— Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00” and “— Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described above under “— Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding Class A common stock (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such Class A common stock), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding Class A common stock), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of the Class A common stock immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of Class A common stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event. However, if such holders were entitled to exercise a right of election as to the kind or amount of securities, cash or other assets receivable upon such consolidation or merger, then the kind and amount of securities, cash or other assets for which each warrant will become exercisable will be deemed to be the weighted average of the kind and amount received per share by such holders in such consolidation or merger that affirmatively make such election, and if a tender, exchange or redemption offer has been made to and accepted by such holders (other than a tender, exchange or redemption offer made by the company in connection with redemption rights held by stockholders of the company as provided for in the company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation or as a result of the redemption of Class A common stock by the company if a proposed initial business combination is presented to the stockholders of the company for approval) under circumstances in which, upon completion of such tender or exchange offer, the maker thereof, together with members of any group (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act) of which such maker is a part, and together with any affiliate or associate of such maker (within the meaning of Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act) and any members of any such group of which any such affiliate or associate is a part, own beneficially (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) more than 50% of the issued and outstanding Class A common stock, the holder of a warrant will be entitled to receive the highest amount of cash, securities or other property to which such holder would actually have been entitled as a stockholder if such warrant holder had exercised the warrant prior to the expiration of such tender or exchange offer, accepted such offer and all of the Class A common stock held by such holder had been purchased pursuant to such tender or exchange offer, subject to adjustment (from and after the consummation of such tender or exchange offer) as nearly equivalent as possible to the adjustments provided for in the warrant agreement. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of Class A common stock in such a transaction is payable in the form of Class A common stock in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based
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on the Black-Scholes value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant. The purpose of such exercise price reduction is to provide additional value to holders of the warrants when an extraordinary transaction occurs during the exercise period of the warrants pursuant to which the holders of the warrants otherwise do not receive the full potential value of the warrants.
The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. 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 correcting any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in this prospectus, or defective provision (ii) amending the provisions relating to cash dividends on common stock 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. 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 Company in its sole discretion may lower the Warrant Price at any time prior to the expiration date of the warrants for a period of not less than 20 business days (unless otherwise required by the SEC, any national securities exchange on which the warrants are listed or applicable law), provided, that the Company must provide at least 5 business days’ prior written notice of such reduction to registered holders and, provided further that any such reduction must be identical among all of the warrants.
The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of common stock and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive Class A common stock. After the issuance of Class A common stock upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.
No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants 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 common stock to be issued to the warrant holder.
We have agreed that, subject to applicable law, any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction will be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. See “Risk Factors — Our warrant agreement will designate the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.” This provision applies to claims under the Securities Act but does not apply to claims under the Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum.
Private Placement Warrants
The private placement warrants (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except, among other limited exceptions as described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on 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, William Blair or their respective permitted transferees. 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, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than the sponsor, William Blair or their respective 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. Any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the number of the then-outstanding private placement warrants.
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If holders of the private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” means the average reported closing price of the Class A common stock 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 an initial 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 prohibit insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public stockholders who could exercise their warrants sell the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants freely in the open market, the insiders could be significantly restricted from doing so. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.
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. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such working capital loans by our sponsor or their affiliates, or our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.
In addition, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination, we may extend the period of time to consummate a business combination as described in this prospectus. For a Paid Extension, our sponsor and its affiliates or designees are obligated to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination, but our sponsor and its affiliates will not be obligated to extend such time. Any such payments would be made in the form of a loan, which will be non-interest bearing and payable upon the consummation of our initial business combination. For each Paid Extension, up to $1,750,000, or $2,012,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, of such loans to extend such period of time may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
Our sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private placement warrants (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of any of these warrants) until the date that is 30 days after the date we complete our initial business combination, except that, among other limited exceptions as described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Stockholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants” made to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of an 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 conditions subsequent to completion of an initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to an 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 we will effect a stock dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial stockholders at 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the 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 common stock and warrant agent for our warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in its roles as transfer agent
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and warrant agent, its agents and each of its stockholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith of the indemnified person or entity.
Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of the holders of 65% of our common stock. Our initial stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our common stock upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that:
• if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law;
• prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account, (ii) vote on any initial business combination or (iii) vote on matters related to our pre-initial business combination activity;
• although we do not intend to enter into an initial 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 or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view;
• if a stockholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E under 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 under the Exchange Act; whether or not we maintain our registration under the our Exchange Act or our listing on the NYSE, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares by one of the two methods listed above;
• so long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on the NYSE, the NYSE rules require that we must consummate an initial business combination with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if any, and excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts held in trust and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account);
• if our stockholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the
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period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to Class A common stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares; and
• we will not effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ fees and commissions.
Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of Delaware Law and our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
We will be subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL regulating corporate takeovers upon completion of this offering. This statute prevents certain Delaware corporations, under certain circumstances, from engaging in a “business combination” with:
• a stockholder who owns 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock (otherwise known as an “interested stockholder”);
• an affiliate of an interested stockholder; or
• an associate of an interested stockholder, for three years following the date that the stockholder became an interested stockholder.
A “business combination” includes a merger or sale of more than 10% of our assets. However, the above provisions of Section 203 do not apply if:
• our board of directors approves the transaction that made the stockholder an “interested stockholder,” prior to the date of the transaction;
• after the completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, that stockholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, other than statutorily excluded shares of common stock; or
• on or subsequent to the date of the transaction, the initial business combination is approved by our board of directors and authorized at a meeting of our stockholders, and not by written consent, by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock not owned by the interested stockholder.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our board of directors will be classified into three classes of directors. As a result, in most circumstances, a person can gain control of our board only by successfully engaging in a proxy contest at two or more annual meetings.
Our authorized but unissued common stock and preferred stock are available for future issuances without stockholder 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 common stock and preferred stock could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Exclusive forum for certain lawsuits
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against directors, officers and employees for breach of fiduciary duty
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and certain other actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware, except any action (A) as to which the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery or (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. If an action is brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, a court may determine that this provision is unenforceable, and to the extent it is enforceable, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers. In addition, this provision may result in our stockholders incurring increased costs to bring a claim or action due to, but not limited to, the stockholder’s physical location or knowledge of the applicable laws, when the federal district courts of the United States or the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or an alternative forum, with our consent, is the sole and exclusive forum.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that the exclusive forum provision will be applicable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, subject to certain exceptions. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. We note, however, that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce this provision and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for state and federal courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
Special meeting of stockholders
Our bylaws provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by a majority vote of our board of directors, by our Co-Chief Executive Officers or by the Chairperson.
Advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals and director nominations
Our bylaws provide that stockholders seeking to bring business before our annual meeting of stockholders, or to nominate candidates for election as directors at our annual meeting of stockholders, must provide timely notice of their intent in writing. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice will need to be received by our secretary at our principal executive offices not later than the close of business on the 90th day nor earlier than the opening of business on the 120th day prior to the anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders. Pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act, proposals seeking inclusion in our annual proxy statement must comply with the notice periods contained therein. Our bylaws also specify certain requirements as to the form and content of a stockholders’ meeting. These provisions may preclude our stockholders from bringing matters before our annual meeting of stockholders or from making nominations for directors at our annual meeting of stockholders.
Action by written consent
Subsequent to the consummation of the offering, any action required or permitted to be taken by our common stockholders must be effected by a duly called annual or special meeting of such stockholders and may not be effected by written consent of the stockholders other than with respect to our Class B common stock.
Classified Board of Directors
Our board of directors will initially be divided into three classes, Class I, Class II and Class III, with members of each class serving staggered three-year terms. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide
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that the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of the board of directors. Subject to the terms of any preferred stock, any or all of the directors may be removed from office at any time, but only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the voting power of all then outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class. Any vacancy on our board of directors, including a vacancy resulting from an enlargement of our board of directors, may be filled only by vote of a majority of our directors then in office.
Class B common stock consent right
For so long as any shares of Class B common stock remain outstanding, we may not, without the prior vote or written consent of the holders of a majority of the shares of Class B common stock then outstanding, voting separately as a single class, amend, alter or repeal any provision of our certificate of incorporation, whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise, if such amendment, alteration or repeal would alter or change the powers, preferences or relative, participating, optional or other or special rights of the Class B common stock. Any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the holders of Class B common stock may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of the outstanding Class B common stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares of Class B common stock were present and voted.
Securities Eligible for Future Sale
Immediately after the consummation of this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and forfeiture of 656,250 shares of Class B common stock) we will have 21,875,000 (or 25,156,250 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) shares of common stock outstanding. All 17,500,000 of the shares sold in this offering and will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the remaining 4,375,000 (or 5,031,250 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) shares and all 9,700,000 (or 10,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants are restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering, and the shares of Class B common stock and private placement warrants are subject to transfer restrictions as set forth elsewhere in this prospectus. These restricted securities will be entitled to registration rights as more fully described below under “— Registration Rights.”
Rule 144
Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted shares of our common stock or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities; provided that (i) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and (ii) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale and have filed all required reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the 12 months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale.
