Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4)
Registration Number 333-265240
PROSPECTUS
$60,000,000
MARS ACQUISITION CORP.
6,000,000 UNITS
Mars Acquisition Corp. is a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated as a blank check 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, although the Company intends to focus on opportunities in automobiles, healthcare, financial technology, cyber security, cleantech, software, Internet and artificial intelligence, specialty manufacturing and any other related technology innovations market. 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 will not effectuate an initial Business Combination with a company that is headquartered in the People’s Republic of China (“PRC” or “China”), the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China (“Hong Kong”) or the Macau Special Administrative Region of China (“Macau”) or conducts a majority of its operations in China, Hong Kong or Macau.
All of our officers and directors reside in countries other than China and are either U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents in the United States or citizens of countries other than China. Therefore, we believe there are no Chinese legal barriers or legal barriers from Canada, Malta, or the United Kingdom to investors being able to effect service of process and enforce judgement of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on them under United States securities laws. Similarly, we do not believe the Chinese government may intervene or influence our current or future operations or subject us to regulatory, liquidity and enforcement risks. Our sponsor, Mars Capital Holding Corporation, a British Virgin Islands business company with limited liability (“Sponsor”), with majority of its shares controlled by two non-U.S. persons and non-Chinese citizens (including our Chairman Mr. Shanchun Huang) who do not locate in or have significant ties to China, Hong Kong or Macau and accordingly, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) or other regulatory agencies may modify, delay or prevent our business combination. See Risk Factor - The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) or other regulatory agencies may modify, delay or prevent our business combination. on page 35.
In addition, we believe that none of our officers and directors have significant ties to China except that some of our officers and directors lived in China or Hong Kong before they came to the United Stated or Australia for advanced education and/or commenced their professional careers in the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom. As our Articles of Incorporation prohibits us from undertaking our initial business combination with any company based in or having the majority of its operations in China (including Hong Kong and Macau), we do not believe the historical path of some of our directors and officers will result in a material change in our search for a target company and the value of the securities that we are registering for sale. However, we cannot predict the perception from potential target companies or the market, it is uncertain whether that would make us a less attractive partner to a non-China or non-Hong Kong-based target company and such perception may potentially limit or negatively impact our search for an initial business combination. See “Risk Factors - All of our officers and directors reside in countries other than China and are either U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents in the United States or citizens of countries other than China and our sponsor is a BVI company; and they do not have significant ties to China and Hong Kong except that some of our officers and directors lived in China and Hong Kong in the past. It is uncertain whether that would make us a less attractive partner to a non-China or non-Hong Kong-based target company and such perception may potentially limit or negatively impact our search for an initial business combination.”
This is an initial public offering of our securities. We are offering 6,000,000 units at an offering price of $10.00. Each unit consists of one ordinary share and one right to receive two-tenths (2/10) of one ordinary share upon consummation of our initial business combination. No fractional shares will be issued upon exchange of the rights, so you must hold rights in multiples of 5 in order to receive shares for all of your rights upon closing of a business combination.
We have granted Maxim Group LLC, the representative of the underwriters, a 45-day option to purchase up to 900,000 units (over and above the 6,000,000 units referred to above) to cover over-allotments, if any.
Our sponsor, Mars Capital Holding Corporation, a British Virgin Islands business company with limited liability, has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 355,000 units (or 391,000 units if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $10.00 per unit for an aggregate purchase price of $3,550,000 (or $3,910,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full). Each private placement unit will be identical to the units sold in this offering, except that the private placement units and the underlying securities will be subject to certain restrictions on transfer and entitled to certain registration rights as described in this prospectus. The private placement 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. We refer to these units throughout this prospectus as private placement units.
As of September 30, 2022, our sponsor, officers and directors owned an aggregate of 2,156,250 shares of our ordinary shares. On December 1, 2022, we effectuated a share consolidation at a ratio of 1 for 1.25. Every 1.25 shares was consolidated into 1 share. The effects of this share consolidation were made retroactive to September 30, 2021. The share consolidation reduced the number of authorized shares from 1,000,000,000, par value $0.0001 to 800,000,000, par value $0.000125. It also reduced the number of outstanding shares from 2,156,250 shares to 1,725,000 shares (up to 225,000 shares of which are subject to forfeiture, depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised, such that the founder shares would comprise 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of all classes of ordinary shares of the company after the IPO, excluding the private placement shares and representative shares).
Our units have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “MARXU” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The ordinary shares and rights will begin separate trading on the 52th day after the date of this prospectus unless Maxim Group LLC, the representative of the underwriters, informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our satisfaction of certain conditions. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the ordinary shares and rights will be traded on Nasdaq under the symbols “MARX,” and “MARXR,” respectively.
U.S. laws and regulations, including the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or HFCAA, may restrict or eliminate our ability to complete a business combination with certain companies. Our auditor is located in New York, and has been inspected by the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, on a regular basis with the last inspection in 2018. It is not subject to the determinations announced by the PCAOB on December 16, 2021. However, if the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or fully investigate our auditor or the auditor of a company we may target for an initial business combination, trading in our securities may be prohibited under the HFCAA, and as a result Nasdaq may determine to delist our securities. See “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to Acquiring and Operating Business Outside of the United States - Trading in our securities may be prohibited under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act if the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or fully investigate our auditor. In that case, Nasdaq would delist our securities. The delisting of our securities, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment. Additionally, the inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections may deprive our investors with the benefits of such inspections.”
We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 and have elected to comply with certain reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 32 of this prospectus for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
No offer or invitation to subscribe for units may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands.
| | PER UNIT | | | TOTAL | |
Public offering price | | $ | 10.00 | | | $ | 60,000,000 | |
Underwriting discounts and commissions(1) | | $ | 0.20 | | | $ | 1,200,000 | |
Proceeds, before expenses, to us | | $ | 9.80 | | | $ | 58,800,000 | |
(1) | The underwriters will receive compensation in addition to the underwriting discounts and commissions. In addition, the representative of the underwriters and/or its designees will receive an aggregate of 240,000 shares (or 276,000 shares if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full), which we refer to herein as the “representative shares”, as compensation in connection with this offering . See “Underwriting” beginning on page 150 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 units described in this prospectus, $61,200,000 (or $70,380,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be deposited into a United States-based account at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. maintained by 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 the completion of our initial business combination and our liquidation upon our failure to consummate a business combination within the required time period.
The underwriters are offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. The underwriters expect to deliver the units to the purchasers on or about February 16, 2023.
Sole Book-Running Manager
Maxim Group LLC
February 13, 2023
TABLE OF CONTENTS
We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information, and we take no responsibility for any other information others may give to you. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.
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.
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
This summary highlights certain information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. As this is a summary, it does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making an investment decision. For a more complete understanding of this offering, you should read the entire prospectus carefully, including the information under the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing. Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus, references to:
| · | Companies Act” refers to the Companies Act (2021 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, as may be amended from time to time; |
| · | “founder shares” are to ordinary shares initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to this offering; |
| · | “initial shareholders” are to our sponsor and any other holders of our founder shares prior to this offering (or their permitted transferees); |
| · | “management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors; |
| · | “Maxim” are to Maxim Group LLC, the representative of the underwriters in this offering; |
| · | “ordinary shares” are to our ordinary shares, $0.000125 par value; |
| · | “private placement rights” are to the rights included in the private placement units; |
| · | “private placement shares” are to the ordinary shares included in the private placement units; |
| · | “private placement units” are to the units issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering, which private placement units are identical to the units sold in this offering, except they and the underlying securities are subject to certain transfer restrictions and entitled to certain registration rights as described in this prospectus; |
| · | “public shares” are to ordinary shares sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market); |
| · | “public shareholders” are to the holders of the public shares, whether they are purchased in the public offering or in the aftermarket, including any of our initial shareholders or management team to the extent that they purchase such public shares, provided that each initial shareholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public shareholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares; |
| · | “representative” are to Maxim Group LLC, who is the representative of the underwriters in this offering; |
| · | “representative shares” are to the 240,000 ordinary shares (or 276,000 shares if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) to be issued in connection with the consummation of this offering to the representative and/or its designees; |
| · | “rights” are to our rights entitling the holder thereof to receive two-tenths (2/10) of one ordinary share upon consummation of our initial business combination, which include the public rights as well as the private placement rights; |
| · | “sponsor” are to Mars Capital Holding Corporation, a British Virgin Islands business company with limited liability; and |
| · | “we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to Mars Acquisition Corp. |
All references in this prospectus to shares of the Company being forfeited shall take effect as surrenders for no consideration of such shares as a matter of the Cayman Islands law. All references to the conversion of ordinary shares shall take effect as a redemption of ordinary shares and issuance of the corresponding ordinary shares, where applicable, as a matter of Cayman Islands law.
Each unit consists of one ordinary share and one right to receive two-tenths (2/10) of one ordinary share upon consummation of our initial business combination. No fractional shares will be issued upon exchange of the rights, so you must hold rights in multiples of 5 in order to receive shares for all of your rights upon closing of a business combination. Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option.
Our Company
We are a blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands on April 23, 2021 as an exempted company with limited liability. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies wishing to conduct business outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have applied for and received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
We were formed 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 as a “target business.” Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to geographic location except that according to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we will not effectuate an initial Business Combination with a company that is headquartered in the People’s Republic of China (“China”), the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China (“Hong Kong”) or the Macau Special Administrative Region of China (“Macau”) or conducts a majority of its operations in China, Hong Kong or Macau. 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. Additionally, we have not engaged or retained any agent or other representative to identify or locate any suitable acquisition candidate, to conduct any research or take any measures, directly or indirectly, to locate or contact a target business.
Our Board of Directors and Management
We will seek to capitalize on the comprehensive experience and contacts of our board of directors and management in consummating an initial business combination. We believe the combination of our directors’ and officers’ operating experience, deal-making track record, professional relationships and capital markets expertise can be catalysts to enhance the growth potential and value of a target business and provide opportunities for an attractive return to our shareholders.
Karl Brenza. Karl Brenza has served as our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and director since shortly after the inception of the Company. He is a citizen of the United States and based in New York, New York. Mr. Brenza has over 25 years of investment banking and financial advisory experience as well as significant operational and technology experience as a corporate executive. He has extensive blank-check/SPAC experience and completed some of the earliest blank-check/SPAC transactions. During his career, Mr. Brenza has completed a vast array of transactions in the areas of strategic advisory assignments, mergers, acquisitions, reverse merger transactions, IPOs, follow-on offerings, SPACs, PIPEs, fairness opinions and private financings of debt and equity. Mr. Brenza is currently serving as Senior Managing Director of Wealth Management Centers, LLC, a financial advisory firm and CFO of Omni Acquisition Corp. Previously, Mr. Brenza served as CFO of First Breach, Inc, an ammunition components company from November 2021 to September 2022. In addition, from August 2018 to November 2021, he was Senior Managing Director, Investment Banking for Paulson Investment Company. From August 2018 to December 2019, he also served as the Head of US Operations for Jerash Holdings US, a NASDAQ-listed manufacturer of outdoor and action garments and sportswear. From 2008 to 2018, Mr. Brenza was Senior Managing Director and Head of the Capital Growth Advisory Group at Maxim Group, LLC. Mr. Brenza received an MBA with honors from Columbia Business School, a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and has been a guest lecturer at the NYU Stern Graduate School of Business.
Xiaochen (Iris) Zhao. Iris Zhao has served as our Chief Operating Officer since shortly after the inception of the Company. She is a citizen of the Republic of Malta and based in London, the United Kingdom. Ms. Iris Zhao has 10 years of experience in building and advising corporations through M&A and capital market transactions globally. Ms. Zhao is responsible for managing and coordinating company’s investment, liquidity and asset liability management in order to optimize investment performance within the risk management guidelines. At the same time, to monitor company’s portfolio of assets, devise strategies for growth, act as the liaison with investors, and recognize and avoid serious risks. Ms. Zhao is proficient in road-shows presentation, structuring and negotiating transactions and terms with international investment communities and corporate finance.
Ms. Zhao was appointed as the Chief Investment Officer of Future Fintech Group Inc. (NASDAQ stock ticker: FTFT) in February 2020. Future Fintech Group Inc. has received a notice of delisting from Nasdaq, that it has until February 27, 2023 to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. As of February 13, 2023, its closing bid price was $1.91. Prior to that she served as the Managing Partner of Wealth Index (Beijing) Fund Management Co., Ltd., which is a top financial advisory service corporation that focuses on financial advisory, private equities investment and investment banking businesses. From January 2011 to February 2019, Ms. Zhao was in charge of international business planning and developing, investor relationship support and relationships with global investors. Ms. Zhao has completed dozens of transactions in a wide range of transactions including IPOs, M&A transactions, RTOs, follow-on offerings, public and private fund raising, and PIPEs. In her early career, Ms. Zhao worked at SUNTV Video Ltd. as a Specialist in NYC. She brings experience in media, business negotiation, and is familiar with international business activities.
Ms. Zhao studied Finance at New York City University and Montana State University. She received Bachelor of Science with highest honor in Finance from Montana State University and was appointed to Beta Gamma Sigma, international association of elite business schools. She received MBA from UP Diliman. Ms. Zhao is the Dame of Grace of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, and the first Commander of the Grand Priory of China. Ms. Zhao is our Chairman Shanchun Huang’s wife.
Shanchun Huang. Mr. Shanchun Huang has served as our Chairman since shortly after the inception of the Company. He is a citizen of the Republic of Malta and based in London, the United Kingdom. Mr. Huang has over 16 years of experience in the financial service and investment industry. He has provided financing solutions and advice for high-growth companies in China and successfully assisted 37 enterprises to complete fundraising or public offerings in China. Mr. Huang has served as the CEO and director of Future Fintech Group, Inc. a Nasdaq-listed company and a blockchain based e-commerce platform since March 2020. Future Fintech Group Inc. has received a notice of delisting from Nasdaq, that it has until February 27, 2023 to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. As of February 13, 2023, its closing bid price was $1.91. Most recently, Mr. Huang served as the president of Wealth Index (Beijing) Fund Management Co., Ltd., which provides private equity fund management service, from March 2011 to March 2020 and president of Wealth Index (Beijing) International Investment Consulting Co., Ltd., which provides investment management and consulting services for non-securities related business, from August 2004 to March 2020. From May 2001 to June 2004, Mr. Huang was the vice president of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Corporation, a global automobile company headquartered in Hangzhou, China. Mr. Huang graduated from Hefei Staff University of Science and Technology in July 1986 majoring in news collection and editing. Mr. Huang is also a prolific writer and has published four books in the finance and investment area in China. These books include How to Raise Money to Start a Business, the Road to Red Chips, Comparison and Research Among Global Capital Markets, and The Practice of Small and Medium Enterprises Listed Overseas and Hong Kong. Mr. Huang is the Knight Commander of Grace of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, and the first Grand Prior of the Grand Priory of China. Mr. Huang is our COO Xiaochen Zhao’s husband.
Yenyou (Jeff) Zheng. Yenyou Zheng has served as an independent director since shortly after the inception of the Company. He is a citizen of Canada and based in Vancouver, Canada. Dr. Zheng has over 20 years of experience in investment banking and financing industry. Dr. Zheng currently serves as the Director of Business Development of, and as a broker with, Craft Capital Management LLC and has served in such positions since September 2019. He is also currently an independent director of NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE American: NBY) since September 2019. Prior to that, Dr. Zheng served as the Director of Business Development of Spartan Securities Group, Ltd. From 2014 to August 2019. Dr. Zheng’s experience includes providing innovative financial solutions and consulting services for initial public offering underwriting and investment banking as well as corporate financing solutions with a particular focus on Chinese companies listed overseas. Dr. Zheng received a Ph.D. in physics from Flinders University of South Australia.
James Jenkins. James Jenkins has served as an independent director since shortly after the inception of the Company. He is a citizen of the United States and based in Rochester, New York. Mr. Jenkins currently serves as chair of Lakeland Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: Lake) Nominating Committee and serves on its Audit and Compensation Committees. He previously served on the board of Lakeland Industries, Inc. from 2012 to 2015 and was a member of the Audit and Corporate Governance Committees. He also serves on the Board, Audit and Compensation Committees of OmniLit Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: OLITU), a SPAC that recently raised $143.75 million. Mr. Jenkins is a General Counsel and Vice President of Corporate Development at Transcat, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRNS) and has served in that position since September 2020. At Transcat he drives its acquisition strategy. Prior to that he served as a partner at Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, a regional law firm located in New York State. His practice focused in the areas of corporate governance and general corporate law matters, including initial and secondary public offerings, private placements, mergers and acquisitions, and securities law compliance. Mr. Jenkins joined Harter Secrest and Emery in 1989 as an associate and was elected a partner effective January 1, 1997. He is a Chambers rated attorney and served as a member of the firm’s Management Committee from January 2007 to January 2013. Mr. Jenkins holds a BA from Virginia Military Institute and a J.D. from West Virginia University College of Law.
Yang (Sean) Liu. Yang Liu has served as an independent director since shortly after the inception of the Company. He is a citizen of People’s Republic of China, a US permanent resident and is based in New York, New York. Mr. Liu is a seasoned executive with 16 years of experience in an array of industries including technologies, finance, investment banking and corporation. He has a proven record of driving growth within global organizations and management of public companies. Mr. Liu is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Future Fintech Group Inc. (NASDAQ stock ticker: FTFT), a Nasdaq company expanding globally aggressively in financial technologies and financial services. Future Fintech Group Inc. has received a notice of delisting from Nasdaq, that it has until February 27, 2023 to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. As of February 13, 2023, its closing bid price was $1.91. Mr. Liu served as the Chairman of the board and the Chief Executive Officer at Color Star Technology Co. Ltd (NASDAQ stock ticker: CSCW), a Nasdaq company, from March 2019 to July 2020. Through a series of acquisitions and dispositions, he successfully transformed the company from a traditional Chinese manufacturer into a global technology company in education and entertainment. He also served as the CEO and Chairman at Wave Sync Corporation, an OTC technology company from July 2017 to August 2018. From 2015 to 2017, Mr. Liu worked as an IT Manager at UBS, overseeing regional production support and implementation coordination of its core capital market software platform. Mr. Liu received two M.S. degrees in financial mathematics and electrical engineering from New Mexico State University in the United States. He also received a B.S. Degree in Electric Engineering from Tsinghua University in China.
Xin (Adam) He. Xin He has served as an independent director since shortly after the inception of the Company. He is a citizen of People’s Republic of China, a US permanent resident and is based in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. He has been a CFO for a Fortune Global 500 conglomerate, Wanda USA since May 2012. Amongst many of the responsibilities inherent to this leadership position, Mr. He played a key role in two of the most world-renowned projects – the development of a 101-story landmark “Vista Tower” in downtown Chicago and the acquisition of AMC Entertainment Inc, that he later led its IPO to NYSE in 2013. In addition, during the period of August 2012 to December 2014, Mr. He merged the qualities of Wanda with AMC that resulted in a historic highest profit for the American theatrical exhibition business that owns and operates 660 theatres. His diverse background across various industries came from his previous jobs as Financial Controller for NYSE listed Xinyuan Real Estate Co., auditor at Financial Service Office in Ernst & Young LLP in New York, and various leadership roles at Chinatex Corporation. Due to his exceptional public company management expertise, Mr. He was invited to serve as an independent board director at Energy Focus (NASDAQ: EFOI) from July 2014 to April 2015, iFresh Inc. (NASDAQ: IFMK) from December 2017 to April 2018, Professional Diversity Network (NASDAQ: IPDN) from January 2018 to March 2019, and Beijing Baosheng Media (NASDAQ: BAOS) from February 2021 to present.
He is also deeply involved in a non-profit organization, as Vice Chair of the China General Chamber of Commerce Chicago, to bridge culture and business between US and China. His education and license strongly support this endeavor as he had obtained a Bachelor and Master of Science in Taxation from Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, and a Master of Science in Accounting from Seton Hall University in New Jersey. He is also a Certified Public Accountant both in China and in New York state.
Our team has entered into successful transactions in the following industries:
| · | investment banking (Paulson Investment Company, Maxim Group LLC and Craft Capital Management LLC); |
| · | automotive (Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Corporation, a global automobile company headquartered in Hangzhou, China); |
| · | healthcare technology (Chinese stem cell company, China liver-cancer joint venture with US bio-tech company); |
| · | big data and artificial intelligence (Japanese e-legal software provider and Chinese e-learning company), |
| · | clean-tech (waste to energy conversion company); |
| · | specialty manufacturing (specialty garments manufacturer, medical suits). |
With a management team with experience in SPACs, merger and acquisitions, corporate and financial transactions, connections with international investment communities, and experience in business development, we believe we can source attractive deals and find compelling investment opportunities from private and public sources to create value for shareholders. See the section titled “Management” for complete information on the experience of our officers and directors.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, our officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs and will allocate their time to other businesses, 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. Each of our officers and directors is engaged in other business endeavors for which he or she may be entitled to substantial compensation and they are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. We presently expect each of our employees to devote such amount of time as they reasonably believe is necessary to our business (which could range from only a few hours a week while we are trying to locate a potential target business to a majority of their time as we move into serious negotiations with a target business for a business combination). As more fully discussed in “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our officers or directors 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 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 the Cayman Islands law, prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Most of our officers and directors currently have certain pre-existing fiduciary duties or contractual obligations.
In addition, past performance by our management team 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 locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. Furthermore, the members of the management team may not remain with us subsequent to the consummation of a business combination.
Competitive Advantages
Experienced Management Team with Proven Track Record
Our management team has a proven track record of SPACs, M&A and capital market transactions.
Together with our management team, we believe we have a broad network of contacts and corporate relationship that makes us efficient at:
| · | sourcing and evaluating business; |
| · | identifying, acquiring and growing companies; |
| · | recruiting qualified talent and delivering operating efficiencies; |
| · | accessing capital markets across various business cycles; |
| · | bridging cultural differences to negotiate and execute a transaction in a timely and professional manner. |
By leveraging our management team’s industry expertise, performing disciplined due diligence, being cautious downside protection, and providing post-acquisition value-add capabilities, we believe that we will be able to acquire a target business that will achieve significant returns for investors.
Status as a Publicly Listed Company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to prospective target businesses. As a publicly listed company, we will offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering. We believe that target businesses will favor this alternative, which we believe is less expensive, while offering greater certainty of execution than the traditional initial public offering. During an initial public offering, there are typically expenses incurred in marketing, which would be costlier than a business combination with us. Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is approved by our shareholders (if applicable) and the transaction is consummated, 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 that could prevent the offering from occurring. Once public, we believe the target business would have greater access to capital and additional means of creating management incentives that are better aligned with shareholders’ interests than it would as a private company. It can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented management staffs.
Strong Financial Position and Flexibility
With the funds held in our trust account, we can offer a target business a variety of options to facilitate a business combination and fund future expansion and growth of its business. Because we are able to consummate a business combination using the cash proceeds from this offering, our share capital, debt or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use an efficient structure allowing us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to address the needs of the parties. However, if a business combination requires us to use substantially all of our cash to pay for the purchase price, we may need to arrange third party financing to help fund our business combination. Since we have no specific business combination under consideration, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing.
Acquisition Strategy
Our acquisition strategy will seek to capitalize on M&A and operational expertise and relationship of both our management team and our board of directors, to identify attractive businesses that have capacity to grow rapidly by utilizing a public vehicle. Although we are not limited to any particular industry, we intend to primarily focus on companies operating in electronic vehicles, healthcare technology, financial technology, cleantech, specialty manufacturing, big data and artificial intelligence and any other related technology innovations market. Our team has experience in all of these areas and will rely heavily on our knowledge base and broad array of contacts in identifying and structuring a transaction that creates robust shareholder value potential. There is no restriction in the geographic location of targets that we can pursue, although we intend to initially prioritize geographic locations in Asia, as our officers and directors consist of successful entrepreneurs and senior executives with decades of operating and M&A experiences in the region.
Acquisition Criteria
The focus of our management team is to create shareholder value by leveraging its experience to improve the efficiency of the business while implementing strategies to grow revenue and profits organically and/or through acquisitions. Consistent with our strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. While we intend to use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating prospective businesses, we may deviate from these criteria and guidelines should we see fit to do so:
| · | Scalable Business with Opportunity to Produce Attractive Financial Returns |
We intend to acquire companies with marketability to support significant growth while also driving margin expansion through technological or operational advancements;
| · | Long-term Revenue Visibility with Defensible Market Position |
We intend to seek target companies that are at an inflection point, such as those requiring additional management expertise, are able to innovate by developing new products or services, or where we believe we can drive improved financial performance and where an acquisition may help facilitate growth.
| · | Benefits from Being a U.S. Public Company (Value Creation and Marketing Opportunities) |
We intend to seek target companies that should offer attractive risk-adjusted equity returns for our shareholders. We intend to seek to acquire a target on terms and in a manner that leverages our experience. We expect to evaluate financial returns based on (i) the potential for organic growth in cash flows, (ii) the ability to achieve cost savings, (iii) the ability to accelerate growth, including through the opportunity for follow-on acquisitions and (iv) the prospects for creating value through other value creation initiatives. Potential upside from growth in the target business’ earnings and an improved capital structure will be weighed against any identified downside risks.
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant.
