The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
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PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS | | SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED JULY 25, 2022 |
$65,000,000
Embrace Change Acquisition Corp.
6,500,000 Units
Embrace Change Acquisition Corp. is a blank check company newly incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region. We do not have any specific business combination under consideration and we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf), directly or indirectly, contacted any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to such a transaction with our company.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. We are offering 6,500,000 units at an offering price of $10.00. Each unit consists of one ordinary share, one warrant, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as the “public warrants”, and one right, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as the “public rights”. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Each warrant will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of an initial business combination and will expire on the fifth anniversary of our completion of an initial business combination, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Each right entitles the holder thereof to receive one-eighth (1/8) of one ordinary share upon consummation of our initial business combination, so you must hold rights in multiples of 8 in order to receive shares for all of your rights upon closing of our initial business combination.
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 and will therefore be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 24 for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities.
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
No offer or invitation to subscribe for securities may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands.
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| | Price to Public | | | Underwriting Discounts and Commissions(1) | | | Proceeds, Before Expenses, to us | |
Per Unit | | $ | 10.00 | | | $ | 0.45 | | | $ | 9.55 | |
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Total | | $ | 65,000,000 | | | $ | 2,925,000 | | | $ | 62,075,000 | |
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(1) | Includes $0.35 per unit, or $2,275,000 in the aggregate, payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions that will be placed in a trust account located in the United States. 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. |
Upon consummation of the offering, $10.25 per unit sold to the public in this offering (whether or not the over-allotment option has been exercised in full or part) will be deposited into a United States-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. Except as described in this prospectus, these funds will not be released to us until the earlier of (1) the completion of our initial business combination within the required time period; (2) our redemption of 100% of the outstanding public shares if we have not completed an initial business combination in the required time period; and (3) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption rights as described herein or redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the required time period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity.
The underwriters are offering the units on a firm commitment basis. The underwriters expect to deliver the units to purchasers on or about , 2022.
Sole Book-Running Manager
EF HUTTON
division of Benchmark Investments, LLC
Co-Manager
TIGER BROKERS
, 2022
We have also granted EF Hutton, division of Benchmark Investments, LLC, the representative of the underwriters, a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 975,000 units (over and above the 6,500,000 units referred to above) solely to cover over-allotments, if any.
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their ordinary shares upon the consummation 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, including interest (net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding ordinary shares that were sold as part of the units in this offering, which we refer to as our “public shares.”
We have 12 months (or up to 18 months from the closing of this offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time, as described in more detail in this prospectus) from the closing of this offering to consummate our initial business combination. If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within the above time period, we will distribute the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, net of taxes payable, and less up to $50,000 of interest to pay liquidation expenses, pro rata to our public shareholders by way of the redemption of their shares and to cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up of our affairs, as further described herein. In such event, the warrants and rights will expire and be worthless.
Our sponsor, Wuren Fubao Inc. and certain of their affiliates (collectively, our “initial shareholders”) have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 342,500 units (or 376,625 units if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) (the “private units”) at a price of $10.00 per unit in a private placement for an aggregate purchase price of $3,425,000 (or $3,766,250 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full). Each private unit will be identical to the units sold in this offering, except as described in this prospectus. The private units will be sold in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering, including the over-allotment option, as applicable.
Although our sponsor and certain members of our board of directors and management have significant business ties to or are based in the People’s Republic of China, we have determined that because of uncertainties in the regulatory climate in these jurisdictions, and the potential for future governmental actions which might unfavorably impede future operations, we will not consider or undertake a business combination with an entity or business based in, or with its principal or a majority of its business operations (either directly or through any subsidiaries) in, the People’s Republic of China (including Hong Kong and Macau), and, for the avoidance of doubt, we will not enter into an agreement for, or consummate our initial business combination with, such an entity or business, or consummate our initial business combination in circumstances where we are the counterparty to a VIE or other arrangement with a China-based entity. Since many of our officers and directors have business experience in China or reside in China, not being able to target a business in China may make it more difficult to find an attractive target business outside of China, and it may make us a less attractive partner to non-Hong Kong and non-People’s Republic of China targets. Because our offices are in the United States, we will not acquire a business in China, we currently do not operate in China, and a majority of our officers and directors are outside of China, we are not subject to Chinese regulations, such as those put out by the China Securities Regulatory Commission or Cyberspace Administration of China. However, the relationships of our officers and directors to China could influence the types of targets that they select to acquire due to changes in laws or regulations in China, which could result in significantly reduced securities trading prices of a post-business combination company.
Although our offices are located in the United States, a majority of our directors and officers have significant ties to China (including Hong Kong and Macau). As a result, we may be subject to certain risks relating to regulatory oversight by the PRC government. In particular, changes in the policies, regulations, rules, and the enforcement of laws of the PRC government may be adopted quickly with little advance notice. The Chinese government may also intervene or influence our search for a target business or the completion of an initial business combination at any time because certain of our directors and officers have significant ties to China. This could significantly and negatively impact our search for a target business and/or the value of the securities we are registering for sale. See “Risk Factor — Given the Chinese government’s potential oversight and discretion over the conduct of our directors’ and officers’ search for a target company, the Chinese government may intervene or influence our operations at any time, which could result in a material change in our search for a target business and/or the value of the securities we are registering. Changes in the policies, regulations, rules, and the enforcement of laws of the PRC government may be adopted quickly with little advance notice and could have a significant impact upon our ability to operate.”
Pursuant to the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (“HFCAA”), the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) issued a Determination Report on December 16, 2021 which found that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms headquartered in: (1) mainland China of the People’s Republic of China because of a position taken by one or more authorities in mainland China; and (2) Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region and dependency of the PRC, because of a position taken by one or more authorities in Hong Kong. In addition, the PCAOB’s report identified the specific registered public accounting firms which are subject to these determinations. Our registered public accounting firm, MaloneBailey, is headquartered in the United States, is an independent registered public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess MaloneBailey’s compliance with applicable professional standards and was not identified in this report as a firm subject to the PCAOB’s determination. The PCAOB currently has access to inspect the working papers of our auditor. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that we complete a business combination with a company, the auditor of which the PCAOB is not able to fully conduct inspections on, it could cause us to fail to be in compliance with U.S. securities laws and regulations, we could cease to be listed on a U.S. securities exchange, and U.S. trading of our shares could be prohibited under the HFCAA and Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. In addition, Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, if enacted, would decrease the number of “non-inspection years” from three years to two years, and thus, would reduce the time before our securities may be prohibited from trading or delisted. See “Risk Factor — U.S. laws and regulations, including the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act and Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, may restrict or eliminate our ability to complete a business combination with certain companies” and “Risk Factor — If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, trading in our securities could be negatively impacted.”
There is presently no public market for our units, ordinary shares, warrants or rights. We have applied to have our units listed on the Nasdaq Global Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “EMCGU” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq. We expect the ordinary shares, warrants and rights comprising the units to begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless EF Hutton, division of Benchmark Investments, LLC informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our satisfaction of certain conditions as described further herein. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading as described in this prospectus, we expect the ordinary shares, warrants and rights will be traded on Nasdaq under the symbols “EMCG,” “EMCGW,” and “EMCGR” respectively; provided that no fractional warrants will be issued and only whole warrants will trade. We cannot assure you that our securities will be approved for listing and, if approved, will continue to be listed on Nasdaq after this offering.