Persons who have beneficially owned restricted shares of our common stock or warrants for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:
• 1% of the total number of shares of Class A common stock then outstanding, which will equal 175,000 shares immediately after this offering (or 201,250 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full); or
• the average weekly reported trading volume of the Class A common stock during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale.
Sales by our affiliates under Rule 144 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.
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Restrictions on the Use of Rule 144 by Shell Companies or Former Shell Companies
Rule 144 is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company. However, Rule 144 also includes an important exception to this prohibition if the following conditions are met:
• the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company;
• the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act;
• the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and materials required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding 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 stockholders will be able to sell their founder shares and private placement warrants, as applicable, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination.
Registration Rights
The holders of (i) the 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 shares of Class A common stock underlying such private placement warrants and (iii) private placement warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans or extension loans (and their underlying securities) will have registration rights to require us to register a sale of any of our securities held by them pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. These holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have “piggy-back” registration rights to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us, subject to certain limitations. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Listing of Securities
We intend to apply to list our units, Class A common stock and warrants on the NYSE under the symbols “FDHAU,” “FDHA” and “FDHAW,” respectively. We expect that our units will be listed on the NYSE on or promptly after the effective date of the registration statement. Following the date the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the shares of our Class A common stock and warrants will be listed separately and as a unit on the NYSE. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on the NYSE.
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U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The following discussion summarizes U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to the ownership and disposition of our units (each consisting of one share of Class A common stock 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, as discussed below, this summary generally assumes that the holder of a unit generally is treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as the owner of the underlying Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant components of the unit, as the case may be.
This discussion is limited to certain U.S. federal income tax considerations to beneficial owners of our securities who are initial purchasers of a unit pursuant to this offering and hold the unit and each component of the unit as 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 common stock and warrants will trade separately and that any distributions made (or deemed made) by us on our common stock and any consideration received (or deemed received) by a holder in consideration for the sale or other disposition of our securities will be in U.S. dollars. This discussion is a summary only and does not consider all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to the ownership and disposition of a unit by a prospective investor in light of its particular circumstances, including:
• financial institutions or financial services entities;
• broker-dealers;
• taxpayers that are subject to the mark-to-market accounting rules;
• tax-exempt entities;
• governments or agencies or instrumentalities thereof;
• insurance companies;
• regulated investment companies;
• real estate investment trusts;
• controlled foreign corporations;
• passive foreign investment companies;
• expatriates or former long-term residents of the United States;
• persons that actually or constructively own five percent or more (by vote or value) of our shares;
• persons that acquired our securities pursuant to an exercise of employee share options, in connection with employee share incentive plans or otherwise as compensation;
• persons that hold our securities as part of a straddle, constructive sale, hedging, conversion or other integrated or similar transaction;
• our sponsor, founders, officers or directors; or
• U.S. Holders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar.
The discussion below is based upon the provisions of the Code, the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof, all as of the date hereof, and such provisions may be repealed, revoked, modified or subject to differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis, so as to result in U.S. federal income tax consequences different from those discussed below. Furthermore, this discussion does not address any aspect of U.S. federal non-income tax laws, such as gift, estate or Medicare contribution tax laws, or state, local or non-U.S. tax laws.
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We have not sought, and will not seek, a ruling from the IRS as to any U.S. federal income tax consequence described herein. The IRS may disagree with the discussion herein, and its determination may be upheld by a court. Moreover, there can be no assurance that future legislation, regulations, administrative rulings or court decisions will not adversely affect the accuracy of the statements in this discussion. You are urged to consult your tax advisor with respect to the application of U.S. federal tax laws to your particular situation, as well as any tax consequences arising under the laws of any state, local or foreign jurisdiction.
This discussion does not consider the tax treatment of partnerships or other pass-through entities or persons who hold our securities through such entities. If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is the beneficial owner of our securities, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend on the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Partnerships holding our securities and partners in such partnerships are urged to consult their own tax advisors.
THIS DISCUSSION IS ONLY A SUMMARY OF THE U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE 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 STATE, LOCAL, AND NON-U.S. TAX LAWS, AS WELL AS U.S. FEDERAL TAX LAWS AND ANY APPLICABLE TAX TREATIES.
Personal Holding Company Status
We could be subject to a second level of U.S. federal income tax on a portion of our income if we are determined to be a personal holding company (“PHC”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A U.S. corporation generally will be classified as a PHC for U.S. federal income tax purposes in a given taxable year if (1) at any time during the last half of such taxable year, five or fewer individuals (without regard to their citizenship or residency and including as individuals for this purpose certain entities such as certain tax-exempt organizations, pension funds and charitable trusts) own or are deemed to own (pursuant to certain constructive ownership rules) more than 50% of the stock of the corporation by value and (2) at least 60% of the corporation’s adjusted ordinary gross income, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes, for such taxable year consists of PHC income (which includes, among other things, dividends, interest, certain royalties, annuities and, under certain circumstances, rents).
At least 60% of our adjusted ordinary gross income may consist of PHC income, depending on the date and size of our initial business combination. In addition, depending on the concentration of our stock in the hands of individuals, including the members of our sponsor and certain tax-exempt organizations, pension funds and charitable trusts, more than 50% of our stock may be owned or deemed owned (pursuant to the constructive ownership rules) by such persons during the last half of a taxable year. Thus, no assurance can be given that we will not be a PHC following this offering or in the future. If we are or were to become a PHC in a given taxable year, we would be subject to an additional PHC tax, currently 20%, on our undistributed PHC income, which generally includes our taxable income, subject to certain adjustments.
Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit
There is no statutory, administrative or judicial authority directly addressing the treatment, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, of securities with terms substantially the same as the units, and, therefore, that treatment is not entirely clear. The acquisition of a unit may be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as the acquisition of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant to acquire one share of Class A common stock. Where the components of a unit are generally separable at the option of the holder, the holder of a unit generally should be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as the owner of the underlying Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant components of the unit, as the case may be, and therefore, the separation of the common stock and the warrant comprising a unit should not be a taxable event for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We intend to treat the acquisition of a unit in this manner and, by purchasing a unit, you agree to adopt such treatment for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Each holder of a unit must allocate the purchase price paid by such holder for such unit between the common stock and the warrant that comprise the unit based on their respective relative fair market values at the time of issuance. Under U.S. federal income tax law, each investor must make their
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own determination of such value based on all the relevant facts and circumstances. Therefore, we strongly urge each investor to consult their tax advisor regarding the determination of value for these purposes. A holder’s initial tax basis in the shares of common stock and the warrant included in each unit should equal the portion of the purchase price of the unit allocated thereto. Any disposition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a disposition of the shares of common stock and the warrant comprising the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated between the common stock and the warrant based on their respective relative fair market values at the time of disposition.
The foregoing treatment of our common stock and warrants and a holder’s purchase price allocation are not binding on the IRS or the courts. Because there are no authorities that directly address instruments that are similar to the units, no assurance can be given that the IRS or the courts will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. Accordingly, each holder is advised to consult its own tax advisor regarding the risks associated with an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit). The balance of this discussion generally assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
U.S. Holders
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 common stock or warrants who or that is:
• an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes;
• a corporation (or other entity taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia;
• an estate whose income is subject to U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. person.
Taxation of Distributions
If we pay distributions in cash or other property (other than certain distributions of our stock or rights to acquire our stock) to U.S. Holders of shares of our Class A common stock, such distributions generally will be treated as a dividend for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent the distribution is paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles). Distributions in excess of such earnings and profits generally will be applied against and reduce the U.S. Holder’s basis in our Class A common stock (but not below zero). Any remaining excess will be treated as gain from the sale or other disposition of the shares of Class A common stock and will be treated as described below under “— Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants”.
Dividends we pay to a U.S. Holder that is a taxable corporation generally will qualify for the dividends received deduction if the requisite holding period is satisfied. With certain exceptions (including, but not limited to, dividends treated as investment income for purposes of investment interest deduction limitations), and provided certain holding period requirements are met, dividends we pay to a non-corporate U.S. holder may constitute “qualified dividends” that will be subject to tax at the maximum tax rate accorded to long-term capital gains. It is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to the Class A common stock described in this prospectus may prevent a U.S. holder from satisfying the applicable holding period requirements with respect to the dividends received deduction or the preferential tax rate on qualified dividend income, as the case may be, during the period in which the U.S. Holder has redemption rights with respect to the Class A common stock (i.e., the period prior to the consummation of our initial business combination). If the holding period requirements are not satisfied, then a corporation may not be able to qualify for the dividends received deduction and would have taxable income equal to the entire dividend amount, and non-corporate holders may be subject to tax on such dividend at regular ordinary income tax rates instead of the preferential rate that applies to qualified dividend income.
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Possible Constructive Distributions
The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of shares of Class A common stock for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events (including if we issue additional shares of common stock 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 share), as discussed in the section of this prospectus captioned “Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants.” An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. However, U.S. Holders of the warrants may be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the warrant holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of shares of Class A common stock that would be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease to the exercise price) as a result, for example, of a taxable distribution of cash or other property to the holders of our Class A common stock. Any constructive distribution to a U.S. Holder generally 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”). For certain information reporting purposes, we are required to determine the date and amount of any such constructive distributions. Proposed Treasury regulations, which we may rely on prior to the issuance of final regulations, specify how the date and amount of constructive distributions are determined.
Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants
Upon a sale or other taxable disposition of our shares of Class A common stock or warrants (which, in general, would include redemption of Class A common stock or warrants that is treated as a sale of such securities as below, and including on our dissolution and liquidation if we do not consummate an initial business combination within 15 months (or up to 21 months, if we extend the period of time to complete our initial business combination, as described herein) from the closing of this offering), a U.S. Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized and the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in the Class A common stock or warrants. Any such capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for such Class A common stock or warrants exceeds one year. However, it is unclear whether certain redemption rights described in this prospectus may suspend the running of the applicable holding period of the Class A common stock for this purpose during the period in which the U.S. Holder has redemption rights with respect to the Class A common stock (i.e., the period prior to the consummation of our initial business combination). If the holding period for the Class A common stock is suspended during such period, then any gain that a U.S. Holder recognizes upon a sale or other taxable disposition of the Class A common stock prior to the date that is one year and one day after the expiration of a holder’s redemption right would not be treated as long-term capital gain. Long-term capital gains recognized by non-corporate U.S. holders will be eligible to be taxed at reduced rates. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations.
Generally, the amount of gain or loss recognized on a sale or other taxable disposition generally will be equal to the difference between (1) the sum of the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in such disposition (or, if the shares of Class A common stock or warrants are held as part of units at the time of the disposition, the portion of the amount realized on such disposition that is allocated to the shares of Class A common stock or warrants based upon the then fair market values of the shares of Class A common stock and the warrants included in the units) and (2) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares of Class A common stock or warrants so disposed of. A U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares of Class A common stock 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 common stock 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 common stock, by any prior distributions treated as a return of capital. Long-term capital gains realized by non-corporate U.S. Holders 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 shares of Class A common stock acquired pursuant to the exercise of a warrant. The deduction of capital losses is subject to certain limitations.
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Redemption of Shares of Class A Common Stock
In the event that a U.S. Holder’s shares of Class A common stock are redeemed pursuant to the redemption provisions described in this prospectus under “Description of Securities — Common Stock” or if we purchase a U.S. Holder’s shares of Class A common stock in an open market transaction, the treatment of the transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes will depend on whether the redemption or purchase by us qualifies as a sale of the shares of Class A common stock under Section 302 of the Code. If the redemption or purchase by us qualifies as a sale of shares of Class A common stock, the U.S. Holder will be treated as described under “— Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Shares of Class A Common Stock and Warrants” above. If the redemption or purchase by us does not qualify as a sale of shares of Class A common stock, 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 or purchase by us qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely on the total number of our shares treated as held by such U.S. Holder (including any shares constructively owned by the U.S. Holder 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 or purchase. A redemption or purchase by us of shares of Class A common stock generally will be treated as a sale of the shares of Class A common stock (rather than as a corporate distribution) if such redemption or purchase (1) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to a U.S. Holder, (2) results in a “complete termination” of such U.S. Holder’s interest in us or (3) 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 must take into account not only our shares actually owned by the U.S. Holder, but also our shares that are constructively owned by such holder. A U.S. Holder may constructively own, in addition to shares owned directly, shares owned by 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 include shares of Class A common stock 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 a U.S. Holder immediately following the redemption or purchase by us of shares of Class A common stock must, among other requirements, be less than 80% of the percentage of our issued and outstanding voting and common stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately before the redemption or purchase by us. Prior to our initial business combination, the shares of Class A common stock may not be treated as voting shares for this purpose and, consequently, this substantially disproportionate test may not be applicable. There will be a complete termination of a U.S. Holder’s interest if either (1) all of our shares actually and constructively owned by such U.S. Holder are redeemed or (2) all of our shares actually owned by such U.S. Holder are redeemed and such holder is eligible to waive, and effectively waives, in accordance with specific rules, the attribution of shares owned by family members and the U.S. Holder does not constructively own any other shares of ours. The redemption or purchase by us of the shares of Class A common stock will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend if such redemption results in a “meaningful reduction” of a U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction in a U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances. However, the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority stockholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” U.S. Holders should consult with their own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of a redemption or purchase by us of any shares of Class A common stock.
If none of the foregoing tests are satisfied, then the redemption or purchase by us 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 shares of Class A common stock will be added to the adjusted tax basis in such U.S. Holder’s 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.
U.S. holders who actually or constructively own five percent (or, if our shares of Class A common stock are not then publicly traded, one percent) or more of our shares (by vote or value) may be subject to special reporting requirements with respect to a redemption of shares of Class A common stock, and such holders are urged to consult with their own tax advisors with respect to their reporting requirements.
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Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant
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 share of Class A common stock on the exercise of a warrant for cash. A U.S. Holder’s tax basis in a share of Class A common stock 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 share of Class A common stock 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 U.S. federal income tax law. 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 U.S. federal income tax purposes. In either situation, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the share of Class A common stock received generally should equal the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants. If the cashless exercise was not a realization event, it is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the share of Class A common stock 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 of such Class A common stock 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 shares of Class A common stock would include the holding period of the warrants.
It is also possible that a cashless exercise may be treated as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized. In such event, a U.S. Holder could be deemed to have surrendered warrants with an aggregate fair market value equal to the exercise price for the total number of warrants to be exercised. The U.S. Holder would recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the fair market value of the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in such warrants. In this case, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the share of Class A common stock received would equal their fair market value on the date of receipt. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the share of Class A common stock 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 U.S. federal income tax treatment of a cashless exercise, including when a U.S. Holder’s holding period would commence with respect to the share of Class A common stock 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.
If we redeem warrants for cash pursuant to the redemption provisions described in the section of this prospectus entitled “ Description of Securities — Redeemable Warrants — Public Stockholders’ Warrants — Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00” or the section of this prospectus entitled “— Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00” 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 Shares of Class A Common Stock 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 common stock or warrants that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
• a non-resident alien individual (other than certain former citizens and residents of the United States subject to U.S. tax as expatriates);
• a foreign corporation; or
• an estate or trust that is not a U.S. Holder;
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but generally does not include an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of disposition. If you are such an individual, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the sale or other disposition of our securities.
In general, any distributions we make to a Non-U.S. Holder of shares of our Class A common stock, to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles), will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, provided such dividends are not effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States, we or the applicable withholding agent will be required to withhold tax from the gross amount of the dividend at a rate of 30%, unless such Non-U.S. Holder is eligible for a reduced rate of withholding tax under an applicable income tax treaty and provides proper certification of its eligibility for such reduced rate (usually on an IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E). Any distribution not constituting a dividend will be treated first as reducing (but not below zero) the Non-U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares of our Class A common stock and, to the extent such distribution exceeds the Non-U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis, as gain realized from the sale or other disposition of the Class A common stock, which will be treated as described below. In addition, if we or the applicable withholding agent determine that we are likely to be classified as a “U.S. real property holding corporation” (see “Non-U.S. Holders — Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants” below), we or the applicable withholding agent will withhold 15% of any distribution that exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits.
In addition, a Non-U.S. holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any gain attributable to a sale or other disposition of our Class A common stock or warrants (including a redemption or cashless exercise of warrants to the extent such disposition may otherwise be treated as taxable) unless such gain is effectively connected with its conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, is attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains in the United States) or the Non-U.S. Holder is an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of sale or other disposition and certain other conditions are met (in which case, such gain from United States sources generally is subject to tax at a 30% rate or a lower applicable tax treaty rate).
Dividends (including constructive distributions) and gains that are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base in the United States) generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the same regular U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to a comparable U.S. Holder and, in the case of a Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, also may be subject to an additional branch profits tax at a 30% rate or a lower applicable tax treaty rate.
The U.S. federal income tax treatment of a Non-U.S. Holder’s receipt of any Class A common stock upon the exercise of a warrant, or the lapse of a warrant, held by a Non-U.S. Holder generally will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax treatment of the receipt of a Class A 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 securities.
FATCA Withholding Taxes
Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code and Treasury Regulations and administrative guidance promulgated thereunder (commonly referred as the “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act” or “FATCA”) generally impose withholding at rate 30% in certain circumstances on dividends in respect of our securities which are held by or through certain foreign financial institutions (including investment funds), unless any such institution (1) enters into, and complies with, an agreement with the IRS to report, on an annual basis, information with respect to interests in, and accounts maintained by, the institution that are owned by certain U.S. persons and by certain non-U.S. entities that are wholly or partially owned by U.S. persons and to withhold on certain payments, or (2) if required under an intergovernmental agreement between the United States and an applicable foreign country, reports such information to its local tax authority, which will exchange such information with the U.S. authorities. An intergovernmental agreement between the United States and an applicable foreign country may modify these requirements. Accordingly, the entity through which our securities are held will affect the determination of whether such withholding is required. Similarly, dividends in respect of our securities held by an investor that is a non-financial
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non-U.S. entity that does not qualify under certain exceptions will generally be subject to withholding at a rate of 30%, unless such entity either (1) certifies to us or the applicable withholding agent that such entity does not have any “substantial United States owners” or (2) provides certain information regarding the entity’s “substantial United States owners,” which will in turn be provided to the U.S. Department of Treasury. All prospective investors should consult their tax advisors regarding the possible implications of FATCA on their investment in our securities.