Initial Business Combination
We will either (1) seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which public shareholders may seek to convert their public shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against the proposed business combination, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (net of taxes payable) or (2) provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to sell their public shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a shareholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (net of taxes payable), in each case subject to the limitations described herein. Notwithstanding the foregoing, our initial shareholders have agreed, pursuant to written letter agreements with us, not to convert any public shares held by them into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of our proposed business combination or allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. If we so choose and we are legally permitted to do so, we will have the flexibility to avoid a shareholder vote and allow our shareholders to sell their shares pursuant to the tender offer rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. In that case, we will file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. We will consummate our initial business combination only if we have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation and, solely if we seek shareholder approval, a majority of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the business combination.
We will have until 12 months from the consummation of this offering to consummate our initial business combination. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 12 months, we may, but are not obligated to, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination two times by an additional three months each time (for a total of up to 18 months to complete a business combination). Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the trust agreement to be entered into between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company on the date of this prospectus, in order to extend the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination, our sponsor or its affiliates or designees, upon five days advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, must deposit into the trust account for each three months extension, $600,000, or $690,000 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 applicable deadline. The sponsor or its affiliates or designees will receive non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory notes equal to the amount of any such deposit. If we do not complete a business combination, we will not repay such loan, except to the extent there are funds available outside the trust account to do so after provision for all liquidation expenses. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. If we do not complete a business combination, we will not repay such loans. Our sponsor and its affiliates or designees are not obligated to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of the loans made by our sponsor, our officers and directors, or our or their affiliates to us prior to or in connection with our initial business combination (including loans made to extend our time period for consummating a business combination) may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender.
If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within this time period, we will liquidate the trust account and distribute the proceeds held therein to our public shareholders and dissolve. If we are forced to liquidate, we anticipate that we would distribute to our public shareholders the amount in the trust account calculated as of the date that is two days prior to the distribution date (including any accrued interest). Prior to such distribution, we would be required to assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us by our creditors for amounts they are actually owed and make provision for such amounts, as creditors take priority over our public shareholders with respect to amounts that are owed to them. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our shareholders could potentially be liable for any claims of creditors to the extent of distributions received by them as an unlawful payment in the event we enter an insolvent liquidation.
Pursuant to the Nasdaq listing rules, our initial business combination must be with a target business or businesses whose collective fair market value is at least equal to 80% of the balance in the trust account (excluding taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the execution of a definitive agreement for such business combination, although this may entail simultaneous acquisitions of several target businesses. The fair market value of the target 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). Our board of directors will have broad discretion in choosing the standard used to establish the fair market value of any prospective target business. The target business or businesses that we acquire may have a collective fair market value substantially in excess of 80% of the trust account balance. We will not be required to comply with the 80% fair market value requirement if we are delisted from NASDAQ.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an unaffiliated third party that the target business we select has a fair market value in excess of at least 80% of the balance of the trust account unless our board of directors cannot make such determination on its own. We are also not required to obtain an opinion from an unaffiliated third party indicating that the price we are paying is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view unless the target is affiliated with our officers, directors, initial shareholders or their affiliates.
We currently anticipate structuring our initial business combination to acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination where we merge directly with the target business or where we acquire less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we could acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target; however, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, only the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% fair market value test.
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review that may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, market surveys, consultant studies and inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us. We will also utilize our management team’s operational and capital allocation experience.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that 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.
Members of our management team, including our independent directors, will directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement units following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration. Our officers and directors have neither individually selected nor have they had any substantive discussions regarding possible target businesses among themselves or with our underwriters or other advisors. Additionally, 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. We will not effectuate an initial Business Combination with a company that is headquartered in China, Hong Kong or Macau or conducts a majority of its operations in China, Hong Kong or Macau.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which they have then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, they will honor their fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. 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 business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 their capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within the required timeframe.
No Permission Required from the Chinese Authorities for this Offering and a Business Combination
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company with no operations in China and all of our officers and directors are located in the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom. Neither, we nor any of our officers and directors are required to obtain permission from any Chinese authorities to operate or to issue the securities being issued in this offering to any investors, including Chinese investors, if any. Since we will not undertake our initial business combination with any company being based in or having the majority of the company’s operations in China (including Hong Kong and Macau), we do not expect that any permission or approval would be required from the Chinese authorities to search for a target company or to consummate our initial business combination.
Initial Business Combination with a Company Based in a Foreign Country
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. As of the date of this prospectus, we are held by our officers, directors and our sponsor Mars Capital Holding Corporation, a British Virgin Islands company with majority of its shares controlled by two non-U.S. persons and non-Chinese citizens (including our Chairman Mr. Shanchun Huang) who do not locate in or have significant ties to China, Hong Kong or Macau, and managed by our Chairman Mr. Shanchun Huang. Upon the consummation of this offering (without over-allotment) and the sale of the private placement units, our management and sponsor will collectively own 22.92% of equity interest and public shareholders including U.S. investors and foreign investors will collectively own 74.12% of equity interest of us.
Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region, except that according to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we will not effectuate an initial Business Combination with a company that is headquartered in China, Hong Kong or Macau or conducts a majority of its operations in China, Hong Kong or Macau.
Implication of the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCAA, was enacted on December 18, 2020. The HFCAA states that if the SEC determines that an issuer’s audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm have not been subject to inspection by the PCAOB for three consecutive years beginning in 2021, the SEC shall prohibit such issuer’s securities from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter trading market in the United States.
Furthermore, our securities may be prohibited to trade on a national exchange under the HFCAA if the PCAOB is unable to inspect our auditor or the auditor of the target company of our initial business combination for three consecutive years beginning in 2021. Our auditor is currently subject to PCAOB inspections, and PCAOB is able to inspect our auditor. In order to minimize or avoid such risk, we will explicitly exclude any target company whose financial statements are audited by an accounting firm that the PCAOB is unable to inspect for three consecutive years beginning in 2021. Furthermore, on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (“AHFCAA”), which, if signed into law, would amend the HFCA Act and require the SEC to prohibit an issuer’s securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of three consecutive years.
On November 5, 2021, the SEC approved the PCAOB’s Rule 6100, Board Determinations Under the HFCAA. Rule 6100 provides a framework for the PCAOB to use when determining, as contemplated under the HFCA Act, whether it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction.
On December 2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCAA. The rules apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed an annual report with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in foreign jurisdictions.
On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report on its determinations that it is unable to inspect or investigate completely PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and in Hong Kong, because of positions taken by the Chinese authorities in those jurisdictions. The PCAOB made these determinations pursuant to PCAOB Rule 6100.
Additionally, on August 26, 2022, the PCAOB announced that it had signed a Statement of Protocol (the “SOP”) with the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Finance of China. The SOP, together with two protocol agreements governing inspections and investigations (together, the “SOP Agreement”), establishes a specific, accountable framework to make possible complete inspections and investigations by the PCAOB of audit firms based in mainland China and Hong Kong, as required under U.S. law. The SOP Agreement remains unpublished and is subject to further explanation and implementation. Pursuant to the fact sheet with respect to the SOP Agreement disclosed by the SEC, the PCAOB shall have sole discretion to select any audit firms for inspection or investigation and the PCAOB inspectors and investigators shall have a right to see all audit documentation without redaction. According to the PCAOB, its December 2021 determinations under the HFCAA remain in effect. The PCAOB is required to reassess these determinations by the end of 2022. Under the PCAOB’s rules, a reassessment of a determination under the HFCAA may result in the PCAOB reaffirming, modifying or vacating the determination. However, if the PCAOB continues to be prohibited from conducting complete inspections and investigations of PCAOB-registered public accounting firms in mainland China and Hong Kong, the PCAOB is likely to determine by the end of 2022 that positions taken by authorities in the PRC obstructed its ability to inspect and investigate registered public accounting firms in mainland China and Hong Kong completely, then the companies audited by those registered public accounting firms would be subject to a trading prohibition on U.S. markets pursuant to the HFCAA.
Our auditor is located in New York, and has been inspected by the PCAOB on a regular basis with the last inspection in 2018. It is not subject to the determinations announced by the PCAOB. However, if the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or fully investigate our auditor or the auditor of a company we may target for an initial business combination, trading in our securities may be prohibited under the HFCAA, and as a result Nasdaq may determine to delist our securities. Recent developments of the HFCAA as adopted by the SEC could add uncertainties to our offering or business combination and we cannot assure you whether Nasdaq or regulatory authorities would apply additional and more stringent criteria to us after considering the effectiveness of the audit procedures and quality control procedures, adequacy of personnel and training, or sufficiency of resources, geographic reach or experience as it relates to the audit of our pre- or post-combination financial statements.
Other developments in U.S. laws and regulatory environment may further restrict our ability to complete a business combination with certain foreign businesses.
RISKS
We are a newly formed 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 the section of this prospectus entitled “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 of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors.”
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:
Risks Relating to Our Business
| · | 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.” |
| · | Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination. |
| · | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote. |
| · | Your only opportunity to affect your investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash. |
| · | All of our officers and directors reside in countries other than China and are either U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents in the United States or citizens of countries other than China and our sponsor is a BVI company; and they do not have significant ties to China and Hong Kong except that some of our officers and directors lived in China and Hong Kong in the past. It is uncertain whether that would make us a less attractive partner to a non-China or non-Hong Kong-based target company and such perception may potentially limit or negatively impact our search for an initial business combination. |
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| · | The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the 12 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months from the closing of this offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may decrease our ability 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 business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders. |
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| · | As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating target businesses increases, attractive target businesses may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive target businesses. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target business or to consummate an initial business combination. |
| · | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may elect to purchase shares from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities. |
| · | Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on our redemption of their shares, and the rights will expire worthless. |
| · | If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the prescribed time frame following the closing of this offering, it could limit the amount of cash available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination. |
| · | Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate our initial business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the status of debt and equity markets. |
Corporate Information
Our principal executive office is located at Americas Tower, 1177 Avenue of The Americas, Suite 5100, New York, NY (10036), and our telephone number is 1-888-622-1218. We share the office space with Future Fintech Group Inc.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or 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 internal controls 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 shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an “emerging growth company” for up to five years. However, if our non-convertible debt issued within a three-year period or revenues exceeds $1.07 billion, or the market value of our shares that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million on the last day of the second fiscal quarter of any given fiscal year, we would cease to be an emerging growth company as of the following fiscal year.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of the second fiscal quarter of that year, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of the second fiscal quarter of that year.
Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies wishing to conduct business outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have applied for and have received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands Government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall be payable (1) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (2) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
The Offering
In making your decision on whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of the members of our management team, 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 of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors.”
Securities offered | | 6,000,000 units, at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of one ordinary share, and one right to receive two-tenths (2/10) of one ordinary share upon consummation of our initial business combination. No fractional shares will be issued upon exchange of the rights, so you must hold rights in multiples of 5 in order to receive shares for all of your rights upon closing of a business combination. |
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Nasdaq symbols | | Units: “MARXU” Ordinary Shares: “MARX” Rights: “MARXR” |
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Trading commencement and separation of ordinary shares and rights | | The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We expect the ordinary shares and rights comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd business day following the date of this prospectus unless Maxim 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 ordinary shares and rights 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 ordinary shares and rights. |
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Separate trading of the ordinary shares and rights is prohibited until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K | | In no event will the ordinary shares and rights be traded separately until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC containing an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering, which is anticipated to take place three business days from 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. |
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Units | | |
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Number outstanding before this offering | | 0 |
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Number of private placement units to be sold in a private placement simultaneously with this offering | | 355,000 (1) |
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Number outstanding after this offering and the private placement | | 6,355,000 (1) |
Ordinary shares: | | |
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Number issued and outstanding before this offering and the private placement | | 1,725,000 shares(2) |
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Number of private placement shares to be included in the private placement units to be sold in a private placement simultaneously with this offering | | 355,000 (1) |
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Number to be issued and outstanding after this offering and the private placement | | 8,095,000 shares(1)(3) |
Rights: | | |
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Number issued and outstanding before this offering and the private placement | | 0 rights |
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Number of private placement rights to be included in the private placement units to be sold in a private placement simultaneously with this offering | | 355,000 (1) |
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Number of rights to be outstanding after this offering and the private placement | | 6,355,000(1)(4) |
| (1) | Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the forfeiture by our initial shareholders of 225,000 founder shares. |
| (2) | Includes up to 225,000 shares that are subject to forfeiture by our initial shareholders depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. |
| (3) | Comprised of 6,000,000 ordinary shares included in the units to be sold in this offering, 355,000 private placement shares, 240,000 representative shares, and 1,500,000 founder shares. |
| (4) | Comprised of 6,000,000 public rights included in the units to be sold in this offering, and 355,000 private placement rights. |
Terms of Rights | | Except in cases where we are not the surviving company in a business combination, each holder of a right will automatically receive two-tenths (2/10) of an ordinary share upon consummation of our initial business combination. No additional consideration will be required to be paid by a holder of rights in order to receive the additional shares upon consummation of a business combination, as the consideration related thereto has been included in the unit purchase price paid for by investors in this offering. If we enter into a definitive agreement for a business combination in which we will not be the surviving entity, the definitive agreement will provide for the holders of rights to receive the same per share consideration the holders of ordinary shares will receive in the transaction on an as-exchanged for ordinary shares basis, and rights holders will be required to affirmatively elect to exchange their rights for the underlying shares within a fixed period of time after which period the rights will expire worthless. In the event we will not be the surviving company upon completion of our initial business combination, each holder of a right will be required to affirmatively convert his, her or its rights within a fixed period of time in order to receive the two-tenths (2/10) of a share underlying each right upon consummation of the business combination. We will not issue fractional shares in connection with an exchange of rights. Fractional shares will either be rounded down to the nearest whole share or otherwise addressed in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Cayman Islands law. As a result, you must hold rights in multiples of 5 in order to receive shares for all of your rights upon closing of a business combination. If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the required time period and we redeem the public shares for the funds held in the trust account, holders of rights will not receive any of such funds for their rights and the rights will expire worthless. |
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Founder shares | | As of September 30, 2022, the Company has issued 2,156,250 ordinary shares, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as the “founder shares”, for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.012 per share. On May 31, 2021, the Company issued an aggregate of 1,250,000 ordinary shares, at par value $0.000125 to our sponsor. On October 20, 2021, our sponsor paid $16,375, or approximately $0.095 per share, for additional 173,125 ordinary shares, such that our sponsor owned an aggregate of 1,423,125 founder shares, for approximately $0.012 per share. On the same day, our officers and directors also paid an aggregate purchase price of $8,500 for a total of 733,125 founder shares, for approximately $0.012 per share. On December 1, 2022, we effectuated a share consolidation at a ratio of 1 for 1.25. Every 1.25 shares was consolidated into 1 share. The effects of this share consolidation were made retroactive to September 30, 2021. The share consolidation reduced the number of authorized shares from 1,000,000,000, par value $0.0001 to 800,000,000, par value $0.000125. It also reduced the number of outstanding shares from 2,156,250 shares to 1,725,000 shares, or approximately $0.014 per share. The per share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the aggregate number of founder shares issued. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering (excluding the private placement shares and the representative shares). As such, our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (not including the private placement shares and the representative shares). Neither our sponsor nor any of our officers or directors have expressed an intention to purchase any units in this offering. Up to 225,000 founder shares will be subject to forfeiture by our initial shareholders depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised so that our initial shareholders will maintain ownership of 20% of our ordinary shares after this offering (excluding the private placement shares and the representative shares and assuming they do not purchase units in this offering). The founder shares are identical to the ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, except that: · the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; |
| | · our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed: (i) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association: (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of this offering (or 18 months from the closing of this offering, if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail in this prospectus); or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) 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 12 months from the closing of this offering (or 18 months from the closing of this offering, if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail in this prospectus), 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; · pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers, and directors have agreed 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. If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares and private placement shares, we would need only approximately 2,192,500, or 36.5% of the 6,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination, or 168,750, or 2.8% of the 6,000,000 public shares sold in this offering (assuming only a quorum is present at the meeting and only a majority of shares are required to approve the business combination) in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised); and · the founder shares are entitled to registration rights. |
Representative shares | | In connection with the consummation of this offering, we will issue 240,000 shares (or 276,000 shares if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) to the representative and/or its designees for nominal consideration. The holders of the representative shares have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any such shares without our prior consent until the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, the holders of the representative shares have agreed (i) to waive their redemption rights (or right to participate in any tender offer) with respect to such shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 12 months (or 18 months, as applicable) from the closing of this offering. The representative shares are deemed to be underwriters’ compensation by FINRA pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110. |
Transfer restrictions on founder shares | | Our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign, or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (i) six months after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination; or (ii) the date on which we consummate a liquidation, merger, stock exchange, or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities, or other property (except as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Shareholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Units”). Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations, and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing 60 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares will no longer be subject to such transfer restrictions. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. The term “equity-linked securities” refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable, or exchangeable for ordinary shares issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to, a private placement of equity or debt. 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. |
Private placement units | | Our sponsor has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 355,000 units (or 391,000 units if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $10.00 per unit for an aggregate purchase price of $3,550,000, or $3,910,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full. Each private placement unit will be identical to the units sold in this offering, except that the private placement units and the underlying securities will be subject to certain restrictions on transfer and entitled to certain registration rights as described in this prospectus. The private placement 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. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to the founder shares, private placement shares, or private placement rights. The rights will expire worthless if we do not consummate a business combination within the allotted 12-month period (or up to 18 months from the completion of this offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time). Our sponsor has agreed to waive its redemption rights with respect to its private placement shares (i) in connection with the consummation of a business combination, (ii) in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months after the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months from the completion of this offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) and (iii) if we fail to consummate a business combination within 12 months after the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months from the completion of this offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time) or if we liquidate prior to the expiration of the 12-month period (or up to 18 months from the completion of this offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time). However, our sponsor will be entitled to redemption rights with respect to any public shares held by it if we fail to consummate a business combination or liquidate within the 12-month period (or up to 18 months if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by the full amount of time). You will not be able to vote on or redeem your shares in connection with any such extension. |
Transfer restrictions on private placement units and underlying securities | | The private placement units (including the underlying securities) will not be transferable, assignable, or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except as described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Shareholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Units”). Following such period, the private placement units (including the underlying securities) will be transferable, assignable, or salable, except that the private placement units (and underlying securities) will not trade unless and until they are registered for resale or a valid exemption from registration is available. |
Proceeds to be held in trust account | | Nasdaq rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement units be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement units, $61,200,000 or $10.20 per unit ($70,380,000, or $10.20 per unit, if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be deposited into a trust account in the United States, 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 franchise and income tax obligations (less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement units will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of: (a) the completion of our initial business combination; (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association: (i) 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 12 months from the closing of this offering (or 18 months from the closing of this offering, if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail in this prospectus); or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity; and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of this offering (or 18 months from the closing of this offering, if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail in this prospectus), subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders. |
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Extension of time to complete business combination | | We will have until 12 months from the closing of this offering to consummate an initial business combination. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 12 months, we will, by resolution of our board if requested by our sponsor, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by an additional three months up to two times (for a total of 18 months to complete a business combination), subject to the sponsor depositing additional funds into the trust account as set out below. Pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the trust agreement to be entered into between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company on the date of this prospectus, in order to extend the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination by up to three months, our sponsor or its affiliates or designees must deposit into the trust account $600,000, or up to $690,000 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 deadline. We may extend the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination for an additional three months twice, and each extension will require such an additional deposit into the trust account (for an aggregate of $1,200,000, or 1,380,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). We will issue a press release announcing each extension, at least three days prior to the deadline. In addition, we will issue a press release the day after each deadline, announcing whether the funds have been timely deposited. Our sponsor and its affiliates or designees are obligated to fund the trust account in order to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination, but our sponsor will not be obligated to extend such time. |
Anticipated expenses and funding sources | | Except as described above with respect to the payment of taxes, unless and until we complete our initial business combination, no proceeds held in the trust account will be available for our use. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government securities with a maturity of 180 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. We will disclose in each quarterly and annual report filed with the SEC prior to our initial business combination whether the proceeds deposited in the trust account are invested in U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds or a combination thereof. Based upon current interest rates, we expect the trust account to generate approximately $2,613,240 of interest annually assuming an interest rate of 4.27% per year (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option); however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, we may pay our expenses only from: · the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units not held in the trust account, which will be approximately $500,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $650,000 in expenses relating to this offering; and · any loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or their affiliates or other third parties, although they are under no obligation to advance funds or 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 an initial business combination. |
Conditions to completing our initial business combination | | Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting 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. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds privately, or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. We anticipate structuring our initial business combination either: (i) in such a way so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses; or (ii) in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders, or for other reasons. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% of net assets test. If the 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 transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable. |
Permitted purchases of public shares and public rights by our affiliates | | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public rights in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic 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”). We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination. See “Proposed Business —Permitted purchases of our securities” for a description of how our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public rights could be to reduce the number of public rights outstanding or to vote such rights on any matters submitted to rightsholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our ordinary shares may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange. |
Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination | | We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account 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 franchise and income 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 $10.20 per public share. 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 held by them and any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering in connection with the completion of our initial business combination or otherwise. The holders of the representative shares have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to such shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. We may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. |
Manner of conducting redemption | | We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either: (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the initial business combination; or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirements. Under Nasdaq rules, asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval. We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless shareholder approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to seek shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with such rules. If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association: · conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and · file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
| | Such provisions may be amended if a special resolution passed by holders of at least two-thirds of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares who, being entitled to do so, attend and vote at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given or by way of unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders. |
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| | Whether or not we maintain our registration under the Exchange Act or our listing on Nasdaq, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares by one of the two methods listed above. Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act. |
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| | In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we 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 underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination. |
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| | If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will: |
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| | · | conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and |
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| | · | file proxy materials with the SEC. |
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| | If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding ordinary shares 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. |
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| | Our initial shareholders will count towards this quorum and, pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers, and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding ordinary shares voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need only approximately 2,192,500, or 36.5% of the 6,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination, or 168,750, or 2.8% of the 6,000,000 public shares sold in this offering (assuming only a quorum is present at the meeting and only a majority of shares are required to approve the business combination) in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised). 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 shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. |
| | We may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. We believe that this will allow our transfer agent to efficiently process any redemptions without the need for further communication or action from the redeeming public shareholders, which could delay redemptions and result in additional administrative cost. If the proposed initial business combination is not approved and we continue to search for a target company, we will promptly return any certificates delivered, or shares tendered electronically, by public shareholders who elected to redeem their shares. |
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| | Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed initial business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed initial business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all outstanding shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all outstanding shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. |
Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding 15% or more of the shares sold in this offering, if we hold shareholder vote | | Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering, without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described above will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against an initial business combination if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with an initial business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those shareholders that hold more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering) for or against our initial business combination. |
Redemption rights in connection with proposed amendments to our memorandum and articles of association | | Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders as described herein but excluding provisions related to the appointment or removal of our directors and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended if approved by a special resolution passed by holders of at least two-thirds of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares who, being entitled to do so, attend and vote at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given or by way of unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders. Under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares (a) on any initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our amended and restated amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond 18 months from the closing of this offering or (y) amend the foregoing provisions. Our initial shareholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (excluding the private placement shares and the representative shares and assuming they do not purchase units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Our sponsor and members of our management team have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (i) 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 12 months from the closing of this offering (or 18 months from the closing of this offering, if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail in this prospectus), or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. Our sponsor and members of our management team 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 certain proposed amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. |
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Release of funds in trust account on closing of our initial business combination | | On the completion of our initial business combination, the funds held in the trust account will be used to pay amounts due to any public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination.” We will use the remaining funds to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination, and to pay other expenses associated with our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination, we may 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. |
Redemption of public shares and distribution and liquidation if no initial business combination | | Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will have only 12 months from the closing of this offering (or 18 months from the closing of this offering, if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail in this prospectus) to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within such 12-month period (or 18-month period), we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible, but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes (less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our sponsor, officers, and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of this offering (or 18 months from the closing of this offering, if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail in this prospectus). However, if our initial shareholders 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 allotted 12-month time period (or 18-month period). The holders of representative shares will not participate in any distribution from our trust account with respect to such representative shares. There will be no redemption or liquidation rights with respect to our rights, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the 12-month period (or 18-month period). |
Limited payments to insiders | | There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursement, consulting fee, non-cash payments, monies in respect of any payment of a loan, or other compensation paid by us to our sponsor, officers or directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, the following payments will be made to our sponsor, officers, or directors, or our or their affiliates, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination: |
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| | · | Repayment of up to an aggregate of $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses; |
| | · | payment to our sponsor of a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services; |
| | · | Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination; and |
| | · | Repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors 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 working capital loans may be convertible into private placement-equivalent units at a price of $10.00 per unit (which, for example, would result in the holders being issued 150,000 units if $1,500,000 of notes were so converted), at the option of the lender. Such units would be identical to the private placement units. The terms of such working capital loans by our sponsor or its affiliates, or our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. |
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| | Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, or directors, or their affiliates. |
Audit Committee | | We will establish and maintain an audit committee, which will be composed entirely of independent directors 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 immediately 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 of this prospectus entitled “Management — Committees of the Board of Directors — Audit Committee.” |
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Indemnity | | Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality, or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of: (i) $10.20 per public share; and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.20 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses. |
SUMMARY FINANCIAL DATA
The following table summarizes the relevant financial data for our business and should be read with our financial statements, which are included in this prospectus. We have not had any significant operations to date, so only balance sheet data are presented.
| | September 30, 2022 | |
| | Actual | | | As Adjusted(1) | |
| | (Audited) | | | (Unaudited) | |
Balance Sheet Data: | | | | | | | | |
Working capital surplus / (deficit) (2) | | $ | (230,470 | ) | | $ | 61,700,000 | |
Total assets (3) | | $ | 205,260 | | | $ | 61,674,790 | |
Total liabilities (4) | | $ | 230,470 | | | $ | — | |
Value of ordinary shares subject to possible conversion/tender | | $ | — | | | $ | 61,200,000 | |
Shareholders’ equity (deficit) (5) | | $ | (25,210 | ) | | $ | 474,790 | |
| (1) | Assumes the over-allotment option has not been exercised and the resulting forfeiture of 225,000 founder shares has not occurred. |
| (2) | The “as adjusted” working capital surplus also includes $61,200,000 of cash held in trust from the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units, plus $500,000 in cash held outside the trust account. |
| (3) | The “as adjusted” total assets include $61,200,000 of cash held in trust from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units, plus $500,000 in cash held outside the trust account, less the actual shareholders’ deficit of $25,210. The actual deferred offering costs of $205,260 will be reclassified as a charge to additional paid-in capital from the gross proceeds in connection with the consummation of the offering. Any additional offering costs will also be charged to additional paid-in capital. |
| (4) | The actual liabilities of $230,470 at September 30, 2022 represents $228,246 of a related party loan from our sponsor and $2,224 of additional expenses accrued for the year ending September 30, 2022, which will be repaid using the proceeds received from the offering on the date the offering is consummated. |
| (5) | The “as adjusted” calculation equals the “as adjusted” total assets, less the “as adjusted” total liabilities, less the value of the ordinary shares that may be redeemed in connection with our initial business combination (approximately $10.20 per share). |
If no business combination is completed within 12 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months from the consummation of this offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail in this prospectus), the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes or for working capital purposes (less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares. Our sponsor, directors and officers 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 such time period.
RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the material risks described below, which we believe represent the material risks related to the offering, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our units. This prospectus also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of specific factors, including the risks described below.
Risks Relating to Our Search For, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
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, 2022, we had $(2,718) in net loss. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through this offering are discussed in the section of this prospectus titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” Our plans to raise capital and to consummate our initial business combination may not be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this prospectus do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to consummate this offering or our inability to continue as a going concern.
Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our founder shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.
We may not hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require shareholder approval under applicable state law or the rules of Nasdaq or if we decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons. For instance, the Nasdaq rules currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a general meeting but would still require us to obtain shareholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our 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 outstanding shares, we would seek shareholder approval of such business combination. However, except for as required by law, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Even if we seek shareholder approval, the holders of our founder shares will participate in the vote on such approval. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our issued and outstanding shares do not approve of the business combination we consummate. Please see the section entitled “Proposed Business — Initial Business Combination - Shareholders may not have the ability to approve our initial business combination” for additional information.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Unlike many other blank check companies in which the initial shareholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public shareholders in connection with an initial business combination, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, as well as any public shares purchased during or after this offering, in favor of our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers and directors will own 20% of our outstanding ordinary shares immediately following the completion of this offering (excluding the private placement shares and the representative shares and assuming they do not purchase units in this offering). As a result, in addition to the founder shares and the private placement shares, we would need only approximately 2,192,500, or 36.5% of the 6,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination, or 168,750, or 2.8% of the 6,000,000 public shares sold in this offering, to be voted in favor of our initial business combination (assuming only a quorum is present at the meeting and only a majority of shares are required to approve the business combination) in order to have such transaction approved (assuming the underwriter’s over-allotment option is not exercised). In addition, in the event that our board of directors amends our bylaws to reduce the number of shares required to be present at a meeting of our shareholders, we would need even fewer public shares to be voted in favor of our initial business combination to have such transaction approved.
Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary shareholder approval will be received than would be the case if our initial shareholders agreed to vote their shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public shareholders.
Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek shareholder approval of the business combination.
At the time of your investment in us, you may not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of one or more target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder vote. Accordingly, if we do not seek shareholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target business and may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target business that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. If we are able to consummate an initial business combination, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming shareholders will reflect our obligation to pay. 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 both immediately before and after the consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which 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 both immediately before and after the consummation of our initial business combination 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 target businesses will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our 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, or may incentivize us to structure a transaction whereby we issue shares to new investors and not to sellers of target businesses.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the 12 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months from the closing of this offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may decrease our ability 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 business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months from the closing of this offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination). Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating target businesses increases, attractive target businesses may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive target businesses. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target business 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 target businesses 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 target businesses 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 target businesses, the competition for available target businesses 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 target businesses 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.
All of our officers and directors reside in countries other than China and are either U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents in the United States or citizens of countries other than China and our sponsor is a BVI company; and they do not have significant ties to China and Hong Kong except that some of our officers and directors lived in China and Hong Kong in the past. It is uncertain whether that would make us a less attractive partner to a non-China or non-Hong Kong-based target company and such perception may potentially limit or negatively impact our search for an initial business combination.
All of our officers and directors reside in countries other than China and are either U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents in the United States or citizens of countries other than China and our sponsor is a BVI company. Therefore, we believe there are no Chinese legal barriers or legal barriers from Canada, Malta, or the United Kingdom to investors being able to effect service of process and enforce judgement of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on them under United States securities laws. We believe that none of our officers and directors have significant ties to China except that some of our officers and directors lived in China or Hong Kong before they came to the United Stated or Australia for advanced education and/or commenced their professional careers in the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom. As our Certificate of Incorporation prohibits us from undertaking our initial business combination with any company being based in or having the majority of the company’s operations in China (including Hong Kong and Macau), we do not believe the historical path of some of our officers and directors will result in a material change in our search for a target company and the value of the securities that we are registering for sale. However, we cannot predict the perception from potential target companies or the market, it is uncertain whether that would make us a less attractive partner to a non-China or non-Hong Kong-based target company and such perception may potentially limit or negatively impact our search for an initial business combination.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) or other regulatory agencies may modify, delay or prevent our business combination.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) has authority to review direct or indirect foreign investments in U.S. companies. Among other things, CFIUS is empowered to require certain foreign investors to make mandatory filings, to charge filing fees related to such filings and to self-initiate national security reviews of foreign direct and indirect investments in U.S. companies if the parties to that investment choose not to file voluntarily. In the case that CFIUS determines an investment to be a threat to national security, CFIUS has the power to unwind or place restrictions on the investment. Whether CFIUS has jurisdiction to review an acquisition or investment transaction depends on, among other factors, the nature and structure of the transaction, including the level of beneficial ownership interest and the nature of any information or governance rights involved. For example, investments that result in “control” of a U.S. business by a foreign person always are subject to CFIUS jurisdiction. CFIUS’s expanded jurisdiction under the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 and implementing regulations that became effective on February 13, 2020 further includes investments that do not result in control of a U.S. business by a foreign person but afford certain foreign investors certain information or governance rights in a U.S. business that has a nexus to “critical technologies,” “critical infrastructure” and/or “sensitive personal data.”
Our Sponsor is controlled by non-U.S. persons. Although the Sponsor’s post-transaction interest in the post-closing company, assuming no redemptions, will be diluted to 16.62%, and the Sponsor will cease to have any control rights, we cannot predict whether the Company may be deemed to be a “foreign person” under the regulations relating to CFIUS or may be subject to review by any other U.S. government entity. In addition, targets with which the Company may pursue a business combination could also include foreign investment or have other ties to non-U.S. persons. As such, a business combination with a U.S. business or foreign business with U.S. subsidiaries that we may wish to pursue may be subject to CFIUS review or other regulatory review, depending on the Company’s ultimate share ownership following the business combination and other factors. If a particular proposed business combination with a U.S. business falls within CFIUS’s jurisdiction, we may determine that we are required to make a mandatory filing or that we will submit to CFIUS review on a voluntary basis, or we may determine to proceed with the transaction without submitting to CFIUS and risk CFIUS intervention, before or after closing the transaction. CFIUS may decide to modify or delay our proposed business combination, impose conditions with respect to such business combination, request the President of the United States to order us to divest all or a portion of the U.S. target business of our business combination that we acquired without first obtaining CFIUS approval or prohibit the business combination entirely. Accordingly, the pool of potential targets with which the proposed business combination can occur may be limited. The time necessary for CFIUS review of the transaction or a decision to delay or prohibit the transaction may also prevent the business combination from occurring within the applicable time period required under the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, even if the extension amendment proposal is approved. These risks may limit the attractiveness of, delay or prevent us from pursuing our initial business combination with certain target companies that we believe would otherwise be attractive to us and our shareholders.
Moreover, the process of government review, whether by CFIUS or otherwise, could be lengthy, and we have limited time to complete our business combination. If we are unable to consummate our business combination within the applicable time period required under the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, we will be required to wind up, redeem and liquidate. In such event, our shareholders will miss the opportunity to benefit from an investment in a target company and the appreciation in value of such investment through a business combination. Additionally, there will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless in the event of our winding up.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the 12 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months from the closing of this offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination), in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public shareholders may receive only $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our rights will expire worthless.
We must complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months from the closing of this offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination). We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law. In such case, our public shareholders may only receive $10.20 per share, and our rights will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.20 per share on the redemption of their shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our initial shareholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our initial shareholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. This may result in the completion of a business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our ordinary shares 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 shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our 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 business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the tender offer documents or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See “Proposed Business — Initial Business Combination — Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights.”
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been identified, 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 units and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units sold in this offering will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if this offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination. For a more detailed comparison of our offering to offerings that comply with Rule 419, please see “Proposed Business — Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.”
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold 15% or more of our ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares equal to or in excess of 15% of our ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to an aggregate of 15% or more of the shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the excess shares. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including excess shares) for or against our business combination. Your inability to redeem the excess shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our 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 business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares equal to or 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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share, on our redemption, and our rights 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 special purpose acquisition 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 units, 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, if we are obligated to pay cash for the ordinary shares redeemed and, in the event we seek shareholder approval of our business combination, we make purchases of our ordinary shares, the resources available to us for our initial business combination will potentially be reduced. Target businesses will be aware of this potential reduction to the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our rights will expire worthless.
If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least 12 months following the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months from the closing of this offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination), we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public shareholders may only receive $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our rights will expire worthless.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least 12 months following the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months from the closing of this offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination), assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that 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 12 months following the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months from the closing of this offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination); 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 on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our rights will expire worthless.
If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units 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 will depend on loans from our initial shareholders or management team to fund our search, to pay our taxes and to complete our business combination.
Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units, only approximately $500,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $650,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $650,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public shareholders may only receive approximately $10.20 per share (or less in certain circumstances) on our redemption of our public shares, and our rights will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.20 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share” and other risk factors herein.
We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s areas of expertise if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this prospectus regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
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 business that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target business that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our rights will expire worthless.
We may seek business combination opportunities with a high degree of complexity that require significant operational improvements, which could delay or prevent us from achieving our desired results.
We may seek business combination opportunities with large, highly complex companies that we believe would benefit from operational improvements. While we intend to implement such improvements, to the extent that our efforts are delayed or we are unable to achieve the desired improvements, the business combination may not be as successful as we anticipate.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a large complex business or entity with a complex operating structure, we may also be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine, which could delay or prevent us from implementing our strategy. Although our management team will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business and its operations, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors until we complete our business combination. If we are not able to achieve our desired operational improvements, or the improvements take longer to implement than anticipated, we may not achieve the gains that we anticipate. Furthermore, some of these risks and complexities may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks and complexities will adversely impact a target business. Such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a smaller, less complex organization.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our business combination with an affiliated entity, or our board cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that the price we are paying for a target is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
Resources could be wasted in researching business combinations that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another target business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, our rights will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, our rights will expire worthless.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’ 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 shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
The officers and directors of a business combination candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The loss of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The officers and directors of a business combination 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 a business combination 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 a business combination candidate’s management team will remain associated with the business combination candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of a business combination candidate will not wish to remain in place.
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, executive officers and directors which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, executive officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers and directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under “Management — Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no 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 for a business combination as set forth in “Proposed Business — Business Combination Criteria and Investment Philosophy” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of 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 executive officers or directors, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
We will likely only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units, 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.
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 target businesses, 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.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target business 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 business, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target business and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock or shares of a target business. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target business. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business.
We do not have 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 both immediately before and after the consummation of our initial business combination. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 both immediately before and after the consummation of our initial business combination (such that we become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our initial shareholders, including our officers or directors, or their advisors or their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
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 units will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet identified any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units 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 repurchase for cash a significant number of shares from shareholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive approximately $10.20 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our rights will expire worthless.
Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure. 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 U.S., or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards 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 (U.S.), or PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some target businesses 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.
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate our initial business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the status of debt and equity markets.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a widespread health crisis and is adversely affecting the economies and financial markets in the U.S. and worldwide, and could adversely affect the business of any potential target company with which we consummate a business combination. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 continue to restrict travel, continue to limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
In addition, our ability to consummate a business combination may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity in third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.
Finally, the outbreak of COVID-19 or other infectious diseases may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such as those related to the market for our securities.
Risks Relating to the Post-Business Combination Company
Subsequent to the completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our share price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will surface all material issues that may be present inside a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
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’ operations. For example, we may seek business combination opportunities with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue, cash flow or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues, cash flows or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel.
Although we expect to focus our search for a target business on entities in the healthcare industry, we may seek to complete a business combination with an operating company in any industry or sector. However, we will not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, be permitted to effectuate our business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet identified 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’ operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following this offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
| ● | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| ● | 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 security is payable on demand; |
| ● | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding; |
| ● | our inability to pay dividends on our ordinary shares; |
| ● | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
| ● | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| ● | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
| ● | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
If we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the U.S., we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we pursue a target business with operations or opportunities outside of the U.S. for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we pursue a target business with operations or opportunities outside of the U.S. 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 jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the U.S., we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
| ● | higher costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets; |
| ● | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| ● | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
| ● | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| ● | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| ● | local or regional economic policies and market conditions; |
| ● | unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; |
| ● | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the U.S.; |
| ● | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
| ● | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| ● | cultural and language differences; |
| ● | underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems; |
| ● | protection of intellectual property; |
| ● | social unrest, crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, regime changes, political upheaval, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars; |
| ● | deterioration of political relations with the U.S.; and |
| ● | government appropriation of assets. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination, or, if we complete such initial business combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Risks Relating to our Management and Directors
Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team or businesses associated with them is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience and performance of our management team or their respective affiliates is not a guarantee either: (a) that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination; or (b) of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team’s or their respective affiliates’ performance as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward.
We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors 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 executive officers and directors, at least until we have completed our business combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management 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 executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with the company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. 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 business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will 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.
Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. If our executive 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 executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “Management — Directors and Executive Officers.”
Certain of our executive officers and directors 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 following our initial business combination and may have additional fiduciary, contractual or other obligations to other entities and clients of other entities, and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of this offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor, officers and directors are, or may in the future become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us following our initial business combination. See a description of our executive officers’ and directors’ current affiliations under the headings “Management” and “Management — Conflicts of Interest” below.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional fiduciary, contractual or other obligations to other entities or other affiliates of our sponsor pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity. Our officers and directors 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, contractual or other 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 another entity prior to its presentation to us.
In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with, or which there is a fiduciary, contractual or other obligation by, our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, may obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, or an independent accounting firm that the consideration to be paid by us in initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Any such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such entity.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
In addition, our sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures, even prior to us entering into a definitive agreement for our initial business combination. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see “Management — Directors and Executive Officers,” “Management — Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective 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 directors or executive officers, although we do not currently 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.
The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our shareholders’ best interest. If this were the case, it might be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and we or our shareholders’ might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our shareholders’ rights. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
Members of our management team and companies affiliated thereof have been, may from time to time be, involved in legal proceedings or governmental investigations unrelated to our business.
Members of our management team have been involved in a wide variety of businesses. Such involvement has, and may lead to, media coverage and public awareness. As a result of such involvement, members of our management team and companies affiliated thereof have been, and may from time to time be, involved in legal proceedings or governmental investigations unrelated to our business. Any such proceedings or investigations may be detrimental to our or their reputation or result in other negative consequences or damages, which could negatively affect our ability to identify and complete an initial business combination and may have an adverse effect on the price of our securities.
Since our initial shareholders, including our sponsor, executive officers and directors, 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.
Upon the closing of this offering, our sponsor, officers and directors will hold 1,725,000 founder shares (up to 225,000 of which are subject to forfeiture). Certain members of our management team also have a financial interest in our sponsor. The founder shares held by our sponsor will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor will purchase 355,000 private placement units (or 391,000 if the over-allotment is exercised in full), for an aggregate purchase price of $3,550,000 (or $3,910,000 if the over-allotment is exercised in full). All of the foregoing private placement units will also be worthless if we do not consummate our initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of our sponsor, executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 12-month anniversary (or 18-month anniversary if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) of the closing of this offering nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination.
The founder shares are identical to the ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering except that: (1) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions contained in a letter agreement that our initial shareholders, directors and officers have entered with us; (2) pursuant to such letter agreement, our initial shareholders, directors and officers have agreed (and their permitted transferees will agree) to waive: (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them, as applicable, in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame); and (3) the founder shares are entitled to registration rights.
Additionally, our sponsor, officers and directors acquired founder shares for approximately $0.014 per share and we are offering units at a price of $10.00 per unit in this offering; as a result, our sponsor could make a substantial profit after the initial business combination even if public investors experience substantial losses 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 addition, we may obtain loans from our sponsor, affiliates of our sponsor or an officer or director. The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination.
Since our sponsor, executive officers and directors will not be eligible to be reimbursed for their out-of-pocket expenses if our 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.
At the closing of our initial business combination, our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf. These financial interests of our sponsor, executive officers and directors, may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination and completing an initial business combination.
Risks Relating to 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 shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share.
The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. government treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the U.S. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business combination or make certain amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, our public shareholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income, net of taxes paid or payable (less, in the case we are unable to complete our initial business combination, up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses). Negative interest rates could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share.
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 or rights, potentially at a loss.
Our public rightsholders will not be entitled to any distributions from the trust account. Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) 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 redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months from the closing of this offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 12 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months from the closing of this offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination), subject to applicable law and as further described herein. Shareholders who do not exercise their rights to the funds in connection with an amendment to our certificate of incorporation would still have rights to the funds in connection with a subsequent business combination. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares, or rights, potentially at a loss.
NASDAQ may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our units have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “MARXU” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The ordinary shares and rights will begin separate trading on the 52th day after the date of this prospectus unless Maxim Group LLC, the representative of the underwriters, informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our satisfaction of certain conditions. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the ordinary shares and rights will be traded on Nasdaq under the symbols “MARX,” and “MARXR,” respectively. We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels. Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
| ● | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
| ● | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| ● | a determination that our ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
| ● | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
| ● | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our units are listed on Nasdaq and we expect that our ordinary shares and rights will be listed on Nasdaq, our units, ordinary shares and rights will be covered securities. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by special purpose acquisition companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view special purpose acquisition companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of special purpose acquisition companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities, including in connection with our initial business combination.
Holders of rights will not have redemption rights if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the required time period.
If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the required time period and we redeem and distribute the funds held in the trust account, the rights will expire and holders will not receive any of such proceeds with respect to the rights.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.20 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary duties 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 only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. We are not aware of any product or service providers who have not or will not provide such waiver other than the underwriter of this offering.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.20 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor 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 (i) $10.20 per public share or (ii) 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 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 indemnity of the underwriter 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 asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, and our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per share or (ii) other than due to the failure to obtain a waiver from a vendor waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, such 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 the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.20 per share.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, each of our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our shareholders. In addition, the members of our board of directors may each be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it were proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors or as having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable for a fine of $18,293 and imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
We may not hold an annual general meeting until after our consummation of a business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our shareholders to appoint directors.
In accordance with the Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold general meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to appoint directors and to discuss company affairs with management.
The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and holders of our private placement units, units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (including in each case the underlying securities) and the representative shares 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 ordinary shares.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, our initial shareholders and holders of our private placement units, units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (including in each case the underlying securities) and the representative shares and their permitted transferees can demand that we register their ordinary shares and units (including the underlying securities) at the time of our initial business combination. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our ordinary shares that is expected when the ordinary shares and units (including the underlying securities) owned by our initial shareholders and holders of our private placement units, units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the representative shares or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
We may issue additional ordinary shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will authorize the issuance of 800,000,000 ordinary shares, par value US$0.000125. Immediately after this offering, there will be 791,905,000 (assuming that the underwriter has not exercised the underwriter’s over-allotment option) authorized but unissued ordinary shares available for issuance, which amount takes into account ordinary shares reserved for issuance upon conversion of our rights.
We may issue a substantial number of additional ordinary shares, in order to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination (although our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we may not issue securities that can vote with ordinary shareholders on matters related to our pre-business combination activity). However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote. However, our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months from the closing of this offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. The issuance of additional ordinary shares:
| ● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering; |
| ● | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and |
| ● | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, ordinary shares, and/or rights. |
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their rights agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our shareholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, blank check companies have, in the past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the period of time in which it had to consummate a business combination. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments or extend the time in which we have to consummate a business combination through amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, each of which will require a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law, meaning a resolution passed by holders of at least two thirds of ordinary shares who, being entitled to do so, attend and vote at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given, or by a unanimous written resolution of all our shareholders.
Certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended by special resolution passed by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who, being entitled to do so, attend and vote at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other special purpose acquisition companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.
Some other special purpose acquisition companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to a company’s pre-business combination activity, without approval by holders of a certain percentage of the company’s shares. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by holders holding between 90% and 100% of the company’s public shares. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that any of its provisions, including those related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the private placement of units into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances) and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account, may be amended by special resolution passed by holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who, being entitled to do so, attend and vote at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given, or by a unanimous written resolution of all our shareholders. Our initial shareholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other special purpose acquisition companies, and this may increase our ability to complete our initial business combination with which you do not agree. In certain circumstances, our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
Certain agreements related to this offering may be amended without shareholder approval.
Certain agreements, including the underwriting agreement relating to this offering, the investment management trust agreement between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the letter agreements and the registration rights agreement among us and our sponsor, executive officers and directors and the administrative services agreement between us and our sponsor may be amended without shareholder approval. These agreements contain various provisions that our public shareholders might deem to be material. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to any of these agreements 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 any such agreement in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Any such amendment may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
Our initial shareholders control a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon the closing of this offering, our initial shareholders will own 20.0% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (excluding the private placement shares and the representative shares and assuming they do not purchase units in this offering). Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial shareholders purchase any units in this offering or additional ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Neither our initial shareholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this prospectus. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our ordinary shares. We may not hold an annual meeting of shareholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our staggered board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our initial shareholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor.
Our initial shareholders paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.014 per founder share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our ordinary shares.
The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the ordinary shares and none to the right included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our ordinary shares after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our initial shareholders acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon the closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the rights included in the units, you and the other public shareholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 98.32% (or $8.19 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering of $0.14 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit after giving effect to the shares underlying the stock rights.
Our outstanding rights may have an adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effect a business combination.
We will be issuing public rights that will result in the issuance of up to 1,200,000 ordinary shares as part of the units offered by this prospectus. The potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares upon conversion of the rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle in the eyes of a target business. Such securities, when converted, will increase the number of issued and outstanding ordinary shares and reduce the value of the shares issued to complete the business combination. Accordingly, our rights may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business. Additionally, the sale, or even the possibility of sale, of the ordinary shares underlying the rights could have an adverse effect on the market price for our securities or on our ability to obtain future financing. If and to the extent these rights are exercised, you may experience dilution to your holdings.
We may amend the terms of the rights in a manner that may be adverse to holders of rights with the approval by the holders of a majority of the then outstanding rights.
Our rights will be issued in registered form under a rights agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as rights agent, and us. The rights agreement provides that the terms of the rights may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision. The rights agreement requires the approval by the holders of a majority of the then outstanding rights in order to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders.
The rights included in our units and private placement units may have an adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
The units sold in the private placement will include an aggregate of 355,000 rights exchangeable for 71,000 ordinary shares (or 391,000 rights exchangeable for 78,200 shares if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full). In addition, if our sponsor makes any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible, at the option of the lender, into private placement-equivalent units at a price of $10.00 per unit of the post business combination entity. To the extent we issue ordinary shares to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional ordinary shares upon the exchange of rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such rights, if and when exchanged, would increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our ordinary shares and reduce the value of the ordinary shares issued to complete the business combination. Therefore, our rights may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
Because each unit contains one right that entitles the holder thereof to receive two-tenths of one ordinary share, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.
Each unit contains one right and each right entitles the holder thereof to receive two-tenths of one ordinary share upon the consummation of an initial business combination. Pursuant to the rights agreement, the rights may only be converted for a whole number of shares, which means you must hold 5 rights in order to receive one ordinary share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the rights upon completion of our initial business combination. While we believe this makes us a more attractive merger partner for target businesses, this unit structure may nevertheless cause our units to be worth less than if they included a right to purchase one whole share.
The determination of the offering price of our units and the size of this offering is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.
Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the rights were negotiated between us and the underwriter. In determining the size of this offering, management held customary organizational meetings with representatives of the underwriter, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriter 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 ordinary shares and rights 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; |
| ● | 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.
Certain Anti-takeover Provisions of Our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our authorized but unissued ordinary shares will be available for future issuances without shareholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved ordinary shares could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
We may reincorporate or merge with an entity located in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such transaction may result in taxes imposed on shareholders.