Thirty percent withholding under FATCA was scheduled to apply to payments of gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of property that produces U.S.-source interest or dividends beginning on January 1, 2019, but on December 13, 2018, the IRS released proposed regulation (which taxpayers may rely on) that, if finalized in their proposed form, would eliminate the obligation to withhold on gross proceeds. Such proposed regulations also delayed withholding on certain other payments received from other foreign financial institutions that allocable, as provided for under final Treasury Regulations, to payments of U.S.-source dividends, and other fixed or determinable annual or periodical income.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Dividend payments with respect to our Class A common stock and the proceeds from a sale, exchange, redemption or other disposition of our units, shares of Class A common stock and warrants may be subject to information reporting to the IRS and possible United States backup withholding. However, backup withholding will not apply 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 or by otherwise establishing an exemption.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Amounts withheld as backup withholding may be credited against a holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, and a holder 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. U.S. Holders and Non-U.S. Holders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the application of backup withholding and the availability of and procedure for obtaining an exemption from backup withholding in their particular circumstances, including the tax consequences under state, local, estate, foreign and other tax laws and tax treaties and the possible effects of changes in U.S. or other tax laws
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UNDERWRITING
William Blair is acting as the sole book-running manager of the offering. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the underwriting agreement between us and William Blair, we have agreed to sell to William Blair, and William Blair has agreed to purchase from us, 17,500,000 units.
The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the underwriter are subject to certain conditions precedent such as the receipt by the underwriter of officers’ certificates and legal opinions and approval of certain legal matters by its counsel. The underwriting agreement provides that the underwriter will purchase all of the units if any of them are purchased. We have agreed to indemnify the underwriter and certain of its controlling persons against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and to contribute to payments that the underwriter may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
The underwriter has advised us that, following the completion of this offering, it currently intends to make a market in the units as permitted by applicable laws and regulations. However, the underwriter is not obligated to do so, and the underwriter may discontinue any market-making activities at any time without notice in its sole discretion. Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to the liquidity of the trading market for the units, that you will be able to sell any of the units held by you at a particular time or that the prices that you receive when you sell will be favorable.
The underwriter is offering the units subject to its acceptance of the units from us and subject to prior sale. The underwriter reserves the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part. In addition, the underwriter has advised us that it does not intend to confirm sales to any account over which they exercise discretionary authority.
Commission and Expenses
The underwriter has advised us that it proposes to offer the units to the public at the initial public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus and to certain dealers, which may include the underwriter, at that price less a concession not in excess of $ per unit. The underwriter may allow, and certain dealers may re-allow, a discount from the concession not in excess of $ per unit to certain brokers and dealers. After the offering, the initial public offering price, concession and reallowance to dealers may be reduced by the underwriter. No such reduction will change the amount of proceeds to be received by us as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.
The following table shows the public offering price, the underwriting discounts and commissions that we are to pay the underwriter and the proceeds, before expenses, to us in connection with this offering. Such amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriter’s option to purchase additional units.
| | Paid by First Digital Health Acquisition Corp. |
| | No Exercise | | Full Exercise |
Per Unit(1) | | $ | 0.55 | | $ | 0.55 |
Total(1) | | $ | 9,625,000 | | $ | 11,068,750 |
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(1) $0.20 per unit, or $3,500,000 in the aggregate (or $4,025,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units is exercised in full), is payable upon the closing of this offering. $0.35 per unit, or $6,125,000 in the aggregate (or $7,043,750 in the aggregate if the underwriter’s option to purchase additional units is exercised in full) payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions will be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein. The deferred commissions will be released to the underwriter only on and concurrently with completion of an initial business combination.
If we do not complete our initial business combination and subsequently liquidate, the underwriter has agreed that it will forfeit any rights or claims to its deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, including any accrued interest thereon, then in the trust account 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 units.
We estimate expenses payable by us in connection with this offering, other than the underwriting discounts and commissions referred to above, will be approximately $750,000. We have agreed to reimburse the underwriter for FINRA-related fees and expenses, not to exceed $25,000, and for background check expenses, not to exceed $35,000.
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Determination of Offering Price
Prior to this offering, there has not been a public market for our units. Consequently, the initial public offering price for our units was determined by negotiations between us and the underwriter. 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 intend to apply to have our units listed on the NYSE under the symbol “FHDAU.” Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on the NYSE under the symbols “FDHA” and “FDHAW,” respectively. The units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded following the completion of our initial business combination.
Stamp Taxes
If you purchase the 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 underwriter an option, exercisable for 45 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase, from time to time, in whole or in part, up to an aggregate of 2,625,000 units from us at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, less underwriting discounts and commissions. This option may be exercised only if the underwriter sells more units than the total number set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.
Letter Agreements
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 William Blair, offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, units, warrants, Class A common stock or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, units, warrants or Class A common stock; provided, however, that we may (1) issue and sell the private placement warrants, (2) issue and sell the additional units to cover our underwriter’s over-allotment option (if any), (3) register with the SEC pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the units in this offering, the resale of the founder shares, the private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans or extension loans (and any shares of Class A common stock issued or issuable upon exercise of any such private placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the working capital loans or extension loans and upon conversion of the founder shares); and (4) issue securities in connection with an initial business combination. However, the foregoing shall not apply to the forfeiture of any founder shares pursuant to their terms or any transfer of founder shares to any current or future independent director of the company (as long as such current or future independent director transferee is subject to the letter agreement, filed herewith, or executes an agreement substantially identical to the letter agreement, as applicable to directors and officers at the time of such transfer; and as long as, to the extent any Section 16 reporting obligation is triggered as a result of such transfer, any related Section 16 filing includes a practical explanation as to the nature of the transfer). William Blair in its sole discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice.
Our sponsor, our directors and executive officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the
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like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their common stock for cash, securities or other property (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Stockholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our sponsor and our management team with respect to any founder shares and private placement warrants. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up.
The private placement warrants (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except pursuant to limited exceptions as described under “Principal Stockholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).
Stabilization
The underwriter has advised us that it, 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 underwriter’s option to purchase additional units in this offering. The underwriter may close out any covered short position by either exercising its option to purchase additional units or purchasing units in the open market. In determining the source of units to close out the covered short position, the underwriter will consider, among other things, the price of units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which it may purchase units through the option to purchase additional units.
“Naked” short sales are sales in excess of the option to purchase additional units. The underwriter must close out any naked short position by purchasing units in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriter is concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of our units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering.
A stabilizing bid is a bid for the purchase of units on behalf of the underwriter for the purpose of fixing or maintaining the price of the units. A syndicate covering transaction is the bid for or the purchase of units on behalf of the underwriter to reduce a short position incurred by the underwriter in connection with the offering. Similar to other purchase transactions, the underwriter’s purchases to cover the syndicate short sales may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our units or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our units. As a result, the price of our units may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. A penalty bid is an arrangement permitting the underwriter to reclaim the selling concession otherwise accruing to a syndicate member in connection with the offering if the units originally sold by such syndicate member are purchased in a syndicate covering transaction and therefore have not been effectively placed by such syndicate member.
Neither we nor the underwriter make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our units. The underwriter is not obligated to engage in these activities and, if commenced, any of the activities may be discontinued at any time.
The underwriter may also engage in passive market making transactions in our units on the NYSE 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.
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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 underwriter or its affiliates. In those cases, prospective investors may view offering terms online and may be allowed to place orders online. The underwriter may agree with us to allocate a specific number of units for sale to online brokerage account holders. Any such allocation for online distributions will be made by the underwriter on the same basis as other allocations. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on the underwriter’s web sites and any information contained in any other web site maintained by the underwriter is not part of this prospectus, has not been approved and/or endorsed by us or the underwriter and should not be relied upon by investors.
Other Activities and Relationships
Jonathan Philips is an associated person of First Trust Portfolios, L.P., a FINRA member which is an affiliate of First Trust Capital Partners, an affiliate of our sponsor. First Trust Portfolios, L.P. is not participating in this offering.
In connection with our initial business combination (and in no event more than three years following our engagement of William Blair), we have agreed to engage William Blair as co-lead placement agent in connection with any private placement or other debt or equity financing that we may undertake associated with the business combination. Otherwise, we are not under any contractual obligation to engage the underwriter to provide any services for us after this offering, and have no present intent to do so. However, the underwriter may introduce us to potential target businesses or assist us in raising additional capital in the future. If the underwriter provides services to us after this offering, we may pay the underwriter fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with the underwriter and no fees for such services will be paid to the underwriter prior to the date that is 60 days from the date of this prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriter’s compensation in connection with this offering and we may pay the underwriter of this offering or any entity with which 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 underwriter or its affiliates for services rendered to us after this offering may be contingent on the completion of a business combination and may include non-cash compensation. The underwriter or its affiliates that provide these services to us may have a potential conflict of interest given that the underwriter is entitled to the deferred portion of its underwriting compensation for this offering only if an initial business combination is completed within the specified timeframe.
The underwriter and certain of its affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. The underwriter and certain of its affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various commercial and investment banking and financial advisory services for us and our affiliates, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriter and certain of its affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for 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 underwriter and certain of its affiliates may also communicate independent investment recommendations, market color or trading ideas and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
Selling Restrictions
Cayman Islands
No offer or invitation, whether directly or indirectly, may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for our securities.
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Canada
Resale Restrictions
The distribution of the securities in Canada is being made only in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia on a private placement basis exempt from the requirement that we prepare and file a prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each province where trades of these securities are made. Any resale of the securities in Canada must be made under applicable securities laws which may vary depending on the relevant jurisdiction, and which may require resales to be made under available statutory exemptions or under a discretionary exemption granted by the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authority. Purchasers are advised to seek legal advice prior to any resale of the securities.
Representations of Canadian Purchasers
• By purchasing the securities in Canada and accepting delivery of a purchase confirmation, a purchaser is representing to us and the dealer from whom the purchase confirmation is received that:
• the purchaser is entitled under applicable provincial securities laws to purchase the securities without the benefit of a prospectus qualified under those securities laws as it is an “accredited investor” as defined under National Instrument 45-106 — Prospectus Exemptions,
• the purchaser is a “permitted client” as defined in National Instrument 31-103 — Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations,
• where required by law, the purchaser is purchasing as principal and not as agent, and
• the purchaser has reviewed the text above under Resale Restrictions.
Conflicts of Interest
Canadian purchasers are hereby notified that the underwriter is relying on the exemption set out in section 3A.3 or 3A.4, if applicable, of National Instrument 33-105 — Underwriting Conflicts from having to provide certain conflict of interest disclosure in this document.
Statutory Rights of Action
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if the prospectus (including any amendment thereto) such as this document contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory. The purchaser of these securities in Canada should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
Enforcement of Legal Rights
All of our directors and officers as well as the experts named herein may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible for Canadian purchasers to effect service of process within Canada upon us or those persons. All or a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of those persons may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible to satisfy a judgment against us or those persons in Canada or to enforce a judgment obtained in Canadian courts against us or those persons outside of Canada.
Taxation and Eligibility for Investment
Canadian purchasers of the securities should consult their own legal and tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences of an investment in the securities in their particular circumstances and about the eligibility of the securities for investment by the purchaser under relevant Canadian legislation.
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Australia
This prospectus is not a disclosure document for the purposes of Australia’s Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) of Australia, or Corporations Act, has not been lodged with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and is only directed to the categories of exempt persons set out below. Accordingly, if you receive this prospectus in Australia:
You confirm and warrant that you are either:
• a “sophisticated investor” under Section 708(8)(a) or (b) of the Corporations Act;
• a “sophisticated investor” under Section 708(8)(c) or (d) of the Corporations Act and that you have provided an accountant’s certificate to the company which complies with the requirements of Section 708(8)(c)(i) or (ii) of the Corporations Act and related regulations before the offer has been made;
• a person associated with the company under Section 708(12) of the Corporations Act; or
• a “professional investor” within the meaning of Section 708(11)(a) or (b) of the Corporations Act.
To the extent that you are unable to confirm or warrant that you are an exempt sophisticated investor, associated person or professional investor under the Corporations Act any offer made to you under this prospectus is void and incapable of acceptance.
You warrant and agree that you will not offer any of the securities issued to you pursuant to this prospectus for resale in Australia within 12 months of those securities being issued unless any such resale offer is exempt from the requirement to issue a disclosure document under section 708 of the Corporations Act.
European Economic Area
In relation to each Relevant State of the European Economic Area (each a “Relevant State”), no securities 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 securities 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 securities may be made to the public in that Relevant State at any time:
• to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under the Prospectus Regulation;
• to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under Article 2 of the Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriter for any such offer; or
• in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation,
provided that no such offer of securities shall require the issuer or any manager to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation.
For the purposes of this provision, the expression “offer to the public” in relation to any securities 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 securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any securities, and the expression “Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129.
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
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constitute an offer or invitation to the public for the purpose of the CO or the SFO. No document, invitation or advertisement relating to the securities has been issued or may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public of Hong Kong (except if permitted under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to securities which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the SFO and any rules made under that Ordinance.
This prospectus has not been registered with the Registrar of Companies in Hong Kong. Accordingly, this prospectus may not be issued, circulated or distributed in Hong Kong, and the securities may not be offered for subscription to members of the public in Hong Kong. Each person acquiring the securities will be required, and is deemed by the acquisition of the securities, to confirm that he is aware of the restriction on offers of the securities described in this prospectus and the relevant offering documents and that he is not acquiring, and has not been offered any securities in circumstances that contravene any such restrictions.
Israel
This document does not constitute a prospectus under the Israeli Securities Law, 5728-1968, 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 50,000,000 and “qualified individuals,” each as defined in the Addendum (as it may be amended from time to time), collectively referred to as qualified investors (in each case, purchasing for their own account or, where permitted under the Addendum, for the accounts of their clients who are investors listed in the Addendum). Qualified investors are required to submit written confirmation that they fall within the scope of the Addendum, are aware of the meaning of same and agree to it.
Japan
The offering has not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (Law No. 25 of 1948 of Japan, as amended), 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 person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the FIEL and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.
Singapore
This prospectus has not been and will not be lodged or registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the securities may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the securities be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275, of the SFA, or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.
Where the securities are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is:
• a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or
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• a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an individual who is an accredited investor, securities (as defined in Section 239(1) of the SFA) of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the securities pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except:
• to an institutional investor or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person arising from an offer referred to in Section 275(1A) or Section 276(4)(i)(B) of the SFA;
• where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer;
• where the transfer is by operation of law;
• as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA; or
• as specified in Regulation 32 of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Shares and Debentures) Regulations 2005 of Singapore.
Switzerland
The securities may not be publicly offered in Switzerland and will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (“SIX”) or on any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. This prospectus has been prepared without regard to the disclosure standards for issuance prospectuses under art. 652a or art. 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or the disclosure standards for listing prospectuses under art. 27 ff. of the SIX Listing Rules or the listing rules of any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. Neither this prospectus nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the securities or the offering may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.
Neither this prospectus nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the offering, the company or the securities have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this prospectus will not be filed with, and the offer of securities will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA, and the offer of securities has not been and will not be authorized under the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes (“CISA”). The investor protection afforded to acquirers of interests in collective investment schemes under the CISA does not extend to acquirers of securities.
United Kingdom
No securities have been offered or will be offered pursuant to the offering to the public in the United Kingdom prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the Shares which has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority, except that the securities may be offered to the public in the United Kingdom at any time:
(a) to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation;
(b) to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives for any such offer; or
(c) in any other circumstances falling within Section 86 of the FSMA,
provided that no such offer of the securities shall require the Issuer or any Manager to publish a prospectus pursuant to Section 85 of the FSMA or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the UK Prospectus Regulation. For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to the securities in the United Kingdom means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any securities and the expression “UK Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
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LEGAL MATTERS
Winston & Strawn LLP, Chicago, Illinois 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. In connection with this offering, DLA Piper LLP (US), New York, New York, is acting as counsel to the underwriters.
EXPERTS
The financial statements of First Digital Health Acquisition Corp. as of May 12, 2021 and for the period from March 24, 2021 (inception) through May 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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FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP.
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
| | Page |
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM | | F-2 |
BALANCE SHEETS AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 (UNAUDITED) AND MAY 12, 2021 | | F-3 |
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 24, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 (UNAUDITED) AND FOR THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 24, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH MAY 12, 2021 | | F-4 |
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY FOR THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 24, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 (UNAUDITED) AND FOR THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 24, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH MAY 12, 2021 | | F-5 |
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 24, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 (UNAUDITED) AND FOR THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 24, 2021 (INCEPTION) THROUGH MAY 12, 2021 | | F-6 |
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | | F-7 |
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Stockholders and Board of Directors
First Digital Health Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of First Digital Health Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of May 12, 2021, the related statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the period from March 24, 2021 (inception) through May 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 May 12, 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from March 24, 2021 (inception) through May 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 May 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.
McLean, Virginia
June 22, 2021, except for the effects of the subsequent events described in Note 8, as to which the date is December 8, 2021.
F-2
FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP.
BALANCE SHEETS
| | September 30, 2021 | | May 12, 2021 |
| | (unaudited) | | (audited) |
Assets: | | | | | | | | |
Current assets: | | | | | | | | |
Cash | | $ | 12,500 | | | $ | 25,000 | |
Total current assets | | | 12,500 | | | | 25,000 | |
Deferred offering costs associated with initial public offering | | | 316,034 | | | | 85,683 | |
Total assets | | $ | 328,534 | | | $ | 110,683 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Liabilities and stockholders’ equity: | | | | | | | | |
Current liabilities: | | | | | | | | |
Accrued offering costs | | $ | 256,034 | | | $ | 85,683 | |
Accrued expenses | | | 37,374 | | | | 6,945 | |
Loan payable to Sponsor | | | 100,000 | | | | — | |
Total current liabilities | | $ | 393,408 | | | $ | 92,628 | |
Total liabilities | | $ | 393,408 | | | $ | 92,628 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Commitments and contingencies | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
Stockholders’ equity: | | | | | | | | |
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value, 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding | | | — | | | | — | |
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, 280,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding | | | — | | | | | |
Class B common stock; $0.0001 par value, 20,000,000 shares authorized; 5,031,250 issued and outstanding(1) | | | 503 | | | | 503 | |
Additional paid-in capital | | | 24,497 | | | | 24,497 | |
Accumulated deficit | | | (89,874 | ) | | | (6,945 | ) |
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit) | | | (64,874 | ) | | | 18,055 | |
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity (deficit) | | $ | 328,534 | | | $ | 110,683 | |
____________
(1) On November 30, 2021, the Sponsor surrendered 718,750 founder shares to the Company for cancellation for no consideration, resulting in 5,031,250 shares of Class B common stock outstanding. All share amounts and related information have been retroactively restated to reflect the share surrender. Includes up to 656,250 shares of Class B common stock subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 4,7 and 8).