We may, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite shareholder approval under the Companies Act, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction or merge with another entity in another jurisdiction. The transaction may require a shareholder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders to pay such taxes. Shareholders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the U.S. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.
After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the U.S. and all of our assets will be located outside the U.S.; therefore investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the U.S. and all of our assets will be located outside of the U.S. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the U.S. to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of U.S. courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under U.S. laws.
In particular, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of a non-U.S. jurisdiction would recognize and enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the U.S. or any state in the U.S. or entertain original actions brought in any applicable jurisdiction’s courts against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the securities laws of the U.S. or any state in the U.S.
After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue may be derived from our operations in such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and social conditions 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.
Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’ ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.
In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target business, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, and the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial business combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction.
Our rights 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 rights, which could limit the ability of right holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our rights 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 rights 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.
Risks Relating to Acquiring and Operating a Business Outside of the United States
We may effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States and if we do, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our business operations and financial results.
If we consummate a business combination with a target business located outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in the target business’ governing jurisdiction, including any of the following:
| ● | rules and regulations or currency redemption or corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| ● | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| ● | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| ● | longer payment cycles than in the United States; |
| ● | economic policies and market conditions; |
| ● | unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; |
| ● | challenges in managing and staffing international operations; |
| ● | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| ● | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| ● | cultural and language differences; |
| ● | protection of intellectual property; and |
We cannot assure you that we would be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer.
Because of the costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations, our results of operations may be negatively impacted.
Managing a business, operations, personnel or assets in another country is challenging and costly. Any management that we may have (whether based abroad or in the U.S.) may be inexperienced in cross-border business practices and unaware of significant differences in accounting rules, legal regimes and labor practices. Even with a seasoned and experienced management team, the costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations, personnel and assets can be significant (and much higher than in a purely domestic business) and may negatively impact our financial and operational performance.
If social unrest, acts of terrorism, regime changes, changes in laws and regulations, political upheaval, or policy changes or enactments occur in a country in which we may operate after we effect our initial business combination, it may result in a negative impact on our business.
Political events in another country may significantly affect our business, assets or operations. Social unrest, acts of terrorism, regime changes, changes in laws and regulations, political upheaval, and policy changes or enactments could negatively impact our business in a particular country.
The Cayman Islands, together with several other non-European Union jurisdictions, have recently introduced legislation aimed at addressing concerns raised by the Council of the European Union as to offshore structures engaged in certain activities which attract profits without real economic activity. With effect from January 1, 2019, the International Tax Co-operation (Economic Substance) Act (2021 Revision), or the ITC, came into force in the Cayman Islands introducing certain economic substance requirements for Cayman Islands tax resident companies which are engaged in certain “relevant activities.” However, it is not anticipated that the Company itself will be subject to any such requirements prior to any business combination and thereafter the Company may still remain out of scope of the legislation or else be subject to more limited substance requirements. Although it is presently anticipated that the ITC will have little material impact on the Company or its operations, as the legislation is new and remains subject to further clarification and interpretation it is not currently possible to ascertain the precise impact of these legislative changes on the Company.
Many countries have difficult and unpredictable legal systems and underdeveloped laws and regulations that are unclear and subject to corruption and inexperience, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
Our ability to seek and enforce legal protections, including with respect to intellectual property and other property rights, or to defend ourselves with regard to legal actions taken against us in a given country, may be difficult or impossible, which could adversely impact our operations, assets or financial condition.
Rules and regulations in many countries are often ambiguous or open to differing interpretation by responsible individuals and agencies at the municipal, state, regional and federal levels. The attitudes and actions of such individuals and agencies are often difficult to predict and inconsistent.
Delay with respect to the enforcement of particular rules and regulations, including those relating to customs, tax, environmental and labor, could cause serious disruption to operations abroad and negatively impact our results.
If we effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States, the laws applicable to such company will likely govern all of our material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
If we effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States, the laws of the country in which such company operates will govern almost all of the material agreements relating to its operations. We cannot assure you that the target business will be able to enforce any of its material agreements or that remedies will be available in this new jurisdiction. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital. Additionally, if we acquire a company located outside of the United States, it is likely that substantially all of our assets would be located outside of the United States and some of our officers and directors might reside outside of the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties of our directors and officers under Federal securities laws.
If relations between the United States and foreign governments deteriorate, it could cause potential target businesses or their goods and services to become less attractive.
The relationship between the United States and foreign governments could be subject to sudden fluctuation and periodic tension. For instance, the United States may announce its intention to impose quotas on certain imports. Such import quotas may adversely affect political relations between the two countries and result in retaliatory countermeasures by the foreign government in industries that may affect our ultimate target business. Changes in political conditions in foreign countries and changes in the state of U.S. relations with such countries are difficult to predict and could adversely affect our operations or cause potential target businesses or their goods and services to become less attractive. Because we are not limited to any specific industry, there is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible extent of any impact on our ultimate operations if relations are strained between the United States and a foreign country in which we acquire a target business or move our principal manufacturing or service operations.
If any dividend is declared in the future and paid in a foreign currency, you may be taxed on a larger amount in U.S.
If you are a U.S. holder of our ordinary shares, you will be taxed on the U.S. dollar value of your dividends, if any, at the time you receive them, even if you actually receive a smaller amount of U.S. dollars when the payment is in fact converted into U.S. dollars. Specifically, if a dividend is declared and paid in a foreign currency, the amount of the dividend distribution that you must include in your income as a U.S. holder will be the U.S. dollar value of the payments made in the foreign currency, determined at the spot rate of the foreign currency to the U.S. dollar on the date the dividend distribution is includible in your income, regardless of whether the payment is in fact converted into U.S. dollars. Thus, if the value of the foreign currency decreases before you actually convert the currency into U.S. dollars, you will be taxed on a larger amount in U.S. dollars than the U.S. dollar amount that you will actually ultimately receive.
If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial business combination, certain members of our management team will likely resign from their positions as officers or directors of the company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with our 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, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue may be derived from our operations in such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and legal policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. The economy in a developing country may differ from the economies of most developed countries in many respects. Economic growth may 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.
Currency policies may cause a target business’ ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.
In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial business combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction.
Recent increases in inflation in the United States and elsewhere could make it more difficult for us to consummate a business combination.
Recent increases in inflation in the United States and elsewhere may be leading to increased price volatility for publicly traded securities, including ours, and may lead to other national, regional and international economic disruptions, any of which could make it more difficult for us to consummate a business combination.
Recent global events could make it more difficult for us to consummate a business combination.
Recent global events, such as economic and industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, including between the United States and China and the war between Russia and the Ukraine, may lead to increased and price volatility for publicly traded securities, including ours, and to other national, regional and international economic disruptions and economic uncertainty, any of which could make it more difficult for us to identify a business combination partner and consummate a business combination on acceptable commercial terms or at all.
The business we acquire may distribute products that, due to their country of origin, are at a higher risk for containing design or manufacturing defects, which could cause us to incur significant expenses, harm our customer relationships and industry reputation, and reduce our revenues and profitability following our initial business combination.
Recent events have indicated that there may be a higher incidence of defective and dangerous products among those produced in foreign countries than among those produced in the U.S. As a result of such manufacturing or design defects, we may be required to repair or replace a substantial number of products, incurring significant expenses in the process. In addition, any manufacturing or design defect could cause injury to a customer or a third party, cause us to lose customers or revenues or damage our customer relationships and industry reputation. In addition, we may not be able to secure product liability insurance on commercially acceptable terms following the business combination. The occurrence of any or all of the foregoing events may adversely affect our results from operations following a business combination.
If our management following a 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 a business combination, our management will likely resign from their positions as officers of the company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with U.S. securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with our 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.
Because any target business with which we attempt to complete our initial business combination may be required to provide our shareholders with financial statements prepared in accordance with and reconciled to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, prospective target businesses may be limited.
In accordance with requirements of U.S. Federal securities laws, in order to seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, a proposed target business may be required to have certain financial statements which are prepared in accordance with, or which can be reconciled to, U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and audited in accordance with U.S. generally accepted auditing standards. To the extent that a proposed target business does not have financial statements which have been prepared with, or which can be reconciled to, U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and audited in accordance with U.S. generally accepted auditing standards, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination with that proposed target business. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses with which we may complete our initial business combination. Furthermore, to the extent that we seek to acquire a target business that does not have financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, it could make it more difficult for our management to analyze such target business. It could also delay our preparation of our proxy statement that we will send to shareholders relating to the proposed business combination with such a target business, thereby making it more difficult for us to consummate such a business combination.
If any dividend is declared in the future and paid in a foreign currency, you may be taxed on a larger amount in U.S. dollars than the U.S. dollar amount that you will actually ultimately receive.
If you are a U.S. holder, you will be taxed on the U.S. dollar value of your dividends, if any, at the time you receive them, even if you actually receive a smaller amount of U.S. dollars when the payment is in fact converted into U.S. dollars. Specifically, if a dividend is declared and paid in a foreign currency, the amount of the dividend distribution that you must include in your income as a U.S. holder will be the U.S. dollar value of the payments made in the foreign currency, determined at the spot rate of the foreign currency to the U.S. dollar on the date the dividend distribution is includible in your income, regardless of whether the payment is in fact converted into U.S. dollars. Thus, if the value of the foreign currency decreases before you actually convert the currency into U.S. dollars, you will be taxed on a larger amount in U.S. dollars than the U.S. dollar amount that you will actually ultimately receive.
Since majority of our directors and officers will live outside the U.S. and substantially all of our assets will be located outside the U.S., investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
Majority of our directors and officers reside outside of the U.S. and after the consummation of our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets will be located outside of the U.S. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the U.S. to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon majority of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of U.S. courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under U.S. laws.
Cultural and managerial differences may result in the reduction of our overall performance after the consummation of our initial business combination.
While international mergers and acquisitions are increasing in frequency, assimilating cultural and managerial differences are still problematic. Friction may also result with the consolidation of management teams from different cultural backgrounds. These factors may make effecting our initial business combination and running the acquired business more difficult.
Political instability could harm our business.
We may target businesses that have operations associated with developing countries in Asia where political, economic and social transition is taking place. Some Asian countries have experienced political instability, expropriation or nationalization of property, civil strife, strikes, acts of war and insurrections. Any of these conditions occurring could disrupt or terminate our operations, causing our operations to be curtailed or terminated in these areas or our operations to decline and could cause us to incur additional costs.
Trading in our securities may be prohibited under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act if the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or fully investigate our auditor. In that case, Nasdaq would delist our securities. The delisting of our securities, or the threat of their being delisted, may materially and adversely affect the value of your investment. Additionally, the inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections may deprive our investors with the benefits of such inspections.
The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, or the HFCAA, was enacted on December 18, 2020. The HFCAA states if the SEC determines that we have filed audit reports issued by a registered public accounting firm that has not been subject to inspection by the PCAOB for three consecutive years beginning in 2021, the SEC shall prohibit our shares or other securities from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over the counter trading market in the U.S.
Our current auditor, the independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit report included elsewhere in this prospectus, as an auditor of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and a firm registered with the PCAOB, is subject to laws in the United States pursuant to which the PCAOB conducts regular inspections to assess its compliance with the applicable professional standards. However, if it is later determined that the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely our auditor because of a position taken by an authority in a foreign jurisdiction, Nasdaq would delist our securities, including our units, ordinary shares and rights being offered in this offering, and the SEC shall prohibit them from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over the counter trading market in the U.S. If our securities are delisted and prohibited from being traded on a national securities exchange or in the over the counter trading market in the U.S. due to the PCAOB not being able to conduct inspections or full investigations of our auditor, it would substantially impair your ability to sell or purchase our securities when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with potential delisting and prohibition would have a negative impact on the price of our securities. Also, such delisting and prohibition could significantly affect the Company’s ability to raise capital on acceptable terms, or at all, which would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and prospects.
On March 24, 2021, the SEC adopted interim final rules relating to the implementation of certain disclosure and documentation requirements of the HFCAA. We will be required to comply with these rules if the SEC identifies us as having a “non-inspection” year under a process to be subsequently established by the SEC. On June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed a bill which, if passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and signed into law, would reduce the number of consecutive non-inspection years required for triggering the prohibitions under the HFCAA from three years to two. The SEC is assessing how to implement other requirements of the HFCAA, including the listing and trading prohibition requirements described above.
On November 5, 2021, the SEC approved the PCAOB’s Rule 6100, Board Determinations Under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. Rule 6100 provides a framework for the PCAOB to use when determining, as contemplated under the HFCAA, whether it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction.
On December 2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. The rules apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed an annual report with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in foreign jurisdictions.
On December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report on its determinations that it is unable to inspect or investigate completely PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and in Hong Kong, because of positions taken by Chinese authorities in those jurisdictions. The PCAOB made these determinations pursuant to PCAOB Rule 6100. Our auditor is located in New York, and has been inspected by the PCAOB on a regular basis with the last inspection in 2018. It is not subject to the determinations announced by the PCAOB.
The SEC may propose additional rules or guidance that could impact us if our auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspection. The SEC has announced that the SEC staff is preparing a consolidated proposal for the rules regarding the implementation of the HFCAA. It is unclear when the SEC will complete its rulemaking and when such rules will become effective. The SEC has also announced amendments to various annual report forms to accommodate the certification and disclosure requirements of the HFCAA. There could be additional regulatory or legislative requirements or guidance that could impact us if our auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspection. The implications of these possible regulations in addition to the requirements of the HFCAA are uncertain, and such uncertainty could cause the market price of our securities to be materially and adversely affected. If, for whatever reason, the PCAOB is unable to conduct inspections or full investigations of our auditor, the Company could be delisted or prohibited from being traded over the counter earlier than would be required by the HFCAA. If our securities are unable to be listed on another securities exchange by then, such delisting and prohibition would substantially impair your ability to sell or purchase our securities when you wish to do so, and the risk and uncertainty associated with potential delisting and prohibition would have a negative impact on the price of our securities. Also, such delisting and prohibition could significantly affect the Company’s ability to raise capital on acceptable terms, or at all, which would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and prospects.
Inspections of audit firms that the PCAOB has conducted have identified deficiencies in those firms’ audit procedures and quality control procedures, which may be addressed as part of the inspection process to improve future audit quality. If the PCAOB were unable to conduct inspections or full investigations of the Company’s auditor, investors in our securities would be deprived of the benefits of such PCAOB inspections. In addition, the inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections or full investigations of auditors may make it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm’s audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors that are subject to the PCAOB inspections, which could cause investors and potential investors in our stock to lose confidence in the audit procedures of our auditor and reported financial information and the quality of our financial statements.
Future developments in U.S. laws may restrict our ability or willingness to complete certain business combinations with companies. For instance, the recently enacted Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the “HFCAA”) would restrict our ability to consummate a business combination with a target business unless that business met certain standards of the PCAOB and would require delisting of a company from U.S. national securities exchanges if the PCAOB is unable to inspect its public accounting firm for three consecutive years. We may not be able to consummate a business combination with a favored target business due to these laws. Furthermore, on June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (“AHFCAA”), which, if signed into law, would amend the HFCAA and require the SEC to prohibit an issuer’s securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of three consecutive years. On December 2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. The rules apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed an annual report with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in foreign jurisdictions.
The documentation we may be required to submit to the SEC proving certain beneficial ownership requirements and establishing that we are not owned or controlled by a foreign government in the event that we use a foreign public accounting firm not subject to inspection by the PCAOB or where the PCAOB is unable to completely inspect or investigate our accounting practices or financial statements because of a position taken by an authority in the foreign jurisdiction could be onerous and time consuming to prepare. HFCAA mandates the SEC to identify issuers of SEC-registered securities whose audited financial reports are prepared by an accounting firm that the PCAOB is unable to inspect due to restrictions imposed by an authority in the foreign jurisdiction where the audits are performed. If such identified issuer’s auditor cannot be inspected by the PCAOB for three consecutive years, the trading of such issuer’s securities on any U.S. national securities exchanges, as well as any over-the-counter trading in the U.S., will be prohibited.
On March 24, 2021, the SEC adopted interim final rules relating to the implementation of certain disclosure and documentation requirements of the HFCAA. An identified issuer will be required to comply with these rules if the SEC identifies it as having a “non-inspection” year under a process to be subsequently established by the SEC. On November 5, 2021, the SEC approved the PCAOB’s Rule 6100, Board Determinations Under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. Rule 6100 provides a framework for the PCAOB to use when determining, as contemplated under the HFCAA, whether it is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction.
The SEC is assessing how to implement other requirements of the HFCAA, including the listing and trading prohibition requirements described above. Future developments in respect of increase U.S. regulatory access to audit information are uncertain, as the legislative developments are subject to the legislative process and the regulatory developments are subject to the rule-making process and other administrative procedures.
In the event that we complete a business combination with a company with substantial operations in a foreign country and any of the legislative actions or regulatory changes discussed above were to proceed in ways that are detrimental to foreign issuers, 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. Any of these actions, or uncertainties in the market about the possibility of such actions, could adversely affect our prospects to successfully complete a business combination with a foreign company, our access to the U.S. capital markets and the price of our shares.
We may re-incorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction will likely govern all of our material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction would likely govern all of our material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the U.S. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital. Any such reincorporation and the international nature of our business will likely subject us to foreign regulation.
Cayman Islands anti-money laundering laws might cause us to refuse a redemption payment to shareholders.
We reserve the right to refuse to make any shareholder redemption payment to a shareholder if our directors or officers suspect or are advised that the payment of shareholder redemption proceeds to such shareholder might result in a breach of applicable anti-money laundering or other laws or regulations by any person in any relevant jurisdiction, or if such refusal is considered necessary or appropriate to ensure compliance with any such laws or regulations in any applicable jurisdiction.
We may have difficulty enforcing our intellectual property rights as the intellectual property laws in a foreign country are not as well defined, and have not been as well protected, as they are in the U.S.
Intellectual property laws in foreign countries may not be as well defined as they are in the U.S. Although intellectual property rights are acknowledged to some degree in foreign countries, they are not as protected as they are in the U.S. Accordingly, we may have difficulty enforcing our rights following a business combination with a target in a foreign country.
General Risks
We are a recently 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 recently incorporated company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through this offering. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
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 business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including, without limitation, restrictions on the nature of our investments, and restrictions on the issuance of our securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our business combination. In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including, without limitation, registration as an investment company; adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations.
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading in securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. 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 consummate a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.20 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, our rights will expire worthless.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, investments and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
There is currently no market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
There is currently no market for our securities. Shareholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following this offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
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.
We are an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies, which 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 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 auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any March 31 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following September 30. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior March 31st, and (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior March 31st. 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.
We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of this prospectus captioned “Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Federal Income Taxation — U.S. Holders”) of our ordinary shares or rights the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend upon the status of an acquired company pursuant to a business combination and whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception (see the section of this prospectus captioned “Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Holders — Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”). Depending on the particular circumstances, the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Moreover, if we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may require, including a PFIC Annual Information Statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would likely be unavailable with respect to our rights in all cases. We urge U.S. Holders to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules to holders of our ordinary shares, and rights. For a more detailed explanation of the tax consequences of PFIC classification to U.S. Holders, see “Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Holders — Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”
Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. Federal courts may be limited.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the U.S. upon our directors or executive officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the U.S. courts against our directors or officers.
Our corporate affairs will be governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We will also be subject to the federal securities laws of the U.S. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary duties of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the U.S. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the U.S., and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the U.S.
We have been advised by Ogier, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands would (i) recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the U.S. predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the U.S. or any state; and (ii) entertain original actions brought in each respective jurisdiction against us or our directors or officers predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States. There is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, although the courts of the Cayman Islands will in certain circumstances recognize and enforce such foreign money judgment without re-examination or relitigation of matters adjudicated upon, provided that (1) the U.S. court issuing the judgment is of competent jurisdiction; (2) the U.S. Judgment is final and for a liquidated sum; (3) the judgment given by the U.S. Court was not in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty or similar fiscal or revenue obligation of the company; (4) in obtaining judgment there was no fraud on part of the person in whose favor judgment was given or on part of the court; (5) recognition or enforcement of the judgment would not be contrary to public policy in the Cayman Islands; and (6) the proceedings pursuant to which judgment was obtained were not contrary to natural justice. A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by our directors and executive officers, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a U.S. company.
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 September 30, 2023. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target company 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.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The statements contained in this prospectus that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management’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 “anticipates,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predicts,” “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 identify or complete an initial business combination; |
| ● | limited operating history; |
| ● | success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
| ● | potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete a business combination; |
| ● | pool of prospective target businesses; |
| ● | the ability of our officers and directors to generate potential investment opportunities; |
| ● | potential change in control if we acquire one or more target businesses for shares; |
| ● | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
| ● | regulatory or operational risks associated with acquiring a target business; |
| ● | use of proceeds not held in the trust account; |
| ● | financial performance following this offering; or |
| ● | listing or delisting of our securities from Nasdaq or the ability to have our securities listed on Nasdaq following our initial business combination. |
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.
USE OF PROCEEDS
We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering, in addition to the funds we will receive from the sale of the private placement units (all of which will be deposited into the trust account), will be 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) | | $ | 60,000,000 | | | $ | 69,000,000 | |
Gross proceeds from private placement units offered in the private placement | | | 3,550,000 | | | | 3,910,000 | |
Total gross proceeds | | $ | 63,550,000 | | | $ | 72,910,000 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Offering expenses(2) | | | | | | | | |
Underwriting commissions (2.0% of gross proceeds from units offered to public)(3) | | $ | 1,200,000 | | | $ | 1,380,000 | |
Legal fees and expenses | | | 75,000 | | | | 75,000 | |
Accounting fees and expenses | | | 20,000 | | | | 20,000 | |
SEC/FINRA Expenses | | | 41,000 | | | | 41,000 | |
NASDAQ listing and filing fees | | | 75,000 | | | | 75,000 | |
Director and Officer liability insurance premiums | | | 300,000 | | | | 300,000 | |
Printing and engraving expenses | | | 20,000 | | | | 20,000 | |
Reimbursement for underwriter expenses | | | 100,000 | | | | 100,000 | |
Miscellaneous | | | 19,000 | | | | 19,000 | |
Total offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) | | $ | 650,000 | | | $ | 650,000 | |
Proceeds after offering expenses | | $ | 61,700,000 | | | $ | 70,880,000 | |
Held in trust account(3) | | $ | 61,200,000 | | | $ | 70,380,000 | |
% of public offering size | | | 102 | % | | | 102 | % |
Not held in trust account(2) | | $ | 500,000 | | | $ | 500,000 | |
The following table shows the use of the approximately $500,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account(4).
| | Amount | | | % of Total | |
Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel, and other expenses in connection with any business combination(5) | | $ | 150,000 | | | | 30.0 | % |
Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations | | | 50,000 | | | | 10.0 | % |
Payment for office space, administrative and support services | | | 150,000 | | | | 30.0 | % |
Other miscellaneous expenses | | | 150,000 | | | | 30.0 | % |
Total | | $ | 500,000 | | | | 100.0 | % |
(1) | Includes amounts payable to public shareholders who properly redeem their shares in connection with our successful completion of our initial business combination. |
(2) | A portion of the offering expenses have been paid from the proceeds of loans from our sponsor of up to $300,000 as described in this prospectus. As of September 30, 2022, we had borrowed $228,246 under the promissory note with our sponsor. These loans will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $650,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) and amounts not to be held in the trust account. 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) | Includes organizational and administrative expenses and may include amounts related to above-listed expenses in the event actual amounts exceed estimates. |
(4) | 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. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans would 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 units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the private placement units issued to our sponsor. The terms of such loans by our sponsor, affiliate of our sponsor, or certain of our officers and directors, 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. |
(5) | 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. |
Our sponsor has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 355,000 private placement units at a price of $10.00 per private placement unit ($3,550,000 in the aggregate) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Our sponsor has further agreed that if the over-allotment option is exercised by the underwriters, it will purchase from us at a price of $10.00 per private placement unit an additional number of units (up to a maximum of 391,000 private placement units) pro rata with the amount of the over-allotment option exercised so that at least $10.20 per share sold to the public in this offering is held in trust regardless of whether the over-allotment option is exercised in full or part. These additional private placement units will be purchased in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the purchase of units resulting from the exercise of the over-allotment option. All of the proceeds we receive from these purchases will be placed in the trust account described below.
$61,200,000, or $70,380,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units will be placed in an account at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. in the United States, maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, New York, New York, as trustee. Pursuant to the investment management trust agreement that will govern the investment of such funds, the trustee, upon our written instructions, will direct J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. to invest the funds as set forth in such written instructions and to custody the funds while invested and until otherwise instructed in accordance with the investment management trust agreement. The funds held in trust will be invested only in United States government treasury bills, bonds or notes having a maturity of 180 days or less, or in money market funds meeting the applicable conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and that invest solely in United States government treasuries, so that we are not deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our income or other tax obligations, the proceeds will not be released from the trust account until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or our liquidation. The proceeds held in the trust account may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we complete a business combination to the extent not used to pay converting shareholders. Any amounts not paid as consideration to the sellers of the target business may be used to finance operations of the target business.
Regardless of whether the over-allotment option is exercised in full, the net proceeds from this offering available to us out of trust for our working capital requirements in searching for a business combination will be approximately $500,000. We intend to use the excess working capital available for miscellaneous expenses such as paying fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business and for director and officer liability insurance premiums, with the balance being held in reserve in the event due diligence, legal, accounting and other expenses of structuring and negotiating business combinations exceed our estimates, as well as for reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by our initial shareholders, officers and directors in connection with activities on our behalf as described above. We will also be entitled to have interest earned on the funds held in the trust account released to us to pay any tax obligations that we may owe.
The allocation of the net proceeds available to us outside of the trust account, along with the interest earned on the funds held in the trust account available to us, represents our best estimate of the intended uses of these funds. In the event that our assumptions prove to be inaccurate, we may reallocate some of such proceeds within the above described categories. If our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating our initial business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, or the amount of interest available from the trust account is insufficient as a result of the current low interest rate environment, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. In this event, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from members of our management team, but such members of our management team are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us.
We will likely use a substantial portion of the net proceeds of this offering, including the funds held in the trust account, to acquire a target business, to pay holders who wish to convert or sell their shares to us for a portion of the funds held in the trust account and to pay our expenses relating thereto. If the payment of our liabilities were to reduce the amount available to us in trust necessary to pay all holders who wish to convert or sell their shares to us for a portion of the funds held in the trust account, we would not be able to consummate such transaction. To the extent that our share capital is used in whole or in part as consideration to effect a business combination, the proceeds held in the trust account which are not used to consummate a business combination, to pay holders who wish to convert their shares into a portion of the funds held in the trust account or pay our expenses relating thereto will be disbursed to the combined company and will, along with any other net proceeds not expended, be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business. Such working capital funds could be used in a variety of ways including continuing or expanding the target business’ operations, for strategic acquisitions and for marketing, research and development of existing or new products.
To the extent we are unable to consummate a business combination, we will pay the costs of liquidating our trust account from our remaining assets outside of the trust account. If such funds are insufficient, our sponsor has agreed to advance us the funds necessary to complete such liquidation (currently anticipated to be no more than $50,000) and has agreed not to seek repayment of such expenses.
As of September 30, 2022, our sponsor had agreed to loan to us up to an aggregate of $300,000 to be used to pay formation and a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of September 30, 2022, we had drawn down $228,246 of the funds available to us under the promissory note with our sponsor. The loan is payable without interest on the date on which we consummate our initial public offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the $650,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions).
In order to meet our working capital needs following the consummation of this offering until completion of an initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans would 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 units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the private placement units. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares, public rights in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares, or rights our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares, public rights in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination. See “Proposed Business—Permitted purchases of our securities” for a description of how our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public rights could be to reduce the number of public rights outstanding or to vote such rights on any matters submitted to the rightsholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our ordinary shares or rights may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
We may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of the underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) and the agreement for our initial business combination may require as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights so that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement or any net worth or cash requirements, we would not proceed with the redemption of our public shares or the initial business combination, and instead may search for an alternate business combination.
A public shareholder will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 12 months from the closing of this offering (or 18 months from the closing of this offering, if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail in this prospectus) and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of this offering (or 18 months from the closing of this offering, if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail in this prospectus), subject to applicable law and as further described herein and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed initial business combination. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.
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. In addition, our initial shareholders 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 the prescribed time frame. However, if our sponsor or any of our officers, directors or affiliates acquires 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 frame.
The holders of the representative shares have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to such shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination or upon our winding up, liquidation and subsequent dissolution if we fail to complete a business combination.
DIVIDEND POLICY
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of 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 condition subsequent to completion of a business combination. The payment of any dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. It is the present intention of our board of directors to retain all earnings, if any, for use in our business operations and, accordingly, our board of directors does not anticipate declaring any dividends in the foreseeable future. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any share capitalizations in the foreseeable future, except if we increase the size of the offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, in which case we will effect a share capitalizations immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain our initial shareholders’ ownership at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering (excluding the private placement shares and the representative shares and assuming they do not purchase units in 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.
DILUTION
The difference between the public offering price per ordinary share, assuming no value is attributed to the rights included in the units we are offering pursuant to this prospectus or the private placement units and private placement rights, and the pro forma net tangible book value per ordinary share after this offering, constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of rights, including the private placement rights, which would cause the actual dilution to the public shareholders to be higher, particularly where a cashless exercise is utilized. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of ordinary shares which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of issued and outstanding ordinary shares.
At September 30, 2022, we had a net tangible book value deficit of $230,470 or approximately $(0.15) per ordinary share. For purposes of the dilution calculation, in order to present the maximum estimated dilution as a result of this offering, we have assumed (i) the issuance of two-tenths (2/10) of a share for each right outstanding, as such issuance will occur upon a business combination without the payment of additional consideration and (ii) the number of shares included in the units offered hereby will be deemed to be 7,200,000 (consisting of 6,000,000 shares included in the units we are offering by this prospectus and 1,200,000 shares for the outstanding rights), and the price per share in this offering will be deemed to be $8.33. After giving effect to the sale of 6,000,000 ordinary shares (or 6,900,000 ordinary shares assuming the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) included in the units we are offering by this prospectus, the deduction of underwriting discounts and estimated expenses of this offering and the sale of 426,000 ordinary shares (consisting of 355,000 ordinary shares included in the private units and 71,000 shares for the outstanding rights) (or 469,200 ordinary shares assuming the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) included in the private units, our pro forma net tangible book value at September 30, 2022 would have been $0.14 (or $0.12 assuming the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) per share, representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $0.29 (or $0.23 assuming the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) per share to the initial shareholders and an immediate dilution of $8.19 per share (or $8.21 assuming the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) to new investors not exercising their redemption rights.
The following table illustrates the dilution to the public shareholders on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the rights included in the units or the private placement units:
| | Without | | | With | |
| | Over-allotment | | | Over-allotment | |
Public offering price | | $ | 8.33 | | | $ | 8.33 | |
Net tangible book value before this offering | | | (0.15 | ) | | | (0.11 | ) |
Increase attributable to public shareholders and private sales | | | 0.29 | | | | 0.23 | |
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering | | | 0.14 | | | | 0.12 | |
Dilution to public shareholders | | $ | 8.19 | | | $ | 8.21 | |
Percentage of dilution to public shareholders | | | 98.32 | % | | | 98.56 | % |
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 $61,200,000 because holders of up to approximately 100% of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per-share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account as set forth in our tender offer or proxy materials (initially anticipated to be the aggregate amount held in trust two days prior to the commencement of our tender offer or shareholders meeting, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of ordinary shares sold in this offering).
The following table sets forth information with respect to our sponsor, officers and directors, and the public shareholders:
Holder of | | Purchased | | | Percentage | | | Amount | | | Percentage | | | per Share | |
Founder shares (1) | | | 1,500,000 | | | | 16.02 | % | | $ | 25,000 | | | | 0.04 | % | | | 0.02 | |
Representative shares(2) | | | 240,000 | | | | 2.56 | % | | $ | — | | | | — | % | | | 0 | |
Private shares(3) | | | 426,000 | | | | 4.55 | % | | $ | 3,550,000 | | | | 5.58 | % | | | 8.33 | |
Public shareholders (4) | | | 7,200,000 | | | | 76.87 | % | | $ | 60,000,000 | | | | 94.38 | % | | | 8.33 | |
Total | | | 9,366,000 | | | | 100.00 | % | | $ | 63,575,000 | | | | 100.00 | % | | | | |
| 1) | Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of 225,000 ordinary shares held by our initial shareholders. |
| 2) | Represents the issuance of 240,000 representative shares. |
| 3) | Assumes the issuance of an additional 71,000 shares underlying the private placement rights issued to our sponsor upon closing of this offering. |
| 4) | Assumes the issuance of an additional 1,200,000 shares underlying the rights included in the units. |
| | Without | | | With | |
| | Over-allotment | | | Over-allotment | |
Numerator: | | | | | | | | |
Net tangible book value before this offering | | $ | (230,470 | ) | | $ | (230,470 | ) |
Net proceeds from this offering and private placement | | $ | 61,700,000 | | | $ | 70,880,000 | |
Plus: Offering costs paid for in advance | | $ | 205,260 | | | $ | 205,260 | |
Less: Proceeds held in trust subject to redemption | | $ | (61,200,000 | ) | | $ | (70,380,000 | ) |
| | $ | 474,790 | | | $ | 474,790 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Denominator: | | | | | | | | |
Ordinary shares outstanding prior to this offering | | | 1,500,000 | | | | 1,725,000 | |
Ordinary shares to be sold in this offering | | | 6,000,000 | | | | 6,900,000 | |
Ordinary shares underlying the rights to be included in the public units | | | 1,200,000 | | | | 1,380,000 | |
Ordinary shares included in the private units | | | 355,000 | | | | 391,000 | |
Ordinary shares underlying the rights to be included in the private units | | | 71,000 | | | | 78,200 | |
Ordinary shares issued to representative | | | 240,000 | | | | 276,000 | |
Less: shares subject to redemption | | | (6,000,000 | ) | | | (6,900,000 | ) |
| | | 3,366,000 | | | | 3,850,200 | |
CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our capitalization at September 30, 2022 and as adjusted to give effect to the sale of our units and the private placement units and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities, assuming no exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option:
| | September 30, 2022 | |
| | Actual | | | As Adjusted (1) | |
Promissory Note – related party(2) | | $ | 228,246 | | | $ | — | |
Ordinary shares, $0.000125 par value, and 6,000,000 shares are subject to possible redemption, as adjusted (3) | | | — | | | | 61,200,000 | |
Shareholders' equity: | | | | | | | | |
Ordinary shares, $0.000125 par value, 800,000,000 shares authorized, 1,725,000 shares issued and outstanding as of September 30, 2022 | | | 216 | | | | 216 | |
Additional paid-in capital | | | 24,784 | | | | 24,784 | |
Accumulated surplus (deficit) | | | (50,210 | ) | | | 449,790 | |
Total shareholders’ equity (deficit) | | | (25,210 | ) | | | 474,790 | |
Total capitalization (4) | | $ | 203,036 | | | | 61,674,790 | |
| (1) | Includes the $3,550,000 we will receive from the sale of the private placement units and assumes the underwriters’ over-allotment option has not been exercised. |
| (2) | As of September 30, 2022, the Sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. The as adjusted information gives effect to the repayment of this note out of the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement units. As of September 30, 2022, we have borrowed $228,246 under the loan agreement. |
| (3) | All of the 6,000,000 ordinary shares sold as part of the units in the offering contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such public shares in connection with our liquidation, if there is a shareholder vote or tender offer in connection with the business combination and in connection with certain amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. In accordance with SEC and its guidance on redeemable equity instruments, which has been codified in ASC 480-10-S99, redemption provisions not solely within the control of a company require ordinary share subject to redemption to be classified outside of permanent equity. Given that the 6,000,000 ordinary shares sold as part of the units in the offering will be issued with other freestanding instruments (i.e., public rights), the initial carrying value of ordinary share classified as temporary equity will be the allocated proceeds determined in accordance with ASC 470-20. Our ordinary share is subject to ASC 480-10-S99. If it is probable that the equity instrument will become redeemable, we have the option to either (i) accrete changes in the redemption value over the period from the date of issuance (or from the date that it becomes probable that the instrument will become redeemable, if later) to the earliest redemption date of the instrument or (ii) recognize changes in the redemption value immediately as they occur and adjust the carrying amount of the instrument to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. We have elected to subsequently accrete to redemption value. The accretion will be treated as a deemed dividend (i.e., a reduction to retained earnings, or in absence of retained earnings, additional paid-in capital). |
| (4) | Derived by adding total shareholders’ equity (deficit) and the value of ordinary shares subject to possible redemption. |
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
We are a blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands on April 23, 2021 with limited liability (meaning our public shareholders have no liability, as shareholders of the Company, for the liabilities of the Company over and above the amount paid for their shares) to serve as a vehicle to effect a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more target businesses. Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry. Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region except that according to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we will not effectuate its initial Business Combination with a company that is headquartered in China, Hong Kong or Macau or conducts a majority of its operations in China, Hong Kong or Macau. We intend to utilize cash derived from the proceeds of this offering, our securities, debt or a combination of cash, securities and debt, in effecting a business combination. The issuance of additional ordinary shares:
| ● | may significantly reduce the equity interest of our shareholders; |
| ● | will likely cause a change in control if a substantial number of our ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and most likely will also result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; |
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| ● | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and |
| ● | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our securities. |
Similarly, if we issue debt securities, it could result in:
| ● | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after a business combination are insufficient to pay our debt obligations; |
| ● | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we have made all principal and interest payments when due if the debt security contains covenants that required the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves and we breach any such covenant without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| ● | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; |
| ● | our inability to obtain additional financing, if necessary, if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain additional financing while such security is outstanding; |
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| ● | our inability to pay dividends on our ordinary shares; |
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| ● | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
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| ● | 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 |
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| ● | 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 |
Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events
We have changed our financial year end from December 31 to September 30. 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
As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at September 30, 2022, we had $0 in cash, and a working capital deficit of $230,470. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, we had $0 in cash, and a working capital deficit of $92,262. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our financing and acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this uncertainty through this offering are discussed above. Our plans to raise capital or 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.
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied to date through receipt of $25,000 from the sale of the insider shares and a loan from our sponsor, in an aggregate amount of approximately $300,000 that is more fully described below. We estimate that the net proceeds from (1) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $650,000 and underwriting discounts and commissions of $1,200,000 (or $1,380,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) and (2) the sale of the private placement units for a purchase price of $3,550,000 (or $3,910,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be $61,700,000 (or $70,880,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full). Of this amount, $61,200,000 (or $70,380,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be held in the trust account. The remaining $500,000 (whether or not the over-allotment option is exercised in full) will not be held in the trust account. The private placement units are identical to the public units sold in this offering except that the private placement units (and the underlying securities) will be subject to certain restrictions on transfer and entitled to registration rights. The holders will be permitted to transfer the private placement units (and underlying securities) held by them to certain permitted transferees, including our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with or related to them, but the transferees receiving such securities will be subject to the same agreements with respect to such securities as our sponsor.
We intend to use substantially all of the net proceeds of this offering, including the funds held in the trust account, to acquire a target business or businesses and to pay our expenses relating thereto. To the extent that our share capital is used in whole or in part as consideration to effect our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account as well as any other net proceeds not expended will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business. Such working capital funds could be used in a variety of ways including continuing or expanding the target business’ operations, for strategic acquisitions and for marketing, research and development of existing or new products. Such funds could also be used to repay any operating expenses or finders’ fees which we had incurred prior to the completion of our initial business combination if the funds available to us outside of the trust account were insufficient to cover such expenses.
Over the next 12 months (assuming a business combination is not consummated prior thereto), we will be using the funds held outside of the trust account for identifying and evaluating prospective acquisition candidates, performing business due diligence on prospective target businesses, traveling to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses, reviewing corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, selecting the target business to acquire and structuring, negotiating and consummating the business combination. Out of the funds available outside the trust account, we anticipate that we will incur approximately:
| ● | $150,000 for the legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses in connection with any business combination; |
| ● | $50,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations; |
| ● | $150,000 for payment for office space, administrative and support services; and |
| ● | $150,000 for other miscellaneous expenses. |
If our estimates of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating our initial business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, or the amount of interest available to us from the trust account is less than we expect as a result of the current interest rate environment, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to consummate our initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon consummation of our initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only consummate such financing simultaneously with the consummation of our initial business combination. Following our initial business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.
Related Party Transactions
On May 31, 2021, the Company issued 1,250,000 ordinary shares for par value at $0.0001 to our sponsor. On October 20,2021, the Company issued additional 173,125 ordinary shares to our sponsor for a total purchase price of $16,375, or approximately $0.095 per share, such that our sponsor owned an aggregate of 1,423,125 founder shares, for approximately $0.012 per share. Our sponsor is controlled by Mr. Shanchun Huang, our Chairman. Mr. Huang and Mr. Brenza, our CEO and CFO serve as directors of the sponsor. On the same day, our officers and directors also paid an aggregate purchase price of $8,500 for a total of 733,125 founder shares, for approximately $0.012 per share. As of September 30, 2022, there were an aggregate of 2,156,250 ordinary shares outstanding, for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.012 per share. On December 1, 2022, we effectuated a share consolidation at a ratio of 1 for 1.25. Every 1.25 shares was consolidated into 1 share. The effects of this share consolidation were made retroactive to September 30, 2021. The share consolidation reduced the number of authorized shares from 1,000,000,000, par value $0.0001 to 800,000,000, par value $0.000125. It also reduced the number of outstanding shares from 2,156,250 shares to 1,725,000 shares, or approximately $0.014 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the issued and outstanding shares upon completion of this offering (excluding the private placement shares and the representative shares). The per share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the aggregate number of founder shares issued. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a share capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering (excluding the private placement shares and the representative shares and assuming they do not purchase units in this offering). Up to 225,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised so that the number of founder shares will continue to equal 20% of our ordinary shares after this offering (excluding the private placement shares and the representative shares and assuming they do not purchase units in this offering).
We will enter into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which we will also pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. Our sponsor, directors and officers, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, members of our management team or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of September 30, 2022, we had drawn $228,246 of the funds available to us under the promissory note with our sponsor. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, we had drawn $82,367 of the funds available to us under the promissory note. This loan will be non-interest bearing, unsecured and is due at the earlier of March 31, 2023 and the closing of this offering. This loan will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $650,000 offering proceeds that have been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account.
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 units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the private placement units. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
Our sponsor has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 355,000 private placement units (or 391,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $10.00 per unit, for an aggregate purchase price of $3,550,000, or $3,910,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, which will be purchased in a private placement to occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement we will enter into with our initial shareholders on or prior to the closing of this offering, we may be required to register certain securities for sale under the Securities Act. These holders 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 permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act 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 the section of this prospectus entitled “Certain Transactions.”
Controls and Procedures
We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not completed an assessment, nor have our auditors 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. 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 expense 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 auditors to audit and render an opinion on such report when, or if, required by Section 404. The independent auditors 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, including amounts in the trust account, will be invested in United States government treasury bills, bonds or notes having a maturity of 180 days or less, or in money market funds meeting the applicable conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and that invest solely in U.S. treasuries. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Results
As of the date of this prospectus, 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
On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As such, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with 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, (i) provide an independent registered public accounting firm’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act,(iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements(auditor discussion and analysis), and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of this offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.
PROPOSED BUSINESS
Introduction
We are a newly incorporated blank check company in the Cayman Islands as a business company limited by shares. Our shareholders have no additional liability for the company’s liabilities over and above the amount paid for their shares. We were formed 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. Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region, although the Company intends to focus on opportunities in the artificial intelligence and any other related technology innovations market operating businesses. We do not have a definitive criteria on the targets’ financial performance, but we intend to initially focus on companies that have achieved growth of over 25% per annum in either their revenue or net profit for the past 2 years.
We do not have any specific business combination under consideration or contemplation, and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, contacted any prospective target business or had any discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to such a transaction. We will not effectuate an initial Business Combination with a company that is headquartered in China, Hong Kong or Macau or conducts a majority of its operations in China, Hong Kong or Macau.
Our Board of Directors and Management
We will seek to capitalize on the comprehensive experience and contacts of our board of directors and management in consummating an initial business combination. We believe the combination of our directors’ and officers’ operating experience, deal-making track record, professional relationships and capital markets expertise can be catalysts to enhance the growth potential and value of a target business and provide opportunities for an attractive return to our shareholders.
Karl Brenza. Karl Brenza has served as our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and director since shortly after the inception of the Company. He is a citizen of the United States and based in New York, New York. Mr. Brenza has over 25 years of investment banking and financial advisory experience as well as significant operational and technology experience as a corporate executive. He has extensive blank-check/SPAC experience and completed some of the earliest blank-check/SPAC transactions. During his career, Mr. Brenza has completed a vast array of transactions in the areas of strategic advisory assignments, mergers, acquisitions, reverse merger transactions, IPOs, follow-on offerings, SPACs, PIPEs, fairness opinions and private financings of debt and equity. Mr. Brenza is currently serving as Senior Managing Director of Wealth Management Centers, LLC, a financial advisory firm and CFO of Omni Acquisition Corp. Previously, Mr. Brenza served as CFO of First Breach, Inc, an ammunition components company from November 2021 to September 2022. In addition, from August 2018 to November 2021, he was Senior Managing Director, Investment Banking for Paulson Investment Company. From August 2018 to December 2019, he also served as the Head of US Operations for Jerash Holdings US, a NASDAQ-listed manufacturer of outdoor and action garments and sportswear. From 2008 to 2018, Mr. Brenza was Senior Managing Director and Head of the Capital Growth Advisory Group at Maxim Group, LLC. Mr. Brenza received an MBA with honors from Columbia Business School, a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and has been a guest lecturer at the NYU Stern Graduate School of Business.
Xiaochen (Iris) Zhao. Iris Zhao has served as our Chief Operating Officer since shortly after the inception of the Company. She is a citizen of the Republic of Malta and based in London, the United Kingdom. Ms. Iris Zhao has 10 years of experience in building and advising corporations through M&A and capital market transactions globally. Ms. Zhao is responsible for managing and coordinating company’s investment, liquidity and asset liability management in order to optimize investment performance within the risk management guidelines. At the same time, to monitor company’s portfolio of assets, devise strategies for growth, act as the liaison with investors, and recognize and avoid serious risks. Ms. Zhao is proficient in road-shows presentation, structuring and negotiating transactions and terms with international investment communities and corporate finance.
Ms. Zhao was appointed as the Chief Investment Officer of Future Fintech Group Inc. (NASDAQ stock ticker: FTFT) in February 2020. Future Fintech Group Inc. has received a notice of delisting from Nasdaq, that it has until February 27, 2023 to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. As of Februray 13, 2023, its closing bid price was $1.91. Prior to that she served as the Managing Partner of Wealth Index (Beijing) Fund Management Co., Ltd., which is a top financial advisory service corporation that focuses on financial advisory, private equities investment and investment banking businesses. From January 2011 to February 2019, Ms. Zhao was in charge of international business planning and developing, investor relationship support and relationships with global investors. Ms. Zhao has completed dozens of transactions in a wide range of transactions including IPOs, M&A transactions, RTOs, follow-on offerings, public and private fund raising, and PIPEs. In her early career, Ms. Zhao worked at SUNTV Video Ltd. as a Specialist in NYC. She brings experience in media, business negotiation, and is familiar with international business activities.
Ms. Zhao studied Finance at New York City University and Montana State University. She received Bachelor of Science with highest honor in Finance from Montana State University and was appointed to Beta Gamma Sigma, international association of elite business schools. She received MBA from UP Diliman. Ms. Zhao is the Dame of Grace of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, and the first Commander of the Grand Priory of China. Ms. Zhao is our Chairman Shanchun Huang’s wife.
Shanchun Huang. Mr. Shanchun Huang has served as our Chairman since shortly after the inception of the Company. He is a citizen of the Republic of Malta and based in London, the United Kingdom. Mr. Huang has over 16 years of experience in the financial service and investment industry. He has provided financing solutions and advice for high-growth companies in China and successfully assisted 37 enterprises to complete fundraising or public offerings in China. Mr. Huang has served as the CEO and director of Future Fintech Group, Inc. a Nasdaq-listed company and a blockchain based e-commerce platform since March 2020. Future Fintech Group Inc. has received a notice of delisting from Nasdaq, that it has until February 27, 2023 to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. As of February 13, 2022, its closing bid price was $1.91. Most recently, Mr. Huang served as the president of Wealth Index (Beijing) Fund Management Co., Ltd., which provides private equity fund management service, from March 2011 to March 2020 and president of Wealth Index (Beijing) International Investment Consulting Co., Ltd., which provides investment management and consulting services for non-securities related business, from August 2004 to March 2020. From May 2001 to June 2004, Mr. Huang was the vice president of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Corporation, a global automobile company headquartered in Hangzhou, China. Mr. Huang graduated from Hefei Staff University of Science and Technology in July 1986 majoring in news collection and editing. Mr. Huang is also a prolific writer and has published four books in the finance and investment area in China. These books include How to Raise Money to Start a Business, the Road to Red Chips, Comparison and Research Among Global Capital Markets, and The Practice of Small and Medium Enterprises Listed Overseas and Hong Kong. Mr. Huang is the Knight Commander of Grace of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, and the first Grand Prior of the Grand Priory of China. Mr. Huang is our COO Xiaochen Zhao’s husband.
Yenyou (Jeff) Zheng. Yenyou Zheng has served as an independent director since shortly after the inception of the Company. He is a citizen of Canada and based in Vancouver, Canada. Dr. Zheng has over 20 years of experience in investment banking and financing industry. Dr. Zheng currently serves as the Director of Business Development of, and as a broker with, Craft Capital Management LLC and has served in such positions since September 2019. He is also currently an independent director of NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE American: NBY) since September 2019. Prior to that, Dr. Zheng served as the Director of Business Development of Spartan Securities Group, Ltd. From 2014 to August 2019. Dr. Zheng’s experience includes providing innovative financial solutions and consulting services for initial public offering underwriting and investment banking as well as corporate financing solutions with a particular focus on Chinese companies listed overseas. Dr. Zheng received a Ph.D. in physics from Flinders University of South Australia.