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
| | For the Period from March 24, 2021 (inception) through |
| | September 30, 2021 | | May 12, 2021 |
| | (unaudited) | | (audited) |
General and administrative expenses | | $ | 89,874 | | | $ | 6,945 | |
Net loss | | $ | (89,874 | ) | | $ | (6,945 | ) |
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted(1) | | | 4,375,000 | | | | 4,375,000 | |
Basic and diluted net loss per share | | $ | (0.02 | ) | | $ | (0.00 | ) |
____________
(1) On November 30, 2021, the Sponsor surrendered 718,750 founder shares to the Company for cancellation for no consideration, resulting in 5,031,250 shares of Class B common stock outstanding. All share amounts and related information have been retroactively restated to reflect the share surrender. Excludes up to 656,250 shares of Class B common stock subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 4,7 and 8).
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
For the period from March 24, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021
| | Common Stock | | Additional Paid-In Capital | | Accumulated Deficit | | Total Stockholder’s Equity |
| | Class A | | Class B | |
| | Shares | | Amount | | Shares | | Amount | |
Balance – March 24, 2021 (inception) | | — | | $ | — | | — | | $ | — | | $ | — | | $ | — | | | $ | — | |
Issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor(1) | | — | | | — | | 5,031,250 | | | 503 | | | 24,497 | | | — | | | | 25,000 | |
Net loss | | — | | | — | | — | | | — | | | — | | | (6,945 | ) | | | (6,945 | ) |
Balance – May 12, 2021 | | | | | | | 5,031,250 | | $ | 503 | | $ | 24,497 | | $ | (6,945 | ) | | $ | 18,055 | |
Net loss (unaudited) | | — | | | — | | — | | | — | | | — | | | (82,929 | ) | | | (82,929 | ) |
Balance – September 30, 2021 (unaudited) | | — | | $ | — | | 5,031,250 | | $ | 503 | | $ | 24,497 | | $ | (89,874 | ) | | $ | (64,874 | ) |
____________
(1) On November 30, 2021, the Sponsor surrendered 718,750 founder shares to the Company for cancellation for no consideration, resulting in 5,031,250 shares of Class B common stock outstanding. All share amounts and related information have been retroactively restated to reflect the share surrender. Includes up to 656,250 shares of Class B common stock subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 4,7 and 8).
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-5
FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
| | For the Period from March 24, 2021 (inception) through |
| | September 30, 2021 | | May 12, 2021 |
| | (unaudited) | | (audited) |
Cash flows from operating activities: | | | | | | | | |
Net loss | | $ | (89,874 | ) | | $ | (6,945 | ) |
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | | | | | | | | |
Accrued expenses | | | 37,374 | | | | 6,945 | |
Net cash used in operating activities | | | (52,500 | ) | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Cash flows from financing activities: | | | | | | | | |
Proceeds from issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor | | | 25,000 | | | | 25,000 | |
Proceeds from loan payable to Sponsor | | | 100,000 | | | | — | |
Payment of deferred offering costs | | | (60,000 | ) | | | — | |
Net cash provided by financing activities | | | 65,000 | | | | 25,000 | |
Net increase in cash | | | 12,500 | | | | 25,000 | |
Cash – beginning of the period | | | — | | | | — | |
Cash – end of the period | | $ | 12,500 | | | $ | 25,000 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Supplemental disclosure of noncash activities: | | | | | | | | |
Deferred offering costs included in accrued offering costs | | $ | 256,034 | | | $ | 85,683 | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-6
FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Description of Organization, Business Operations and Basis of Preparation
First Digital Health Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated on March 24, 2021 as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company has not selected any specific business combination target and has not, nor has anyone on its behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. While the Company may pursue a Business Combination target in any industry or sector, the Company intends to focus its search for a target business operating in the healthcare technology, technology-enabled healthcare services or digital health sectors. 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 or generated any revenues. All activity for the period from March 24, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and the Proposed Public Offering described below. Following this offering, the Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents from the proceeds derived from the Proposed Public Offering. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
The Company’s sponsor is First Digital Health Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”). The Company’s ability to commence operations is contingent upon obtaining adequate financial resources through a proposed initial public offering (the “Proposed Public Offering”) of 17,500,000 units (each, a “Unit” and collectively, the “Units”) at $10.00 per Unit (or 20,125,000 units if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), which is discussed in Note 3, and the sale of 9,700,000 warrants (or 10,750,000 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 and other holders 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 the 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 any deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-business combination 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 of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, management has agreed that an amount equal to at least $10.20 per Unit sold in the Proposed Public Offering, including the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants to the Sponsor, will be held in a trust account (“Trust Account”) located in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and invested only 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, 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 Stockholders”) of the Company’s outstanding shares of Class A common stock, 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 stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The Public Stockholders will be entitled to
F-7
FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Description of Organization, Business Operations and Basis of Preparation (cont.)
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 Stockholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriter (as discussed in Note 5). These Public Shares will be classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering and accreted to redemption value in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” 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 an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. If a stockholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its amended and restated certificate of incorporation (the “Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation”), 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, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain stockholder approval for business or legal reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. Additionally, each Public Stockholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. If the Company seeks stockholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Initial Stockholders (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 Stockholders 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 Certificate of Incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% or more of the Public Shares, without the prior consent of the Company.
The Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors (the “Initial Stockholders”) have agreed not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of the Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period (as defined below) or with respect to any other material provisions relating to Class A common stockholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, unless the Company provides the Public Stockholders 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 15 months (or up to 21 months, if the Company extends the period of time to complete its initial business combination, as described in the prospectus) from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering (the “Combination Period”), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining stockholders and the board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete the Business Combination during the Combination Period.
F-8
FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Description of Organization, Business Operations and Basis of Preparation (cont.)
The Initial Stockholders 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 Stockholders acquire Public Shares in or after the Proposed Public Offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriter has agreed to waive its rights to the deferred underwriting commission (see Note 5) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within in the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be only $10.20. 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 entered into a letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or business combination agreement (a “Target”), 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 Public 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 Target that executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) not will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriter of the Proposed Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (except 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.
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Unaudited Interim Financial Information
The accompanying balance sheet as of September 30, 2021 and the statements of operations, changes in shareholder’s equity and cash flows for the period from March 24, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 are unaudited. The unaudited interim financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the audited financial statements as of May 12, 2021 and for the period from March 24, 2021 (inception) through May 12, 2021 and, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments, necessary for the fair statement of the Company’s financial position and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period presented. The financial data and other information disclosed in these notes related to the unaudited interim financial statements are also unaudited. The results for the period from March 24, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2021, any other interim periods, or any future year or period.
Going Concern
As of September 30, 2021 and May 12, 2021, the Company had cash of $12,500 and $25,000, respectively, and a working capital deficit of $380,908 and $67,628, respectively. The Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its financing and acquisition plans. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of time within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued. Management plans to address this uncertainty through the Proposed Public Offering as discussed
F-9
FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 — Description of Organization, Business Operations and Basis of Preparation (cont.)
in Note 3. The Company currently relies on the Sponsor to provide working capital needs until the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering. There is no assurance that the Company’s plans to raise capital or to consummate a Business Combination will be successful or successful within the Combination Period. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
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, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that 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
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of September 30, 2021 and May 12, 2021.
Deferred Offering Costs Associated with the Proposed Public Offering
Deferred offering costs consist of legal 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 stockholder’s equity upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering. Should the Proposed Public Offering prove to be unsuccessful, these deferred costs, as well as additional expenses to be incurred, will be charged to operations.
F-10
FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (cont.)
Net Loss Per Share
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC 260, “Earnings Per Share.” Net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period, excluding common stock subject to forfeiture. Weighted average shares at May 12, 2021 and September 30, 2021 were reduced for the effect of an aggregate of 656,250 shares of common stock that are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriter (see Note 7). At September 30, 2021 and May 12, 2021, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into shares of common stock and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted loss per share is the same as basic loss per share for the period presented.
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 May 12, 2021.
FASB ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of September 30, 2021 and May 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 May 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 provision for income taxes was deemed to be de minimis for the period from March 24, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 and for the period from March 24, 2021 (inception) through May 12, 2021.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage limit of $250,000. At September 30, 2021 and May 12, 2021, the Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement, defines fair value as the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants. Fair value measurements are classified on a three-tier hierarchy as follows:
• Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical instruments in active markets;
• Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable such as quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and
F-11
FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (cont.)
• Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions, such as valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable.
In many cases, a valuation technique used to measure fair value includes inputs from multiple levels of the fair value hierarchy described above. The lowest level of significant input determines the placement of the entire fair value measurement in the hierarchy.
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet, primarily due to its short-term nature.
Derivative Financial Instruments
The Company accounts for derivative financial instruments in accordance with ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging. For derivative financial instruments that are accounted for as liabilities, the derivative instrument is initially recorded at its fair value upon issuance and remeasured at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the statements of operations. The classification of derivative financial instruments is evaluated at the end of each reporting period.
There were no derivative financial instruments as of September 30, 2021 and May 12, 2021.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
The Company’s management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.
Risks and Uncertainties
Management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic 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.
Note 3 — Proposed Public Offering
Pursuant to the Proposed Public Offering, the Company intends to offer for sale up to 17,500,000 Units (or 20,125,000 Units if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit will consist of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant (each, a “Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 6).
The Company will grant the underwriter a 45-day option from the date of the final prospectus relating to the Proposed Public Offering to purchase up to 2,625,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Proposed Public Offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions.
Note 4 — Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On May 12, 2021 the Sponsor purchased 5,750,000 shares of the Company’s Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Founder Shares”), for an aggregate price of $25,000. On November 30, 2021, the Sponsor surrendered 718,750 Founder Shares for no consideration (see also Note 8). Our sponsor also transferred an
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FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 4 — Related Party Transactions (cont.)
aggregate of 200,000 founder shares to our outside directors, resulting in our sponsor holding 4,831,250 founder shares. The Initial Stockholders have agreed to forfeit up to 656,250 Founder Shares to the extent that the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriter. The forfeiture will be adjusted to the extent that the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriter so that the Founder Shares will represent 20.0% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Proposed Public Offering. If the Company increases or decreases the size of the offering, the Company will effect a capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, immediately prior to the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering in such amount as to maintain the Founder Share ownership of the Company’s stockholders at 20.0% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock upon the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering.
The Initial Stockholders have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination or (B) subsequent to the initial Business Combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, rights issuances, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the initial Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of the public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property. The founder shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock upon consummation of a Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to certain adjustments, as described in Note 7.
Private Placement Warrants
The Sponsor, or one or more affiliates thereof, has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 9,700,000 Private Placement Warrants (or 10,750,000 Private Placement Warrants if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant ($9.7 million in the aggregate, or $10.75 million 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 to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants 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 for cash and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees.
The Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors will agree, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Private Placement Warrants until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination.
Related Party Loans
On May 12, 2021, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the Proposed Public Offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). On January 6, 2022, the Sponsor amended and restated the Note to increase the aggregate loan amount to $350,000. This loan is non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of March 31, 2022 or the completion of the Proposed Public Offering. As of September 30, 2021, the Company had borrowed $100,000 under the Note (May 12, 2021: $nil).
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
F-13
FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 4 — Related Party Transactions (cont.)
the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1.5 million of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. To date, the Company had no borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.
Administrative Services Agreement
The Company will enter into an agreement that will provide that, commencing on the effective date of the prospectus through the earlier of consummation of the initial Business Combination and the Company’s liquidation, the Company will pay affiliates of the sponsor $10,000 per month in aggregate for office space, utilities and administrative support.
The Company’s officers or directors will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on the Company’s behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable Business Combinations. The Company’s audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to the Sponsor, officers or directors, or the Company’s or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial Business Combination will be made using funds held outside the Trust Account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such payments, the Company does not expect to have any additional controls in place governing the reimbursement payments to the Company’s directors and officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with identifying and consummating an initial Business Combination.
Note 5 — Commitments and Contingencies
Registration Rights
The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, if any, (and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the Founder Shares) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of the Proposed Public Offering. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of the initial Business Combination and rights to require the Company to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The Company will grant the underwriter a 45-day option from the date of Proposed Public Offering to purchase up to 2,625,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Proposed Public Offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The underwriter will be entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per Unit, or $3,500,000 in the aggregate (or $4,025,000 in the aggregate if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. In addition, the underwriter will be entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $6,125,000 in the aggregate (or approximately $7,043,750 in the aggregate if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full). The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriter from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
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FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 6 — Warrant Liabilities
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 on the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination or (b) 12 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering; provided in each case that the Company has an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or the Company permits holders to exercise their Public Warrants on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act). The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of the initial Business Combination, it will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC and have an effective registration statement covering the shares of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those shares of the Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed. If a registration statement covering the shares of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of the initial Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company 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.
On the exercise of any warrant, the exercise price will be paid directly to the Company and not placed in the Trust Account.
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 shares of Class A common stock 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 common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the initial Business Combination on the date of the completion of the initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the shares of Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates its initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger described under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants. The Sponsor, as well as its permitted transferees, have the option to exercise the Private Placement Warrants on a cashless basis.
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FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 6 — Warrant Liabilities (cont.)
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock 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 of Class A common stock for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (the “Reference Value”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities).
The Company will not redeem the warrants as described above unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. Any such exercise would not be on a “cashless” basis and would require the exercising holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised.
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00: Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants:
• in whole and not in part, and only if the Private Placement Warrants are simultaneously redeemed;
• at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined by reference to an agreed table based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of Class A common stock;
• if, and only if, the closing price of the shares of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per Public Share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) on the trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and
• if and only if, the Reference Value is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities), then 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 Class A common stock for the above purpose shall mean the volume-weighted average price of Class A common stock as reported during the ten trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 shares of Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment).
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.
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FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 6 — Warrant Liabilities (cont.)
If a tender offer, exchange or redemption offer shall have been made to and accepted by the holders of the Class A common stock (other than a tender, exchange or redemption offer made by the Company in connection with redemption rights held by stockholders as provided for in the amended and restated certificate of incorporation or as a result of the repurchase of shares of Class A common stock by the Company if a proposed initial business combination is presented to the stockholders for approval) and upon completion of such offer, the offer or owns beneficially more than 50% of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock, 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 stockholder if such warrant had been exercised, accepted such offer and all of the Class A common stock held by such holder had been purchased pursuant to the offer. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of the Class A common stock 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.
The Company expects to account for the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants as liabilities in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC 815-40, Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity. Because the Company does not control the occurrence of events, such as a tender offer or exchange, that may trigger cash settlement of the warrants where not all of the stockholders also receive cash, the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, as such, the warrants must be recorded as derivative liabilities.
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 their 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.
Note 7 — Stockholder’s Equity
Class A Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 280,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. As of September 30, 2021 and May 12, 2021 there were no shares of Class A common stock issued or outstanding.
Class B Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. On May 12, 2021, there were 5,750,00 shares of Class B common stock issued and outstanding. On November 30, 2021, the Sponsor surrendered 718,750 shares for no consideration resulting in the Sponsor holding 5,031,250 Founder Shares in the aggregate (see Note 8), of which an aggregate of up to 656,250 shares of Class B common stock were subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part, so that the Initial Stockholders will collectively own 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock after the Proposed Public Offering. The Sponsor also transferred an aggregate of 200,000 Founder Shares to our outside directors, resulting in the Sponsor holding 4,831,250 Founder Shares.
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FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 7 — Stockholder’s Equity (cont.)
Common stockholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders. Other than as described below, holders of the Class A common stock and holders of the Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders, including any vote in connection with the initial Business Combination, except as required by law.
The Class B common stock will automatically convert into Class A common stock on the first business day following the completion of the initial Business Combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, rights issuances, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in the Proposed Public Offering and related to the closing of the initial Business Combination, the ratio at which the shares of Class B common stock will convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such anti-dilution adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of all Common Stock issued and outstanding upon the completion of our initial business combination plus, without duplication, all Class A Common Stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with or in relation to the consummation of our initial business combination, excluding any shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into shares of Class A common stock issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any warrants issued in a private placement to our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor upon conversion of loans made to the Company. Holders of Founder Shares may also elect to convert their shares of Class B common stock into an equal number of shares of Class A common stock, subject to adjustment as provided above, at any time.
Preferred Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, 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 and May 12, 2021, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.
Note 8 — Subsequent Events
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date through January 14, 2022, the date that the financial statements were issued. The Company drew down a further $25,000 from the Related Party Note on November 18, 2021 to increase Loan payable to Sponsor to $125,000. On November 30, 2021, the Sponsor surrendered 718,750 Founder Shares for no consideration (see Note 4), resulting in the Sponsor holding an aggregate of 5,031,250 shares of Class B common stock, 656,250 of which are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part. All share amounts and related information have been retroactively restated to reflect the share surrender. In November 2021, the Company reduced the offering size of the Proposed Public Offering. The financial statements reflect the change in the offering size.
Note 9 — Subsequent Events (unaudited)
On January 6, 2022 the Sponsor amended and restated the Loan payable to Sponsor effective December 31, 2021 to increase the aggregate loan amount to $350,000 and extend the maturity to March 31, 2022.
F-18
17,500,000 Units
First Digital Health Acquisition Corp.