James Jenkins. James Jenkins has served as an independent director since shortly after the inception of the Company. He is a citizen of the United States and based in Rochester, New York. Mr. Jenkins currently serves as chair of Lakeland Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: Lake) Nominating Committee and serves on its Audit and Compensation Committees. He previously served on the board of Lakeland Industries, Inc. from 2012 to 2015 and was a member of the Audit and Corporate Governance Committees. He also serves on the Board, Audit and Compensation Committees of OmniLit Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: OLITU), a SPAC that recently raised $143.75 million. Mr. Jenkins is a General Counsel and Vice President of Corporate Development at Transcat, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRNS) and has served in that position since September 2020. At Transcat he drives its acquisition strategy. Prior to that he served as a partner at Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, a regional law firm located in New York State. His practice focused in the areas of corporate governance and general corporate law matters, including initial and secondary public offerings, private placements, mergers and acquisitions, and securities law compliance. Mr. Jenkins joined Harter Secrest and Emery in 1989 as an associate and was elected a partner effective January 1, 1997. He is a Chambers rated attorney and served as a member of the firm’s Management Committee from January 2007 to January 2013. Mr. Jenkins holds a BA from Virginia Military Institute and a J.D. from West Virginia University College of Law.
Yang (Sean) Liu. Yang Liu has served as an independent director since shortly after the inception of the Company. He is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China, a US permanent resident and is based in New York, New York. Mr. Liu is a seasoned executive with 16 years of experience in an array of industries including technologies, finance, investment banking and corporation. He has a proven record of driving growth within global organizations and management of public companies. Mr. Liu is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Future Fintech Group Inc. (NASDAQ stock ticker: FTFT), a Nasdaq company expanding globally aggressively in financial technologies and financial services. Future Fintech Group Inc. has received a notice of delisting from Nasdaq, that it has until February 27, 2023 to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. As of February 13, 2023, its closing bid price was $1.91. Mr. Liu served as the Chairman of the board and the Chief Executive Officer at Color Star Technology Co. Ltd (NASDAQ stock ticker: CSCW), a Nasdaq company, from March 2019 to July 2020. Through a series of acquisitions and dispositions, he successfully transformed the company from a traditional Chinese manufacturer into a global technology company in education and entertainment. He also served as the CEO and Chairman at Wave Sync Corporation, an OTC technology company from July 2017 to August 2018. From 2015 to 2017, Mr. Liu worked as an IT Manager at UBS, overseeing regional production support and implementation coordination of its core capital market software platform. Mr. Liu received two M.S. degrees in financial mathematics and electrical engineering from New Mexico State University in the United States. He also received a B.S. Degree in Electric Engineering from Tsinghua University in China.
Xin (Adam) He. Xin He has served as an independent director since shortly after the inception of the Company. He is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China, a US permanent resident and is based in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. He has been a CFO for a Fortune Global 500 conglomerate, Wanda USA since May 2012. Amongst many of the responsibilities inherent to this leadership position, Mr. He played a key role in two of the most world-renowned projects – the development of a 101-story landmark “Vista Tower” in downtown Chicago and the acquisition of AMC Entertainment Inc, that he later led its IPO to NYSE in 2013. In addition, during the period of August 2012 to December 2014, Mr. He merged the qualities of Wanda with AMC that resulted in a historic highest profit for the American theatrical exhibition business that owns and operates 660 theatres. His diverse background across various industries came from his previous jobs as Financial Controller for NYSE listed Xinyuan Real Estate Co., auditor at Financial Service Office in Ernst & Young LLP in New York, and various leadership roles at Chinatex Corporation. Due to his exceptional public company management expertise, Mr. He was invited to serve as an independent board director at Energy Focus (NASDAQ: EFOI) from July 2014 to April 2015, iFresh Inc. (NASDAQ: IFMK) from December 2017 to April 2018, Professional Diversity Network (NASDAQ: IPDN) from January 2018 to March 2019, and Beijing Baosheng Media (NASDAQ: BAOS) from February 2021 to present.
He is also deeply involved in a non-profit organization, as Vice Chair of the China General Chamber of Commerce Chicago, to bridge culture and business between US and China. His education and license strongly support this endeavor as he had obtained a Bachelor and Master of Science in Taxation from Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, and a Master of Science in Accounting from Seton Hall University in New Jersey. He is also a Certified Public Accountant both in China and in New York state.
Our team has entered into successful transactions in the following industries:
| · | financial services technology such as coin-mining, currency exchanges and investment banking (Future Fintech Group Inc., a Nasdaq-listed blockchain platform, Paulson Investment Company, Maxim Group LLC, Craft Capital Management LLC); |
| · | automotive (Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Corporation, a global automobile company headquartered in Hangzhou, China); |
| · | healthcare technology (Chinese stem cell company, China liver-cancer joint venture with US bio-tech company); |
| · | big data and artificial intelligence (Japanese e-legal software provider and Chinese e-learning company), |
| · | clean-tech (waste to energy conversion company); |
| · | specialty manufacturing (specialty garments manufacturer, medical suits). |
With a management team with experience in SPACs, merger and acquisitions, corporate and financial transactions, connections with international investment communities, and experience in business development, we believe we can source attractive deals and find compelling investment opportunities from private and public sources to create value for shareholders. See the section titled “Management” for complete information on the experience of our officers and directors.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, our officers and directors are not required to commit their full time to our affairs and will allocate their time to other businesses, 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 presently expect each of our employees to devote such amount of time as they reasonably believe is necessary to our business (which could range from only a few hours a week while we are trying to locate a potential target business to a majority of their time as we move into serious negotiations with a target business for a business combination). As more fully discussed in “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under the Cayman Islands law, prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Most of our officers and directors currently have certain pre-existing fiduciary duties or contractual obligations.
In addition, past performance by our management team 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 locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. Furthermore, the members of the management team may not remain with us subsequent to the consummation of a business combination.
Acquisition Strategy
Our acquisition strategy will seek to capitalize on M&A and operational expertise and relationship of both our management team and our board of directors, to identify attractive businesses that have capacity to grow rapidly by utilizing a public vehicle. Although we are not limited to any particular industry, we intend to primarily focus on companies operating in electronic vehicles, healthcare technology, financial technology, cleantech, specialty manufacturing, big data and artificial intelligence and any other related technology innovations market. Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to geographic location except that according to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we will not effectuate an initial Business Combination with a company that is headquartered in China, Hong Kong or Macau or conducts a majority of its operations in China, Hong Kong or Macau. Our team has experience in all of these areas and will rely heavily on our knowledge base and broad array of contacts in identifying and structuring a transaction that creates robust shareholder value potential.
Competitive Advantages
Experienced Management Team with Proven Track Record
Our management team has a proven track record of SPACs, M&A and capital market transactions.
Together with our management team, we believe we have a broad network of contacts and corporate relationship that makes us efficient at:
| ● | Sourcing and evaluating businesses, and |
| ● | Bridging cultural differences to negotiate and execute a transaction in a timely and professional manner |
By leveraging our management team’s industry expertise, performing disciplined due diligence, being cautious downside protection, and providing post-acquisition value-add capabilities, we believe that we will be able to acquire a target business that will achieve significant returns for investors.
Status as a Publicly Listed Company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to prospective target businesses. As a publicly listed company, we will offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering. We believe that target businesses will favor this alternative, which we believe is less expensive, while offering greater certainty of execution than the traditional initial public offering. During an initial public offering, there are typically expenses incurred in marketing, which would be costlier than a business combination with us. Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is approved by our shareholders (if applicable) and the transaction is consummated, 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 that could prevent the offering from occurring. Once public, we believe the target business would have greater access to capital and additional means of creating management incentives that are better aligned with shareholders’ interests than it would as a private company. It can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented management staffs.
Strong Financial Position and Flexibility
With the funds held in our trust account, we can offer a target business a variety of options to facilitate a business combination and fund future expansion and growth of its business. Because we are able to consummate a business combination using the cash proceeds from this offering, our share capital, debt or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use an efficient structure allowing us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to address the needs of the parties. However, if a business combination requires us to use substantially all of our cash to pay for the purchase price, we may need to arrange third party financing to help fund our business combination. Since we have no specific business combination under consideration, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing.
Acquisition Criteria
The focus of our management team is to create shareholder value by leveraging its experience to improve the efficiency of the business while implementing strategies to grow revenue and profits organically and/or through acquisitions. Consistent with our strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. While we intend to use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating prospective businesses, we may deviate from these criteria and guidelines should we see fit to do so:
| ● | Scalable Business with Opportunity to Produce Attractive Financial Returns |
We intend to acquire companies with marketability to support significant growth while also driving margin expansion through technological or operational advancements;
| ● | Long-term Revenue Visibility with Defensible Market Position |
We intend to seek target companies that are at an inflection point, such as those requiring additional management expertise, are able to innovate by developing new products or services, or where we believe we can drive improved financial performance and where an acquisition may help facilitate growth.
| ● | Benefits from Being a U.S. Public Company (Value Creation and Marketing Opportunities) |
We intend to seek target companies that should offer attractive risk-adjusted equity returns for our shareholders. We intend to seek to acquire a target on terms and in a manner that leverages our experience. We expect to evaluate financial returns based on (i) the potential for organic growth in cash flows, (ii) the ability to achieve cost savings, (iii) the ability to accelerate growth, including through the opportunity for follow-on acquisitions and (iv) the prospects for creating value through other value creation initiatives. Potential upside from growth in the target business’ earnings and an improved capital structure will be weighed against any identified downside risks.
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant.
Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding 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. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent valuation or appraisal firm that regularly provides fairness opinions solely with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board will not be able to make such an independent determination of fair market value, it may be unable to do so if the board is less familiar or experienced with the target company’s business, there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the company’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value meets the 80% fair market value test, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to shareholders and file with the SEC in connection with a proposed transaction will include such opinion. Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
We will have until 12 months from the closing of this offering to consummate an initial business combination. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 12 months, we will, by resolution of our board if requested by our sponsor, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by an additional three months up to two times (for a total of 18 months to complete a business combination), subject to the sponsor depositing additional funds into the trust account as set out below. Pursuant to the terms of our certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement to be entered into between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company on the date of this prospectus, in order to extend the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination by up to three months, our sponsor or its affiliates or designees must deposit into the trust account $600,000, or up to $690,000 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 deadline. We may extend the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination for an additional three months twice, and each extension will require such an additional deposit into the trust account (for an aggregate of $1,200,000, or 1,380,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). Any such payments would be made in the form of a loan. Any such loans 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. If we do not complete a business combination, we will not repay such loans. Our sponsor and its affiliates or designees are not obligated to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of the loans made by our sponsor, our officers and directors, or our or their affiliates to us prior to or in connection with our initial business combination (including loans made to extend our time period for consummating a business combination) may be convertible into units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% of net assets test. If the 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 transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable.
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review that may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, market surveys, consultant studies and inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us. We will also utilize our management team’s operational and capital allocation experience.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that 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.
Members of our management team, including our independent directors, will directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement units following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
We currently do not have any specific business combination under consideration. Our officers and directors have neither individually selected nor have they had any substantive discussions regarding possible target businesses among themselves or with our underwriters or other advisors. Additionally, 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 to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which they have then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, they will honor their fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. 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 business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 their capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within the required timeframe.
Corporate Information
Our executive offices are located at Americas Tower, 1177 Avenue of The Americas, Suite 5100, New York, NY 10036, and our telephone number is +1-888-622-1218. We share the office space with Future Fintech Group Inc.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities, and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of: (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer,” which means the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of the second fiscal quarter of that year; and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of the second fiscal quarter of that year, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of the second fiscal quarter of that year.
Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies wishing to conduct business outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we have applied for and have received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands Government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall be payable (1) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (2) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
Mail addressed to us and received at our registered office will be forwarded unopened to the forwarding address supplied by us. None of us, our directors, officers, advisors or service providers (including the organization which provides registered office services in the Cayman Islands) will bear any responsibility for any delay howsoever caused in mail reaching the forwarding address.
Financial Position
With funds available for an initial business combination initially in the amount of $61,200,000 assuming no redemptions, (or $70,380,000 assuming no redemptions if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in each case before fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage 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 units, our share capital, 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 instruments, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our business combination or used for redemptions of our ordinary 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 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 our 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 applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or we decide to do so for business or other reasons, we would seek shareholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately, or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.
Sources of Target Businesses
We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and investment professionals. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us by calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read this prospectus and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as our sponsor and their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors and our sponsor and their affiliates. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee, advisory fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction; in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation by the company prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). None of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated initial business combination. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an initial business combination candidate.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that 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. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
As more fully discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled “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 they have pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, they may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.
Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination
So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, our initial business combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding 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. 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 is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA, or from an 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 in which we own or acquire 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquire an interest in the target business sufficient for the post-transaction company not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If we own or acquire less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired by the post-transaction company 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 business combination.
To the extent we effect our 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 that may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews and inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that 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 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. In addition, we intend to focus our search for our initial business combination in a single industry. By completing our business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
| ● | subject us to numerous 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. |
For additional risks related to us completing our business combination with only a single entity, see “Risk Factors—We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services and limited operating activities. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operating results and profitability.”
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 business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’ 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 business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our 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 business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether shareholder approval is currently required under the Companies Act for each such transaction.
Type of Transaction | | Whether Shareholder Approval is Required | |
Purchase of assets | | No | |
Purchase of stock, shares or other equity interests of target not involving a merger with the company | | No | |
Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company | | No | |
Merger of the company with a target | | Yes | |
Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, shareholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
| ● | | we issue ordinary shares that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of ordinary shares then issued and outstanding (other than in a public offering); |
| ● | | any of our directors, officers or substantial security holders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest, directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired and the number of shares to be issued, or if the number of shares into which the securities may be convertible or exercisable, exceeds either (a) 1% of the number of ordinary shares or 1% of the voting power issued and outstanding before the issuance in the case of any of our directors and officers or (b) 5% of the number of ordinary shares or 5% of the voting power issued and outstanding before the issuance in the case of any substantial security holders; or |
| ● | | the issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
Permitted purchases and other transactions with respect to our securities
In the event we seek shareholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or rights 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 initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or 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 are under no obligation 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 in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or rights in such transactions. They will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights.
In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will be required to comply with such rules.
The purpose of such transaction could be to (i) vote in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of our initial business combination, (ii) reduce the number of public rights outstanding or vote such rights on any matters submitted to rightsholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (iii) 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 ordinary shares or public rights may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, the members of our management team and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our sponsor, the members of our management team or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated transactions by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders following our mailing of tender offer or proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, members of our management team, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private transaction, they would identify and contact only potential selling or redeeming shareholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against the business combination. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Our sponsor, members of our management team, advisors or 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, members of our management team and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will be restricted unless such purchases are made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, members of our management team and/or their affiliates will be restricted from making purchases of ordinary shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act.
Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of 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 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 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 completion of our initial business combination with respect to our rights. Our sponsor and members of our management team 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. The holders of the representative shares have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to such shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Under Nasdaq rules, asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would typically require shareholder approval. If we structure a business combination transaction with a target company in a manner that requires shareholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a shareholder vote to approve the proposed business combination. We intend to conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless shareholder approval is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons. So long as we obtain, and maintain, a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with such rules.
If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
| ● | conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and |
| ● | file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
Upon the public announcement of our business combination, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase ordinary shares in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares which are not purchased by our sponsor, 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 upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete our initial business combination.
If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
| ● | conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and |
| ● | file proxy materials with the SEC. |
In the event that we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of our initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding ordinary shares 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. Our initial shareholders will count toward this quorum and pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding ordinary shares voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need only approximately 2,192,500, or 36.5% of the 6,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination, or 168,750, or 2.8% of the 6,000,000 public shares sold in this offering (assuming only a quorum is present at the meeting and only a majority of shares are required to approve the business combination) in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised). 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 shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners; (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes; or (iii) 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 ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternative business combination.
Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination if we Seek Shareholder Approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to 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. We believe the restriction described above will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against a business combination if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our public shareholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our 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 public shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our business combination.
Tendering Stock Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights
We may require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the 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, at the holder’s option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the 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. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the shareholders’ vote on our 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 their redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such shareholder to arrange for them to deliver their certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the shareholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which they could monitor the price of the company’s shares in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, they could sell their shares in the open market before actually delivering their shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which shareholders were aware they needed to commit before the general meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming holder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or two business days prior to the scheduled date of the shareholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable (unless we elect to allow additional withdrawal rights). Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public shareholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until 12 months from the consummation of this offering (or 18 months as described elsewhere herein).
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will have only 12 months from the consummation of this offering (or 18 months as described elsewhere herein)to consummate an initial business combination. If we have not completed an initial business combination within 12 months from the consummation of this offering (or 18 months as described elsewhere herein), we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any (less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case, to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our rights, which will expire worthless if we fail to consummate an initial business combination within 12 months from the consummation of this offering (or 18 months as described elsewhere herein). Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law.
Our sponsor and members of our management team have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the consummation of this offering (or 18 months as described elsewhere herein). However, if our sponsor, directors or officers 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 allotted time period.
Our sponsor and members of our management team have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (i) 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 12 months from the consummation of this offering (or 18 months as described elsewhere herein), or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, if any, 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 upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares, such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above), we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $500,000 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 accrued interest in the trust account not required to pay our taxes as described herein, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $50,000 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 units, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.20. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be substantially less than $10.20. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest and claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver 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 management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver.
In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or by 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 (i) $10.20 per public share or (ii) 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 the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, 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 asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.20 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers 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 (i) $10.20 per public share or (ii) 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 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 and subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law may choose not to do so in any particular instance if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.20 per share.
We 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 auditors), 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 approximately $500,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account with which to pay any such potential claims. In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $650,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $650,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
If we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or winding-up law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.20 per share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy, insolvency or winding-up laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) 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 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 12 months from the consummation of this offering (or 18 months as described elsewhere herein), or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we have not completed our business combination within 12 months from the consummation of this offering (or 18 months as described elsewhere herein), subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with our initial business combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended by a special resolution passed by holders of at least two-thirds of our shareholders who, being entitled to do so, attend and vote at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given, or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources than us and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there may be numerous potential target businesses that we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering, our ability to compete in acquiring certain sizable target businesses may be limited by our available financial resources.
The following also may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses:
| ● | our obligation to seek shareholder approval of a business combination or obtain the necessary financial information to be sent to shareholders in connection with such business combination may delay or prevent the completion of a transaction; |
| ● | our obligation to convert public shares held by our public shareholders may reduce the resources available to us for a business combination; |
| ● | Nasdaq may require us to file a new listing application and meet its initial listing requirements to maintain the listing of our securities following a business combination; |
| ● | our outstanding rights and the potential future dilution they represent; |
| ● | our obligation to either repay or issue units upon conversion of up to $1,500,000 of working capital loans that may be made to us by our initial shareholders, officers, directors or their affiliates; |
| ● | our obligation to register the resale of the founder shares, as well as the private placement units (and underlying securities) and any securities issued to our initial shareholders, officers, directors or their affiliates upon conversion of working capital loans; and |
| ● | the impact on the target business’ assets as a result of unknown liabilities under the securities laws or otherwise depending on developments involving us prior to the consummation of a business combination. |
Any of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. Our management believes, however, that our status as a public entity and potential access to the United States public equity markets may give us a competitive advantage over privately-held entities having a similar business objective as ours in acquiring a target business with significant growth potential on favorable terms.
If we succeed in effecting a business combination, there will be, in all likelihood, intense competition from competitors of the target business. We cannot assure you that, subsequent to a business combination, we will have the resources or ability to compete effectively.
Facilities
We maintain our principal executive office at Americas Tower, 1177 Avenue of The Americas, Suite 5100, New York, NY, 10036. We share the office space with Future Fintech Group Inc. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We have three executive officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters and intend to devote only as much time as they deem necessary to our affairs. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for the business combination and the stage of the business combination process the company is in. Accordingly, once management locates a suitable target business to acquire, they will spend more time investigating such target business and negotiating and processing the business combination (and consequently spend more time to our affairs) than they would prior to locating a suitable target business. We presently expect our executive officers to devote such amount of time as they reasonably believe is necessary to our business (which could range from only a few hours a week while we are trying to locate a potential target business to a majority of their time as we move into serious negotiations with a target business for a business combination). We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the consummation of a business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Audited Financial Statements
We have registered our units, ordinary shares and rights 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 report will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of any proxy solicitation sent to shareholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, the financial information included in the proxy solicitation materials will need to be prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. The financial statements may also be required to be prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP for the Form 8-K announcing the closing of an initial business combination, which would need to be filed within four business days thereafter. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential acquisition candidate will have the necessary financial information. To the extent that this requirement cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business.
We will be required to comply with the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act beginning for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023. A target company 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.
We are an emerging growth company as defined in 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 independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile. We will remain such for up to five years. However, if our non-convertible debt issued within a three-year period or our total revenues exceed $1.07 billion or the market value of our ordinary shares that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million on the last day of the second fiscal quarter of any given fiscal year, we would cease to be an emerging growth company as of the following fiscal year. As an emerging growth company, we have elected, under Section 107(b) of the JOBS Act, to 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.
Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any of our officers or directors in their capacity as such, and we and our officers and directors have not been subject to any such proceeding in the 12 months preceding the date of this prospectus.
Comparison of redemption or purchase prices in connection with our initial business combination and if we fail to complete our initial business combination.
The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of this offering (or 18 months as described elsewhere herein).
| | 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 |
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Calculation of redemption price | | Redemptions at the time of our initial business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. In either case, our public shareholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account 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 outstanding public shares, subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination. | | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following completion of our initial business combination. Such purchases will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions. | | If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the consummation of this offering (or 18 months as described elsewhere herein), 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 $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses, which interest shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. |
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Impact to remaining shareholders | | The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining shareholders, who will bear the burden of interest withdrawn in order to pay taxes (to the extent not paid from amounts accrued as interest on the funds held in the trust account). | | If the permitted purchases described above are made, there will be no impact to our remaining shareholders because the purchase price would not be paid by us. | | The redemption of our public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our sponsor, who will be our only remaining shareholder after such redemptions. |
Comparison to Offerings of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419
The following table compares and contrasts the terms of our offering and the terms of an offering of blank check companies under Rule 419 promulgated by the SEC assuming that the gross proceeds, underwriting discounts and underwriting expenses for the Rule 419 offering are the same as this offering and that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option. None of the terms of a Rule 419 offering will apply to this offering because we will be listed on a national securities exchange, we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,001 upon the successful consummation of this offering and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact.
| | Terms of the Offering | | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
Escrow of offering proceeds | | $61,200,000 (or $70,380,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of the net offering proceeds and proceeds from the sale of the private placement units will be deposited into a trust account in the United States, maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, acting as trustee. | | | $54,495,000 of the offering proceeds 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. |
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Investment of net proceeds | | The $61,200,000 (or $70,380,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of the net offering proceeds and proceeds from the sale of the private placement units held in trust will only be invested in United States government treasury bills, bonds or notes with a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds meeting the applicable conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and that invest solely in United States government treasuries. | | | Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act of 1940 or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States. |
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Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business | | The initial target business that we acquire must have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the balance in our trust account (excluding any taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the execution of a definitive agreement for our initial business combination. We will not be required to comply with the 80% fair market value requirement if we are delisted from NASDAQ. | | | We would be restricted from acquiring a target business unless the fair value of such business or net assets to be acquired represent at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds. |
| | Terms of the Offering | | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
Trading of securities issued | | The units may commence trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The ordinary shares and rights comprising the units will begin to trade separately on the 90th day after the date of this prospectus unless Maxim Group LLC informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading (based upon its assessment of the relative strengths of the securities markets and small capitalization and blank check companies in general, and the trading pattern of, and demand for, our securities in particular), provided we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K, which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the proceeds of this offering. | | | No trading of the units or the underlying securities would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account. |
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Election to remain an investor | | We will either (1) give our shareholders the opportunity to vote on the business combination or (2) provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to sell their public shares to us in a tender offer for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account less taxes. If we hold a meeting to approve a proposed business combination, we will send each shareholder a proxy statement containing information required by the SEC. Under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we must provide at least 10 days advance notice of any meeting of shareholders. Accordingly, this is the minimum amount of time we would need to provide holders to determine whether to exercise their rights to convert their shares into cash at such a meeting or to remain an investor in our company. Alternatively, if we do not hold a meeting and instead conduct a tender offer, we will conduct such tender offer in accordance with 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 as we would have included in a proxy statement. The tender offer rules require us to hold the tender offer open for at least 20 business days. Accordingly, this is the minimum amount of time we would need to provide holders to determine whether they want to sell their shares to us in the tender offer or remain an investor in our company. | | | A prospectus containing information 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 the post-effective amendment, to decide whether he or she elects to remain a shareholder of the company or require the return of his or her 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 would automatically be returned to the shareholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all of the deposited funds in the escrow account must be returned to all investors and none of the securities will be issued. |
| | Terms of the Offering | | | Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering |
Business combination deadline | | Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if we do not complete an initial business combination within 12 months from the consummation of this offering (or 18 months as described elsewhere herein), it will trigger our automatic winding up, liquidation and subsequent dissolution. | | | If an acquisition has not been consummated within 12 months from the consummation of this offering (or 18 months as described elsewhere herein), funds held in the trust or escrow account would be returned to investors. |
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Interest earned on the funds in the trust account | | There can be released to us, from time to time any interest earned on the funds in the trust account that we may need to pay our tax obligations. The remaining interest earned on the funds in the trust account will not be released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination and our entry into liquidation upon failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. | | | All interest earned on the funds in the trust account will be held in trust for the benefit of public shareholders until the earlier of the completion of a business combination and our liquidation upon failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. |
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Release of funds | | Except for interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our tax obligations, the proceeds held in the trust account will not be released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination (in which case, the proceeds released to us will be net of the funds used to pay converting or tendering shareholders, as the trustee will directly send the appropriate portion of the amount held in trust to the converting or tendering shareholders at the time of the business combination) and the liquidation of our trust account upon failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. | | | The proceeds held in the escrow account would not be released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. |
MANAGEMENT
Directors and Executive Officers
Our current directors and executive officers, their ages and positions are as follows:
Name | | Age | | Position |
Karl Brenza | | 58 | | Director, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer |
Xiaochen (Iris) Zhao | | 33 | | Director and Chief Operating Officer |
Shanchun Huang | | 56 | | Chairman |
Yenyou (Jeff) Zheng | | 66 | | Independent Director |
James Jenkins | | 58 | | Independent Director |
Yang (Sean) Liu | | 43 | | Independent Director |
Xin (Adam) He | | 49 | | Independent Director |
Below is a summary of the business experience of each our executive officers and directors:
Karl Brenza. Karl Brenza has served as our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and director since shortly after the inception of the Company. He is a citizen of the United States and is based in New York, New York. Mr. Brenza has over 25 years of investment banking and financial advisory experience as well as significant operational and technology experience as a corporate executive. He has extensive blank-check/SPAC experience and completed some of the earliest blank-check/SPAC transactions. During his career, Mr. Brenza has completed a vast array of transactions in the areas of strategic advisory assignments, mergers, acquisitions, reverse merger transactions, IPOs, follow-on offerings, SPACs, PIPEs, fairness opinions and private financings of debt and equity. Mr. Brenza is currently serving as Senior Managing Director of Wealth Management Centers, LLC, a financial advisory firm and CFO of Omni Acquisition Corp. Previously, Mr. Brenza served as CFO of First Breach, Inc, an ammunition components company from November 2021 to September 2022. In addition, from August 2018 to November 2021, he was Senior Managing Director, Investment Banking for Paulson Investment Company. From August 2018 to December 2019, he also served as the Head of US Operations for Jerash Holdings US, a NASDAQ-listed manufacturer of outdoor and action garments and sportswear. From 2008 to 2018, Mr. Brenza was Senior Managing Director and Head of the Capital Growth Advisory Group at Maxim Group, LLC. Mr. Brenza received an MBA with honors from Columbia Business School, a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and has been a guest lecturer at the NYU Stern Graduate School of Business.
Xiaochen (Iris) Zhao. Iris Zhao has served as our Chief Operating Officer since shortly after the inception of the Company. She is a citizen of the Republic of Malta and is based in London, the United Kingdom. Ms. Iris Zhao has 10 years of experience in building and advising corporations through M&A and capital market transactions globally. Ms. Zhao is responsible for managing and coordinating company’s investment, liquidity and asset liability management in order to optimize investment performance within the risk management guidelines. At the same time, to monitor company’s portfolio of assets, devise strategies for growth, act as the liaison with investors, and recognize and avoid serious risks. Ms. Zhao is proficient in road-shows presentation, structuring and negotiating transactions and terms with international investment communities and corporate finance.
Ms. Zhao was appointed as the Chief Investment Officer of Future Fintech Group Inc. (NASDAQ stock ticker: FTFT) in February 2020. Future Fintech Group Inc. has received a notice of delisting from Nasdaq, that it has until February 27, 2023 to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. As of February 13, 2023, its closing bid price was $1.91. Prior to that she served as the Managing Partner of Wealth Index (Beijing) Fund Management Co., Ltd., which is a top financial advisory service corporation that focuses on financial advisory, private equities investment and investment banking businesses. From January 2011 to February 2019, Ms. Zhao was in charge of international business planning and developing, investor relationship support and relationships with global investors. Ms. Zhao has completed dozens of transactions in a wide range of transactions including IPOs, M&A transactions, RTOs, follow-on offerings, public and private fund raising, and PIPEs. In her early career, Ms. Zhao worked at SUNTV Video Ltd. As a Specialist in NYC. She brings experience in media, business negotiation, and is familiar with international business activities.
Ms. Zhao studied Finance at New York City University and Montana State University. She received Bachelor of Science with highest honor in Finance from Montana State University and was appointed to Beta Gamma Sigma, international association of elite business schools. She received MBA from UP Diliman. Ms. Zhao is the Dame of Grace of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, and the first Commander of the Grand Priory of China. Ms. Zhao is Shanchun Huang’s wife.
Shanchun Huang. Mr. Shanchun Huang has served as our Chairman since shortly after the inception of the Company. He is a citizen of the Republic of Malta and is based in London, the United Kingdom. Mr. Huang has over 16 years of experience in the financial service and investment industry. He has provided financing solutions and advice for high-growth companies in China and successfully assisted 37 enterprises to complete fundraising or public offerings in China. Mr. Huang has served as the CEO and director of Future Fintech Group, Inc. a Nasdaq-listed company and a blockchain based e-commerce platform since March 2020. Future Fintech Group Inc. has received a notice of delisting from Nasdaq, that it has until February 27, 2023 to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. As of February 13, 2023, its closing bid price was $1.91. Most recently, Mr. Huang served as the president of Wealth Index (Beijing) Fund Management Co., Ltd., which provides private equity fund management service, from March 2011 to March 2020 and president of Wealth Index (Beijing) International Investment Consulting Co., Ltd., which provides investment management and consulting services for non-securities related business, from August 2004 to March 2020. From May 2001 to June 2004, Mr. Huang was the vice president of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Corporation, a global automobile company headquartered in Hangzhou, China. Mr. Huang graduated from Hefei Staff University of Science and Technology in July 1986 majoring in news collection and editing. Mr. Huang is also a prolific writer and has published four books in the finance and investment area in China. These books include How to Raise Money to Start a Business, the Road to Red Chips, Comparison and Research Among Global Capital Markets, and The Practice of Small and Medium Enterprises Listed Overseas and Hong Kong. Mr. Huang is the Knight Commander of Grace of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, and the first Grand Prior of the Grand Priory of China. Mr. Huang is our COO Xiaochen Zhao’s husband.
Yenyou (Jeff) Zheng. Yenyou Zheng has served as an independent director since shortly after the inception of the Company. He is a citizen of Canada and is based in Vancouver, Canada. Dr. Zheng has over 20 years of experience in investment banking and financing industry. Dr. Zheng currently serves as the Director of Business Development of, and as a broker with, Craft Capital Management LLC and has served in such positions since September 2019. He is also currently an independent director of NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE American: NBY) since September 2019. Prior to that, Dr. Zheng served as the Director of Business Development of Spartan Securities Group, Ltd. From 2014 to August 2019. Dr. Zheng’s experience includes providing innovative financial solutions and consulting services for initial public offering underwriting and investment banking as well as corporate financing solutions with a particular focus on Chinese companies listed overseas. Dr. Zheng received a Ph.D. in physics from Flinders University of South Australia.
James Jenkins. James Jenkins has served as an independent director since shortly after the inception of the Company. He is a citizen of the United States and is based in Rochester, New York. Mr. Jenkins currently serves as chair of Lakeland Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: Lake) Nominating Committee and serves on its Audit and Compensation Committees. He previously served on the board of Lakeland Industries, Inc. from 2012 to 2015 and was a member of the Audit and Corporate Governance Committees. He also serves on the Board, Audit and Compensation Committees of OmniLit Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: OLITU), a SPAC that recently raised $143.75 million. Mr. Jenkins is a General Counsel and Vice President of Corporate Development at Transcat, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRNS) and has served in that position since September 2020. At Transcat he drives its acquisition strategy. Prior to that he served as a partner at Harter Secrest & Emery LLP, a regional law firm located in New York State. His practice focused in the areas of corporate governance and general corporate law matters, including initial and secondary public offerings, private placements, mergers and acquisitions, and securities law compliance. Mr. Jenkins joined Harter Secrest and Emery in 1989 as an associate and was elected a partner effective January 1, 1997. He is a Chambers rated attorney and served as a member of the firm’s Management Committee from January 2007 to January 2013. Mr. Jenkins holds a BA from Virginia Military Institute and a J.D. from West Virginia University College of Law.
Yang (Sean) Liu. Yang Liu has served as an independent director since shortly after the inception of the Company. He is a citizen of People’s Republic of China, a US permanent resident and is based in New York, New York. Mr. Liu is a seasoned executive with 16 years of experience in an array of industries including technologies, finance, investment banking and corporation. He has a proven record of driving growth within global organizations and management of public companies. Mr. Liu is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Future Fintech Group Inc. (NASDAQ stock ticker: FTFT), a Nasdaq company expanding globally aggressively in financial technologies and financial services. Future Fintech Group Inc. has received a notice of delisting from Nasdaq, that it has until February 27, 2023 to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. As of February 13, 2023, its closing bid price was $1.91. Mr. Liu served as the Chairman of the board and the Chief Executive Officer at Color Star Technology Co. Ltd (NASDAQ stock ticker: CSCW), a Nasdaq company, from March 2019 to July 2020. Through a series of acquisitions and dispositions, he successfully transformed the company from a traditional Chinese manufacturer into a global technology company in education and entertainment. He also served as the CEO and Chairman at Wave Sync Corporation, an OTC technology company from July 2017 to August 2018. From 2015 to 2017, Mr. Liu worked as an IT Manager at UBS, overseeing regional production support and implementation coordination of its core capital market software platform. Mr. Liu received two M.S. degrees in financial mathematics and electrical engineering from New Mexico State University in the United States. He also received a B.S. Degree in Electric Engineering from Tsinghua University in China.
Xin (Adam) He. Xin He has served as an independent director since shortly after the inception of the Company. He is a citizen of People’s Republic of China, a US permanent resident and is based in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. He has been a CFO for a Fortune Global 500 conglomerate, Wanda USA since May 2012. Amongst many of the responsibilities inherent to this leadership position, Mr. He played a key role in two of the most world-renowned projects – the development of a 101-story landmark “Vista Tower” in downtown Chicago and the acquisition of AMC Entertainment Inc, that he later led its IPO to NYSE in 2013. In addition, during the period of August 2012 to December 2014, Mr. He merged the qualities of Wanda with AMC that resulted in a historic highest profit for the American theatrical exhibition business that owns and operates 660 theatres. His diverse background across various industries came from his previous jobs as Financial Controller for NYSE listed Xinyuan Real Estate Co., auditor at Financial Service Office in Ernst & Young LLP in New York, and various leadership roles at Chinatex Corporation. Due to his exceptional public company management expertise, Mr. He was invited to serve as an independent board director at Energy Focus (NASDAQ: EFOI) from July 2014 to April 2015, iFresh Inc. (NASDAQ: IFMK) from December 2017 to April 2018, Professional Diversity Network (NASDAQ: IPDN) from January 2018 to March 2019, and Beijing Baosheng Media (NASDAQ: BAOS) from February 2021 to present.
He is also deeply involved in a non-profit organization, as Vice Chair of the China General Chamber of Commerce Chicago, to bridge culture and business between US and China. His education and license strongly support this endeavor as he had obtained a Bachelor and Master of Science in Taxation from Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, and a Master of Science in Accounting from Seton Hall University in New Jersey. He is also a Certified Public Accountant both in China and in New York state.
Executive Officer and Director Compensation
No compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, has been paid or will be paid to any of our existing shareholders, including our directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of a business combination. However, such individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. There is no limit on the amount of these out-of-pocket expenses and there will be no review of the reasonableness of the expenses by anyone other than our board of directors and audit committee, which includes persons who may seek reimbursement, or a court of competent jurisdiction if such reimbursement is challenged.
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 fees from the combined company. All these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined by a compensation committee constituted solely of independent directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after the initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Director Independence
Nasdaq requires that a majority of our board must be composed of “independent directors.” Currently, Yenyou (Jeff) Zheng, James Jenkins, Yang Liu and Xin He would each be considered an “independent director” under the Nasdaq listing rules, which 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. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
We will only enter into a business combination if it is approved by a majority of our independent directors. Additionally, we will only enter into transactions with our officers and directors and their respective affiliates that are on terms no less favorable to us than could be obtained from independent parties. Any related-party transactions must also be approved by our audit committee and a majority of disinterested independent directors.
Audit Committee
Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have three members of the audit committee all of whom must be independent. 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, which will consist of Yenyou (Jeff) Zheng, James Jenkins and Xin He, each of whom is an independent director under Nasdaq’s listing standards. Xin He is the Chairperson of the audit committee. The audit committee’s duties, which are specified in our Audit Committee Charter, include, but are not limited to:
| ● | reviewing and discussing with management and the independent auditor the annual audited financial statements, and recommending to the board whether the audited financial statements should be included in our Form 10-K; |
| ● | discussing with management and the independent auditor significant financial reporting issues and judgments made in connection with the preparation of our financial statements; |
| ● | discussing with management major risk assessment and risk management policies; |
| ● | monitoring the independence of the independent auditor; |
| ● | verifying the rotation of the lead (or coordinating) audit partner having primary responsibility for the audit and the audit partner responsible for reviewing the audit as required by law; |
| ● | reviewing and approving all related-party transactions; |
| ● | inquiring and discussing with management our compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
| ● | pre-approving all audit services and permitted non-audit services to be performed by our independent auditor, including the fees and terms of the services to be performed; |
| ● | appointing or replacing the independent auditor; |
| ● | determining the compensation and oversight of the work of the independent auditor (including resolution of disagreements between management and the independent auditor regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work; |
| ● | establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or reports which raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies; and |
| ● | approving reimbursement of expenses incurred by our management team in identifying potential target businesses. |
Financial Experts on Audit Committee
The audit committee will at all times be composed exclusively of “independent directors” who are “financially literate” as defined under Nasdaq listing standards. Nasdaq listing standards define “financially literate” as being able to read and understand fundamental financial statements, including a company’s balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement.
In addition, we must certify to Nasdaq that the committee has, and will continue to have, at least one member who has past employment experience in finance or accounting, requisite professional certification in accounting, or other comparable experience or background that results in the individual’s financial sophistication. The board of directors has determined that Xin He qualified as an “audit committee financial expert,” as defined under rules and regulations of the SEC.
Nominating Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a nominating committee of the board of directors, which will consist of Yenyou (Jeff) Zheng, James Jenkins and Xin He, each of whom is an independent director under Nasdaq’s listing standards. Yenyou Zheng is the Chairperson of the nominating committee. The nominating committee is responsible for overseeing the selection of persons to be nominated to serve on our board of directors. The nominating committee considers persons identified by its members, management, shareholders, investment bankers and others.
Guidelines for Selecting Director Nominees
The guidelines for selecting nominees, which are specified in the Nominating Committee Charter, generally provide that persons to be nominated:
| ● | should have demonstrated notable or significant achievements in business, education or public service; |
| ● | should possess the requisite intelligence, education and experience to make a significant contribution to the board of directors and bring a range of skills, diverse perspectives and backgrounds to its deliberations; and |
| ● | should have the highest ethical standards, a strong sense of professionalism and intense dedication to serving the interests of the shareholders. |
The nominating committee will consider a number of qualifications relating to management and leadership experience, background and integrity and professionalism in evaluating a person’s candidacy for membership on the board of directors. The nominating committee may require certain skills or attributes, such as financial or accounting experience, to meet specific board needs that arise from time to time and will also consider the overall experience and makeup of its members to obtain a broad and diverse mix of board members. The board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our shareholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of shareholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of shareholders). Our shareholders that wish to nominate a director for election to the Board should follow the procedures set forth in our memorandum and articles of association. The nominating committee does not distinguish among nominees recommended by shareholders and other persons.
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, which will consist of Yenyou (Jeff) Zheng, James Jenkins and Xin He, each of whom is an independent director under Nasdaq’s listing standards. James Jenkins is the Chairperson of the compensation committee. The compensation committee’s duties, which are specified in our Compensation Committee Charter, include, but are not limited to:
| ● | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer’s based on such evaluation; |
| ● | reviewing and approving the compensation of all of our other executive officers; |
| ● | reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; |
| ● | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
| ● | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
| ● | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our executive officers and employees; |
| ● | if required, 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. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing shareholders, including our directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of a business combination. Accordingly, it is likely that prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, the compensation committee will only be responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial business combination.
Code of Ethics
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics (the “Code of Ethics’) applicable to our directors, officers and employees. A copy of the 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 the section of this prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find Additional Information.”
Conflicts of Interest
Potential investors should be aware of the following potential conflicts of interest:
| ● | None of our officers or directors 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 officers and directors may become aware of investment and business opportunities which 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. |
| ● | Our initial shareholders purchased founder shares prior to the date of this prospectus and our sponsor will purchase the private placement units in transactions that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their right to liquidating distributions with respect to its founder shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 12 months from the consummation of this offering (or 18 months as described elsewhere herein). However, if our initial shareholders acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to receive liquidating distributions with respect to such public shares if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within the required time period. If we do not complete our initial business combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement units will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement units will expire worthless. |
| ● | 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. |
Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:
(i) duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the company as a whole;
(ii) duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose;
(iii) directors should not properly fetter the exercise of future discretion;
(iv) duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders;
(v) duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a conflict between their duty to the company and their personal interests; and
(vi) duty to exercise independent judgment.
In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of care which is not fiduciary in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the company and the general knowledge skill and experience which that director has.
As set out above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be forgiven and/or authorized in advance by the shareholders provided that there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by way of permission granted in the memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.
Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our officers and directors may have similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities to multiple entities. In addition, conflicts of interest may arise when our board evaluates a particular business opportunity. We cannot assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor. Furthermore, each of our officers and directors currently has and may in the future have fiduciary obligations to other businesses of which they are officers or directors. To the extent they identify business opportunities which may be suitable for the entities to which they owe fiduciary obligations, our officers and directors will honor those fiduciary obligations. Accordingly, it is possible they may not present opportunities to us that otherwise may be attractive to us unless the entities to which they owe fiduciary obligations and any successors to such entities have declined to accept such opportunities.
In order to minimize potential conflicts of interest which may arise from multiple corporate affiliations, each of our officers and directors has contractually agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, until the earliest of a business combination, our liquidation or such time as he ceases to be an officer or director, to present to our company for our consideration, prior to presentation to any other entity, any suitable business opportunity which may reasonably be required to be presented to us, subject to any fiduciary or contractual obligations he might have.
Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations which will take priority over us.
Individual(1) | | Entity | | Entity’s Business | | Affiliation |
Karl Brenza | | Omni eCom Acquisition Corp. | | investment vehicle | | CFO |
| | Wealth Management Centers, LLC | | Financial advisory firm | | Senior Managing Director |
| | | | | | |
Xiaochen Zhao | | Future Fintech Group Inc. (2) | | Blockchain based e-commerce platform | | Chief Investment Officer |
| | | | | | |
Shanchun Huang | | Future Fintech Group Inc. (2) | | Blockchain based e-commerce platform | | Chief Executive Officer and Director |
| | | | | | |
Yenyou Zheng | | Craft Capital Management LLC | | Investment banking | | Director of Business Development and broker |
| | NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | | Biopharmaceutical company | | Director |
| | | | | | |
James Jenkins | | Lakeland Industries, Inc. | | Manufacturer of industrial protective clothing and accessories | | Director |
| | Transcat, Inc. | | Provider of accredited calibration and laboratory instrument services and distributor of test, measurement and control instrumentation | | General counsel and vice president |
| | OmniLit Acquisition Corp. | | SPAC | | Director |
| | | | | | |
Yang Liu | | Future Fintech Group Inc. (2) | | Blockchain based ecommerce platform | | Chief Operating Officer |
| | | | | | |
Xin He | | Wanda USA | | Private property developer and owner of Wanda cinemas | | Chief Financial Officer |
(1) | Each of the entities listed in this table has priority and preference relative to our company with respect to the performance by each individual listed in this table of his obligations and the presentation by each such individual of business opportunities. |
(2) | Future Fintech Group Inc. has received a notice of delisting from Nasdaq, that it has until February 27, 2023 to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. As of February 13, 2023, its closing bid price was $1.91. |
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 initial shareholders, officers or directors unless we have obtained an opinion from an independent investment banking firm, or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, and the approval of a majority of our disinterested independent directors that the business combination is fair to our company (or shareholders) from a financial point of view. Notwithstanding the foregoing, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides 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 our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Our executive officers have agreed not to participate in the formation of any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities intended to be registered under the Exchange Act which has publicly filed a registration statement with the SEC until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the consummation of this offering (or 18 months as described elsewhere herein).
Our officers and directors, as well as our initial shareholders, have agreed (i) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination and (ii) not to redeem any shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination or any amendment to our charter documents prior to the consummation of our initial business combination or sell any shares to us in a tender offer in connection with a proposed initial business combination.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Our memorandum and articles of association provide that, subject to certain limitations, the company shall indemnify its directors and officers against all expenses, including legal fees, and against all judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement and reasonably incurred in connection with legal, administrative or investigative proceedings. Such indemnity only applies if the person acted honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the company and, in the case of criminal proceedings, the person had no reasonable cause to believe that their conduct was unlawful. The decision of the directors as to whether the person acted honestly and in good faith and with a view to the best interests of the company and as to whether the person had no reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful and is, in the absence of fraud, sufficient for the purposes of the memorandum and articles of association, unless a question of law is involved. The termination of any proceedings by any judgment, order, settlement, conviction or the entering of a nolle prosequi does not, by itself, create a presumption that the person did not act honestly and in good faith and with a view to the best interests of the company or that the person had reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful.
We will enter into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our memorandum and articles of association. Our memorandum and articles of association also will permit us to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any officer or director who at the request of the Company is or was serving as a director or officer of, or in any other capacity is or was acting for, another company or a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against any liability asserted against the person and incurred by the person in that capacity, whether or not the company has or would have had the power to indemnify the person against the liability as provided in the memorandum and articles of association. 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.
These provisions may discourage shareholders 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 shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’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 insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is theretofore unenforceable.
PRINCIPAL SHAREHOLDERS
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our ordinary shares included in the units offered by this prospectus (assuming none of the individuals listed purchase units in this offering), by:
| ● | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares; |
| | |
| ● | each of our officers and directors; and |
| | |
| ● | all of our officers and directors as a group. |
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement rights as these rights are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this prospectus.
As of September 30, 2022, the Company issued 2,156,250 ordinary shares resulting in an aggregate of 2,156,250 ordinary shares outstanding, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as the “founder shares”, for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.012 per share. On May 31, 2021, the Company issued an aggregate of 1,250,000 ordinary shares, at par value $0.0001 to our sponsor. On October 20, 2021, our sponsor paid $16,375, or approximately $0.095 per share, for additional 173,125 ordinary shares, such that our sponsor owned an aggregate of 1,423,125 founder shares, for approximately $0.012 per share. On the same day, our officers and directors also paid an aggregate purchase price of $8,500 for a total of 733,125 founder shares, for approximately $0.012 per share. On December 1, 2022, we effectuated a share consolidation at a ratio of 1 for 1.25. Every 1.25 shares was consolidated into 1 share. The effects of this share consolidation were made retroactive to September 30, 2021. The share consolidation reduced the number of authorized shares from 1,000,000,000, par value $0.0001 to 800,000,000, par value $0.000125. It also reduced the number of outstanding shares from 2,156,250 shares to 1,725,000 shares, or approximately $0.014 per share. In addition, our sponsor has committed, pursuant to written agreements, to purchase an aggregate of 355,000 private placement units for a purchase price of $10.00 per unit in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering (assuming the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option). The following table presents the number of ordinary shares and percentage of ordinary shares owned by our initial shareholders before and after this offering. The post-offering numbers and percentages presented assume that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, that our initial shareholders forfeit 225,000 founder shares on a pro rata basis, and that there are 8,095,000 ordinary shares, consisting of 6,000,000 public shares, 355,000 private placement shares, 240,000 representative shares and 1,500,000 founder shares, issued and outstanding after this offering. Prior to the effective date of the registration statement, of which this prospectus is a part, our sponsor will transfer certain founder shares to our directors and executive officers. Such transfers are reflected in the table below.
| | Prior to Offering | | | After Offering(2) | |
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | | Amount and Nature of Beneficial Ownership | | | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Ordinary Shares | | | Amount and Nature of Beneficial Ownership | | | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Ordinary Shares | |
Shanchun Huang | | | 1,138,500 | (3) | | | 66 | % | | | 990,000 | | | | 12.23 | % |
Karl Brenza | | | 345,000 | | | | 20 | % | | | 300,000 | | | | 3.71 | % |
Xiaochen (Iris) Zhao | | | 103,500 | | | | 6 | % | | | 90,000 | | | | 1.11 | % |
Yenyou (Jeff) Zheng | | | 51,750 | | | | 3 | % | | | 45,000 | | | | * | |
Yang Liu | | | 51,750 | | | | 3 | % | | | 45,000 | | | | * | |
James Jenkins | | | 17,250 | | | | 1 | % | | | 15,000 | | | | * | |
Xin He | | | 17,250 | | | | 1 | % | | | 15,000 | | | | * | |
Mars Capital Holding Corporation | | | 1,138,500 | | | | 66 | % | | | 990,000 | | | | 12.23 | % |
All directors and executive officers (seven individuals) as a group | | | 1,725,000 | | | | 100 | % | | | 1,500,000 | | | | 18.53 | % |
* | Less than 1%. |
| |
(1) | Unless otherwise indicated, the business address of each of the individuals is c/o Mars Acquisition Corp., Americas Tower, 1177 Avenue of The Americas, Suite 5100, New York, NY, 10036. |
(2) | Assumes no exercise of the over-allotment option. |
(3) | Mars Capital Holding Corporation, our sponsor, is the record holder of the shares reported herein. Mr. Huang, our Chairman, has voting and dispositive power over the shares held by our sponsor through his position with Mars Capital Holding Corporation. |
Immediately after this offering, our initial shareholders will beneficially own approximately 20% of the then issued and outstanding ordinary shares (excluding the private placement shares and the representative shares and assuming they do not purchase units in this offering). None of our initial shareholders, officers and directors has indicated to us that he intends to purchase securities in this offering. Because of the ownership block held by our initial shareholders, such individuals may be able to effectively exercise control over all matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions other than approval of our initial business combination.