____________________________
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
, 2022
____________________________
William Blair
Until , 2022 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade our units, common stock or 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.
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/FINRA expenses | | $ | 53,656 |
Accounting fees and expenses | | $ | 120,000 |
Legal fees and expenses | | $ | 400,000 |
NYSE listing and filing fees | | $ | 85,000 |
Printing and engraving expenses | | $ | 25,000 |
Miscellaneous | | $ | 66,344 |
Total | | $ | 750,000 |
Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that all of our directors, officers, employees and agents shall be entitled to be indemnified by us to the fullest extent permitted by Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”). Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law concerning indemnification of officers, directors, employees and agents is set forth below.
Section 145. Indemnification of officers, directors, employees and agents; insurance.
(a) A corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s conduct was unlawful. The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that the person’s conduct was unlawful.
(b) A corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.
II-1
(c) To the extent that a present or former director or officer of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith.
(d) Any indemnification under subsections (a) and (b) of this section (unless ordered by a court) shall be made by the corporation only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the present or former director, officer, employee or agent is proper in the circumstances because the person has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of this section. Such determination shall be made, with respect to a person who is a director or officer at the time of such determination, (1) by a majority vote of the directors who are not parties to such action, suit or proceeding, even though less than a quorum, or (2) by a committee of such directors designated by majority vote of such directors, even though less than a quorum, or (3) if there are no such directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, or (4) by the stockholders.
(e) Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding may be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified by the corporation as authorized in this section. Such expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by former officers and directors or other employees and agents may be so paid upon such terms and conditions, if any, as the corporation deems appropriate.
(f) The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, the other subsections of this section shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in such person’s official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office. A right to indemnification or to advancement of expenses arising under a provision of the certificate of incorporation or a bylaw shall not be eliminated or impaired by an amendment to such provision after the occurrence of the act or omission that is the subject of the civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding for which indemnification or advancement of expenses is sought, unless the provision in effect at the time of such act or omission explicitly authorizes such elimination or impairment after such action or omission has occurred.
(g) A corporation shall have power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of such person’s status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under this section.
(h) For purposes of this section, references to “the corporation” shall include, in addition to the resulting corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to indemnify its directors, officers, and employees or agents, so that any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under this section with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as such person would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued.
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(i) For purposes of this section, references to “other enterprises” shall include employee benefit plans; references to “fines” shall include any excise taxes assessed on a person with respect to any employee benefit plan; and references to “serving at the request of the corporation” shall include any service as a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation which imposes duties on, or involves services by, such director, officer, employee or agent with respect to an employee benefit plan, its participants or beneficiaries; and a person who acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of an employee benefit plan shall be deemed to have acted in a manner “not opposed to the best interests of the corporation” as referred to in this section.
(j) The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this section shall, unless otherwise provided when authorized or ratified, continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.
(k) The Court of Chancery is hereby vested with exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine all actions for advancement of expenses or indemnification brought under this section or under any by law, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise. The Court of Chancery may summarily determine a corporation’s obligation to advance expenses (including attorneys’ fees).
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers, and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person in a successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, we will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to the court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
In accordance with Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, will provide that no director shall be personally liable to us or any of our stockholders for monetary damages resulting from breaches of their fiduciary duty as directors, except to the extent such limitation on or exemption from liability is not permitted under the DGCL. The effect of this provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation is to eliminate our rights and those of our stockholders (through stockholders’ derivative suits on our behalf) to recover monetary damages against a director for breach of the fiduciary duty of care as a director, including breaches resulting from negligent or grossly negligent behavior, except, as restricted by Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL. However, this provision does not limit or eliminate our rights or the rights of any stockholder to seek non-monetary relief, such as an injunction or rescission, in the event of a breach of a director’s duty of care.
If the DGCL is amended to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the liability of directors, then, in accordance with our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the liability of our directors to us or our stockholders will be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent authorized by the DGCL, as so amended. Any repeal or amendment of provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation limiting or eliminating the liability of directors, whether by our stockholders or by changes in law, or the adoption of any other provisions inconsistent therewith, will (unless otherwise required by law) be prospective only, except to the extent such amendment or change in law permits us to further limit or eliminate the liability of directors on a retroactive basis.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will also provide that we will, to the fullest extent authorized or permitted by applicable law, indemnify our current and former officers and directors, as well as those persons who, while directors or officers of our corporation, are or were serving as directors, officers, employees or agents of another entity, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to an employee benefit plan, in connection with any threatened, pending or completed proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, against all expense, liability and loss (including, without limitation, attorney’s fees, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes and penalties and amounts paid in settlement) reasonably incurred or suffered by any such person in connection with any such proceeding.
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Notwithstanding the foregoing, a person eligible for indemnification pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will be indemnified by us in connection with a proceeding initiated by such person only if such proceeding was authorized by our board of directors, except for proceedings to enforce rights to indemnification.
The right to indemnification which will be conferred by our amended and restated certificate of incorporation is a contract right that includes the right to be paid by us the expenses incurred in defending or otherwise participating in any proceeding referenced above in advance of its final disposition, provided, however, that if the DGCL requires, an advancement of expenses incurred by our officer or director (solely in the capacity as an officer or director of our corporation) will be made only upon delivery to us of an undertaking, by or on behalf of such officer or director, to repay all amounts so advanced if it is ultimately determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified for such expenses under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or otherwise.
The rights to indemnification and advancement of expenses will not be deemed exclusive of any other rights which any person covered by our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may have or hereafter acquire under law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our bylaws, an agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise.
Any repeal or amendment of provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation affecting indemnification rights, whether by our stockholders or by changes in law, or the adoption of any other provisions inconsistent therewith, will (unless otherwise required by law) be prospective only, except to the extent such amendment or change in law permits us to provide broader indemnification rights on a retroactive basis, and will not in any way diminish or adversely affect any right or protection existing at the time of such repeal or amendment or adoption of such inconsistent provision with respect to any act or omission occurring prior to such repeal or amendment or adoption of such inconsistent provision. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will also permit us, to the extent and in the manner authorized or permitted by law, to indemnify and to advance expenses to persons other that those specifically covered by our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Our bylaws include the provisions relating to advancement of expenses and indemnification rights consistent with those which will be set forth in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. In addition, our bylaws provide for a right of indemnity to bring a suit in the event a claim for indemnification or advancement of expenses is not paid in full by us within a specified period of time. Our bylaws also permit us to purchase and maintain insurance, at our expense, to protect us and/or any director, officer, employee or agent of our corporation or another entity, trust or other enterprise against any expense, liability or loss, whether or not we would have the power to indemnify such person against such expense, liability or loss under the DGCL.
Any repeal or amendment of provisions of our bylaws affecting indemnification rights, whether by our board of directors, stockholders or by changes in applicable law, or the adoption of any other provisions inconsistent therewith, will (unless otherwise required by law) be prospective only, except to the extent such amendment or change in law permits us to provide broader indemnification rights on a retroactive basis, and will not in any way diminish or adversely affect any right or protection existing thereunder with respect to any act or omission occurring prior to such repeal or amendment or adoption of such inconsistent provision.
We will enter into indemnification agreements with each of our officers and directors, a form of which is to be filed as an exhibit to this Registration Statement. These agreements will require us to indemnify these individuals to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law against liabilities that may arise by reason of their service to us and to advance expenses incurred as a result of any proceeding against them as to which they could be indemnified.
Pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement to be filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Registration Statement, we have agreed to indemnify the underwriters and the underwriters have agreed to indemnify us against certain civil liabilities that may be incurred in connection with this offering, including certain liabilities under the Securities Act.
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Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
On May 12, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in exchange for an aggregate of 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share. Such securities were issued in connection with our organization pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. On November 30, 2021, our sponsor surrendered 718,750 founder shares for no consideration. The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of this offering would be a maximum of 20,125,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering.
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 liability company 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, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase from us an aggregate of 9,700,000 private placement warrants, or 10,750,000 private placement warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full at $1.00 per warrant (for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $9,700,000 in the aggregate or approximately $10,750,000 if the 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.
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Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
(a) Exhibits. The following exhibits are being filed herewith:
EXHIBIT INDEX
____________
* Filed herewith.
(b) Financial Statements. See page F-1 for an index to the financial statements and schedules included in the registration statement.
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Item 17. Undertakings.
(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.
(b) 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.
(c) 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 the City of Nashville, TN, on the 14th day of January, 2022.
| | FIRST DIGITAL HEALTH ACQUISITION CORP. |
| | By: | | /s/ Jonathan Phillips |
| | Name: | | Jonathan Phillips |
| | Title: | | Co-Chief Executive Officer |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints each of Jonathan Phillips and Justin Dearborn as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact, with full power of substitution and resubstitution for him or her and in his or her 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/ Jonathan Phillips | | Co-Chief Executive Officer | | January 14, 2022 |
Jonathan Phillips | | (Principal Executive Officer) and Director | | �� |
/s/ Justin Dearborn | | Co-Chief Executive Officer | | January 14, 2022 |
Justin Dearborn | | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) and Director | | |
/s/ Charles Martin | | Chairman | | January 14, 2022 |
Charles Martin | | | | |
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