The holders of the founder shares have agreed: (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed initial business combination; and (B) not to redeem any shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination or in connection with a tender offer.
Our sponsor and our executive officers and directors are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private placement units
The founder shares, and private placement units, and securities contained therein, are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in a letter agreement with us to be entered into by our sponsor, officers and directors. Those lock-up provisions provide that such securities are not transferable or salable (i) in the case of the founder shares, until the earlier of (A) six months after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last sale price of the ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing after our initial business combination, or (y) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property, and (ii) in the case of the private placement units, including the component securities therein, until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except in each case (a) to our officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our officers or directors, any members of our sponsor, or any affiliates of our sponsor, (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or an affiliate of such person, or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) in the event of our liquidation prior to our completion of our initial business combination; or (f) by virtue of the laws of the Cayman Islands or our sponsor’s operating agreement upon dissolution of our sponsor; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (e) or (f) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and by the same agreements entered into by our sponsor with respect to such securities (including provisions relating to voting, the trust account and liquidation distributions described elsewhere in this prospectus).
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, private placement units, shares being issued to the underwriters of this offering, and units that may be issued on conversion of working capital loans (and in each case holders of their component securities, as applicable) 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 ordinary shares). The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination 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 permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lock-up period, which occurs (i) in the case of the founder shares, on the earlier of (A) six months after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last sale price of ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing after our initial business combination, or (y) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property, and (ii) in the case of the private placement units and units that may be issued on conversion of working capital loans, including the component securities therein, 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Notwithstanding the above, the shares to be issued to the underwriters in this offering will be further subject to the limitations on registration requirements imposed by FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8). We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS
On May 31, 2021, Mars Capital Holding Corporation, our sponsor, purchased an aggregate of 1,250,000 founder shares, for an aggregate offering price of $125 at par value of $0.0001. On October 20, 2021, our sponsor purchased additional 173,125 founder shares for an aggregate offering price of $16,375, such that our sponsor owned an aggregate of 1,423,125 founder shares, for an average purchase price of approximately $0.021 per share. On October 20, 2021, our officers and directors paid an aggregate purchase price of $8,500 for a total of 733,125 founder shares, for approximately $0.012 per share. As of September 30, 2022, there were 2,156,125 ordinary shares outstanding. On December 1, 2022, we effectuated a share consolidation at a ratio of 1 for 1.25. Every 1.25 shares was consolidated into 1 share. The effects of this share consolidation were made retroactive to September 30, 2021. The share consolidation reduced the number of authorized shares from 1,000,000,000, par value $0.0001 to 800,000,000, par value $0.000125. It also reduced the number of outstanding shares from 2,156,250 shares to 1,725,000 shares (up to 225,000 shares of which are subject to forfeiture, depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised, such that the founder shares would comprise 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of all classes of ordinary shares of the company after the IPO, excluding the private placement shares and representative shares). The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the issued and outstanding shares upon completion of this offering (excluding the private placement shares and the representative shares). The per share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the aggregate number of founder shares issued. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a share capitalization or share repurchase or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering (excluding the private placement shares and the representative shares and assuming they do not purchase units in this offering). Up to 225,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised so that the number of founder shares will continue to equal 20% of our ordinary shares after this offering (excluding the private placement shares and the representative shares and assuming they do not purchase units in 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, members of our management team or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of September 30, 2022, we had drawn $228,246 of the funds available to us under the promissory note with our sponsor. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, we had drawn $82,367 of the funds available to us under the promissory note. This loan will be non-interest bearing, unsecured and is due at the earlier of March 31, 2023 and the closing of this offering. This loan will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $650,000 offering proceeds that have been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account.
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 units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. The units would be identical to the private placement units. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
Our sponsor has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 355,000 private placement units (or 391,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $10.00 per unit, for an aggregate purchase price of $3,550,000, or $3,910,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement we will enter into with our initial shareholders and holders of our private placement units, units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (including in each case the underlying securities) and the representative shares on or prior to the closing of this offering, we may be required to register certain securities for sale under the Securities Act. These holders will be 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 permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act 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.
Related Party Policy
Our Code of Ethics, which we will adopt upon consummation of this offering, will require us to avoid, wherever possible, all related party transactions that could result in actual or potential conflicts of interests, except under guidelines approved by the board of directors (or the audit committee). Related-party transactions are defined as transactions in which (1) the aggregate amount involved will or may be expected to exceed $120,000 in any calendar year, (2) we or any of our subsidiaries is a participant, and (3) any (a) executive officer, director or nominee for election as a director, (b) greater than 5% beneficial owner of our ordinary shares, or (c) immediate family member, of the persons referred to in clauses (a) and (b), has or will have a direct or indirect material interest (other than solely as a result of being a director or a less than 10% beneficial owner of another entity). A conflict of interest situation can arise when a person takes actions or has interests that may make it difficult to perform his or her work objectively and effectively. Conflicts of interest may also arise if a person, or a member of his or her family, receives improper personal benefits as a result of his or her position.
We also require each of our directors and executive officers to annually complete a directors’ and officers’ questionnaire that elicits information about related party transactions.
Our audit committee, pursuant to its written charter, will be responsible for reviewing and approving related-party transactions to the extent we enter into such transactions. All ongoing and future transactions between us and any of our officers and directors or their respective affiliates will be on terms believed by us to be no less favorable to us than are available from unaffiliated third parties. Such transactions will require prior approval by our audit committee and a majority of our uninterested “independent” directors, or the members of our board who do not have an interest in the transaction, in either case who had access, at our expense, to our attorneys or independent legal counsel. We will not enter into any such transaction unless our audit committee and a majority of our disinterested “independent” directors determine that the terms of such transaction are no less favorable to us than those that would be available to us with respect to such a transaction from unaffiliated third parties. Additionally, we require each of our directors and executive officers to complete a directors’ and officers’ questionnaire that elicits information about related party transactions.
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 potential conflicts of interest, we have agreed not to consummate a business combination with an entity which is affiliated with any of our initial shareholders unless we obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that the business combination is fair to our unaffiliated shareholders from a financial point of view. Furthermore, in no event will any of our existing officers, directors or initial shareholders, or any entity with which they are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the consummation of a business combination.
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
General
As of the date of this prospectus, we will be authorized to issue 800,000,000 ordinary shares, par value US$0.000125. As of the date of this prospectus, 1,725,000 ordinary shares are outstanding. No preference shares are currently outstanding. The following description summarizes the material terms of our securities. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you. For a complete description you should refer to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the form of rights agreement, which are filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and to the applicable provisions of Cayman Islands law.
Units
Each unit, including the private placement units and the units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans, consists of one ordinary share and one right. Each right entitles the holder thereof to receive two-tenths (2/10) of an ordinary share upon consummation of our initial business combination. In addition, we will not issue fractional shares in connection with an exchange of rights. Fractional shares will either be rounded down to the nearest whole share or otherwise addressed in accordance with the applicable provisions of Cayman Islands law. As a result, you must hold rights in multiples of 5 in order to receive shares for all of your rights upon closing of a business combination.
The ordinary shares and rights will begin to trade separately on the 52nd business day after the date of this prospectus unless the representative determines that an earlier date is acceptable (based upon, among other things, its assessment of the relative strengths of the securities markets and small capitalization companies in general, and the trading pattern of, and demand for, our securities in particular). In no event will the representative allow separate trading of the ordinary shares and rights until we file an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering.
We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet promptly upon the consummation of this offering. The audited balance sheet will reflect proceeds we receive from the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised on the date of this prospectus. If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised after the date of this prospectus, we will file an amendment to the Form 8-K, or a new Form 8-K, to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the over-allotment option. We will also include in this Form 8-K, an amendment thereto, or in a subsequent Form 8-K information indicating when separate trading of the ordinary shares and rights has commenced.
Each unit sold in the private placement has an offering price of $10.00 and is identical to the units sold in this offering, except that the private placement units (including the underlying securities) 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 Shareholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Units,” to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor). Following such period and subject to applicable federal and state securities laws, the private placement units (including the underlying securities) will be transferable, assignable or salable, except that the private placement units (and the underlying securities) will not trade unless and until they are registered for resale or a valid exemption from registration is available. Holders of our private placement units and the underlying securities are entitled to certain registration rights. In addition, holders of our private placement units and the underlying securities have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such securities if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months if we have extended the period of time as described in this prospectus).
Ordinary Shares
Upon the closing of this offering, 8,095,000 of our ordinary shares will be outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), consisting of:
| ● | 6,000,000 ordinary shares underlying the units being offered in this offering; |
| ● | 240,000 representative shares; |
| ● | 355,000 private placement shares; and |
| ● | 1,500,000 founder shares. |
Our shareholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. In connection with any vote held to approve our initial business combination, all of our initial shareholders, as well as all of our officers and directors, have agreed to vote their respective ordinary shares owned by them immediately prior to this offering and any shares purchased in this offering or following this offering in the open market in favor of the proposed business combination.
We will proceed with the business combination only if we have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001, either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules), and a majority of the ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the business combination. At least ten days’ notice must be given for each general meeting (although we will provide whatever minimum number of days are required under Federal securities laws). Shareholders may vote at meetings in person or by proxy.
The members of our Board of Directors serve until the next annual general meeting. 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 eligible to vote for the election of directors can elect all of the directors.
Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if we do not consummate a business combination by 12 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months if we have extended the period of time as described in this prospectus), we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their rights to share in any distribution from the trust account with respect to their founder shares upon our winding up, liquidation and subsequent dissolution. The holders of the representative shares have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to such shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination or upon our winding up, liquidation and subsequent dissolution if we fail to complete a business combination.
Our shareholders have no conversion, preemptive or other subscription rights and there are no sinking fund or redemption provisions applicable to the ordinary shares, except that public shareholders have the right to have their public shares converted to cash equal to their pro rata share of the trust account if they vote on the proposed business combination and the business combination is completed. Public shareholders who convert their public shares into their portion of the trust account still have the right to receive ordinary shares upon conversion of the rights that they receive as part of the units.
Register of Members
Under the Companies Act, the ordinary shares are deemed to be issued when the name of the shareholder is entered in our register of members. Our register of members will be maintained by our transfer agent Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, which will enter the name of Cede & Co in our register of members on the closing of this offering as nominee for each of the respective public shareholders. If (a) information that is required to be entered in the register of members is omitted from the register or is inaccurately entered in the register, or (b) there is unreasonable delay in entering information in the register, a shareholder of the company, or any person who is aggrieved by the omission, inaccuracy or delay, may apply to the Cayman Islands courts for an order that the register be rectified, and the court may either refuse the application or order the rectification of the register, and may direct the company to pay all costs of the application and any damages the applicant may have sustained.
Rights
Except in cases where we are not the surviving company in a business combination, each holder of a right will automatically receive two-tenths (2/10) of an ordinary share upon consummation of our initial business combination, even if the holder of a public right converted all ordinary shares held by him, her or it in connection with the initial business combination or an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association with respect to our pre-business combination activities. In the event we will not be the surviving company upon completion of our initial business combination, each holder of a right will be required to affirmatively convert his, her or its rights in order to receive the two-tenths (2/10) of a share underlying each right upon consummation of the business combination. No additional consideration will be required to be paid by a holder of rights in order to receive his, her or its additional ordinary shares upon consummation of an initial business combination. The shares issuable upon exchange of the rights will be freely tradable (except to the extent held by affiliates of ours). If we enter into a definitive agreement for a business combination in which we will not be the surviving entity, the definitive agreement will provide for the holders of rights to receive the same per share consideration the holders of the ordinary shares will receive in the transaction on an as-converted into ordinary shares basis.
We will not issue fractional shares in connection with an exchange of rights. Fractional shares will either be rounded down to the nearest whole share or otherwise addressed in accordance with the applicable provisions of Cayman Islands law. As a result, you must hold rights in multiples of 5 in order to receive shares for all of your rights upon closing of a business combination. If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the required time period and we liquidate the funds held in the trust account, holders of rights will not receive any of such funds with respect to their rights, nor will they receive any distribution from our assets held outside of the trust account with respect to such rights, and the rights will expire worthless. Further, there are no contractual penalties for failure to deliver securities to the holders of the rights upon consummation of an initial business combination. Additionally, in no event will we be required to net cash settle the rights. Accordingly, the rights may expire worthless.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of a business combination. The payment of any dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our then board of directors. It is the present intention of our board of directors to retain all earnings, if any, for use in our business operations and, accordingly, our board does not anticipate declaring any dividends in the foreseeable future.
Our Transfer Agent and Rights Agent
The transfer agent for our ordinary shares and rights agent for our rights is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, 6201 15th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219.
Listing of our Securities
Our units have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “MARXU” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The ordinary shares and rights will begin separate trading on the 52th day after the date of this prospectus unless Maxim Group LLC, the representative of the underwriters, informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our satisfaction of certain conditions. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the ordinary shares and rights will be traded on Nasdaq under the symbols “MARX,” and “MARXR,” respectively.
Certain Differences in Corporate Law
Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Act. The Companies Act is modeled on English Law but does not follow recent English Law statutory enactments, and differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the material differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.
Mergers and Similar Arrangements. In certain circumstances, the Companies Act allows for mergers or consolidations between two Cayman Islands companies, or between a Cayman Islands exempted company and a company incorporated in another jurisdiction (provided that is facilitated by the laws of that other jurisdiction) so as to form a single surviving company.
Where the merger or consolidation is between two Cayman Islands companies, the directors of each company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation containing certain prescribed information. That plan or merger or consolidation must then be authorized by (a) a special resolution (usually a majority of two thirds of the votes of shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting) of the shareholders of each company; and (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. No shareholder resolution is required for a merger between a parent company (i.e., a company that owns at least 90% of the votes at a general meeting in a subsidiary company) and its subsidiary company. The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest of a constituent company must be obtained, unless the court waives such requirement. If the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is satisfied that the requirements of the Companies Act (which includes certain other formalities) have been complied with, the Registrar of Companies will register the plan of merger or consolidation.
Where the merger or consolidation involves a foreign company, the procedure is similar, save that with respect to the foreign company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the merger or consolidation is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the foreign company and by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is incorporated, and that those laws and any requirements of those constitutional documents have been or will be complied with; (ii) that no petition or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up or liquidate the foreign company in any jurisdictions; (iii) that no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the foreign company, its affairs or its property or any part thereof; (iv) that no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of the foreign company are and continue to be suspended or restricted.
Where the surviving company is the Cayman Islands exempted company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are further required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the foreign company is able to pay its debts as they fall due and that the merger or consolidated is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the foreign company; (ii) that in respect of the transfer of any security interest granted by the foreign company to the surviving or consolidated company (a) consent or approval to the transfer has been obtained, released or waived; (b) the transfer is permitted by and has been approved in accordance with the constitutional documents of the foreign company; and (c) the laws of the jurisdiction of the foreign company with respect to the transfer have been or will be complied with; (iii) that the foreign company will, upon the merger or consolidation becoming effective, cease to be incorporated, registered or exist under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction; and (iv) that there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation.
Where the above procedures are adopted, the Companies Act provides for a right of dissenting shareholders to be paid a payment of the fair value of his, her or its shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, that procedure is as follows (a) the shareholder must give his written objection to the merger or consolidation to the constituent company before the vote on the merger or consolidation, including a statement that the shareholder proposes to demand payment for his shares if the merger or consolidation is authorized by the vote; (b) within 20 days following the date on which the merger or consolidation is approved by the shareholders, the constituent company must give written notice to each shareholder who made a written objection; (c) a shareholder must within 20 days following receipt of such notice from the constituent company, give the constituent company a written notice of his intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of his shares; (d) within seven days following the date of the expiration of the period set out in paragraph (b) above or seven days following the date on which the plan of merger or consolidation is filed, whichever is later, the constituent company, the surviving company or the consolidated company must make a written offer to each dissenting shareholder to purchase his shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agree the price within 30 days following the date on which the offer was made, the company must pay the shareholder such amount; (e) if the company and the shareholder fail to agree a price within such 30 day period, within 20 days following the date on which such 30 day period expires, the company must (and any dissenting shareholder may) file a petition with the Cayman Islands Grand Court to determine the fair value and such petition must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the dissenting shareholders with whom agreements as to the fair value of their shares have not been reached by the company. At the hearing of that petition, the court has the power to determine the fair value of the shares together with a fair rate of interest, if any, to be paid by the company upon the amount determined to be the fair value. Any dissenting shareholder whose name appears on the list filed by the company may participate fully in all proceedings until the determination of fair value is reached. These rights of a dissenting shareholder are not available in certain circumstances, for example, to dissenters holding shares of any class in respect of which an open market exists on a recognized stock exchange or recognized interdealer quotation system at the relevant date or where the consideration for such shares to be contributed are shares of any company listed on a national securities exchange or shares of the surviving or consolidated company.
Moreover, Cayman Islands law also has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances, schemes of arrangement will generally be more suited for complex mergers or other transactions involving widely held companies, commonly referred to in the Cayman Islands as a “scheme of arrangement” which may be tantamount to a merger. In the event that a merger was sought pursuant to a scheme of arrangement (the procedure of which are more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States), the arrangement in question must be approved by seventy-five percent (75%) in value of the shareholders or class of shareholders, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meeting summoned for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder would have the right to express to the court the view that the transaction should not be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it satisfies itself that:
| ● | we are not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of our corporate authority and the statutory provisions as to majority vote have been complied with; |
| ● | the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question; |
| ● | the arrangement is such as a businessman would reasonably approve; and |
| ● | the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act or that would amount to a “fraud on the minority.” |
If a scheme of arrangement or takeover offer (as described below) is approved, any dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights, which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of United States corporations, providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares.
Squeeze-out Provisions. When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares to whom the offer relates within four months after making such offer, the offeror may, within a two-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands but this is unlikely to succeed unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith, collusion or inequitable treatment of the shareholders.
Further, transactions similar to a merger, reconstruction and/or an amalgamation may in some circumstances be achieved through other means to these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, through contractual arrangements, of an operating business.
Shareholders’ Suits. Derivative actions have been brought in the Cayman Islands courts, and the Cayman Islands courts have confirmed the availability for such actions. In most cases, we will be the proper plaintiff in any claim based on a breach of duty owed to us, and a claim against (for example) our officers or directors usually may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based both on Cayman Islands authorities and on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority and be applied by a court in the Cayman Islands, exceptions to the foregoing principle apply in circumstances in which:
| ● | a company is acting, or proposing to act, illegally or beyond the scope of its authority; |
| ● | the act complained of, although not beyond the scope of the authority, could be effected if duly authorized by more than the number of votes which have actually been obtained; or |
| ● | those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.” |
A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed.
Enforcement of Civil Liabilities. The Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides less protection to investors. Additionally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the Federal courts of the United States.
We have been advised by our Cayman Islands legal counsel that there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands would (i) recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) entertain original actions brought in each respective jurisdiction against us or our directors and officers predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state in the United States. There is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, although the courts of the Cayman Islands will in certain circumstances recognize and enforce such foreign money judgment without re-examination or re-litigation of matters adjudicated upon, provided that (1) the U.S. court issuing the judgment is of competent jurisdiction; (2) the U.S. Judgment is final and for a liquidated sum; (3) the judgment given by the U.S. Court was not in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty or similar fiscal or revenue obligation of the company; (4) in obtaining judgment there was no fraud on part of the person in whose favor judgment was given or on part of the court; (5) recognition or enforcement of the judgment would not be contrary to public policy in the Cayman Islands; and (6) the proceedings pursuant to which judgment was obtained were not contrary to natural justice. A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
Special Considerations for Exempted Companies. We are an exempted company with limited liability (meaning our public shareholders have no liability, as members of the Company, for liabilities of the Company over and above the amount paid for their shares) under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except for the exemptions and privileges listed below:
| ● | annual reporting requirements are minimal and consist mainly of a statement that the company has conducted its operations mainly outside of the Cayman Islands and has complied with the provisions of the Companies Act; |
| ● | an exempted company’s register of members is not open to inspection; |
| ● | an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting; |
| ● | an exempted company may not issue negotiable or bearer shares, but may issue shares with no par value; |
| ● | an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 20 years in the first instance); |
| ● | an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands; |
| ● | an exempted company may register as a limited duration company; and |
| ● | an exempted company may register as a segregated portfolio company. |
Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will contain provisions designed to provide certain rights and protections relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions cannot be amended without a special resolution under Cayman Islands law. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a resolution is deemed to be a special resolution where it has been approved by either (i) at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s shareholders who, being entitled to do so, attend and vote at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given; or (ii) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that special resolutions must be approved either by at least two-thirds of our shareholders who, being entitled to do so, attend and vote at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders.
Our sponsor and its permitted transferees, if any, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (excluding the private placement shares and the representative shares and assuming they do not purchase units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that:
| ● | If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of this offering (or 18 months from the closing of this offering, if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail in this prospectus), 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 income taxes (less up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law; |
| ● | Prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional ordinary shares that would entitle the holders thereof to: (i) receive funds from the trust account; or (ii) vote on any initial business combination; |
| ● | 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 that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view; |
| ● | If a shareholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act; whether or not we maintain our registration under the our Exchange Act or our listing on Nasdaq, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares by one of the two methods listed above; |
| · | So long as we maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding 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; |
| ● | If our shareholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association: (i) 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 12 months from the closing of this offering (or 18 months from the closing of this offering, if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail in this prospectus); or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares; and |
| ● | We will not effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. |
In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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.
The Companies Act permits a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands to amend its memorandum and articles of association with the approval of a special resolution which requires the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of such company’s shareholders who, being entitled to do so, attend and vote at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given or by way of unanimous written resolution. A company’s articles of association may specify that the approval of a higher majority is required but, provided the approval of the required majority is obtained, any Cayman Islands exempted company may amend its memorandum and articles of association regardless of whether its memorandum and articles of association provides otherwise. Accordingly, although we could amend any of the provisions relating to our proposed offering, structure and business plan which are contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we view all of these provisions as binding obligations to our shareholders and neither we, nor our officers or directors, will take any action to amend or waive any of these provisions unless we provide dissenting public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares.
Anti-Money Laundering—Cayman Islands
In order to comply with legislation or regulations aimed at the prevention of money laundering, we are required to adopt and maintain anti-money laundering procedures, and may require subscribers to provide evidence to verify their identity and source of funds. Where permitted, and subject to certain conditions, we may also delegate the maintenance of our anti-money laundering procedures (including the acquisition of due diligence information) to a suitable person.
We reserve the right to request such information as is necessary to verify the identity of a subscriber. In some cases the directors may be satisfied that no further information is required since an exemption applies under the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations (Revised) of the Cayman Islands, as amended and revised from time to time (the “Regulations”). Depending on the circumstances of each application, a detailed verification of identity might not be required where:
| a) | the subscriber makes the payment for their investment from an account held in the subscriber’s name at a recognized financial institution; |
| b) | the subscriber is regulated by a recognized overseas regulatory authority and where such authority is based or incorporated in, or formed under the law of, a recognized jurisdiction; or |
| c) | the application is made through an intermediary which is regulated by a recognized overseas regulatory authority and where such authority is based in or incorporated in, or formed under the law of a recognized jurisdiction and an assurance is provided in relation to the procedures undertaken on the underlying investors. |
For the purposes of these exceptions, recognition of a financial institution, regulatory authority or jurisdiction will be determined in accordance with the Regulations by reference to those jurisdictions recognized by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority as having equivalent anti-money laundering regulations.
In the event of delay or failure on the part of the subscriber in producing any information required for verification purposes, we may refuse to accept the application, in which case any funds received will be returned without interest to the account from which they were originally debited.
We also reserve the right to refuse to make any payment to a shareholder if our directors or officers suspect or are advised that the payment to such shareholder might result in a breach of applicable anti-money laundering or other laws or regulations by any person in any relevant jurisdiction, or if such refusal is considered necessary or appropriate to ensure our compliance with any such laws or regulations in any applicable jurisdiction.
If any person resident in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects, or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting, that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or money laundering or is involved with terrorism or terrorist financing and property and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of business in the regulated sector or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) the Financial Reporting Authority of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering or (ii) a police officer of the rank of constable or higher, or the Financial Reporting Authority, pursuant to the Terrorism Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and property. Such a report will not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.
Data Protection in the Cayman Islands – Privacy Notice
This privacy notice explains the manner in which the company collects, processes and maintains personal data about investors of the company pursuant to the Data Protection Act, 2017 of the Cayman Islands, as amended from time to time and any regulations, codes of practice or orders promulgated pursuant thereto (“DPA”).
The company is committed to processing personal data in accordance with the DPA. In its use of personal data, the company will be characterized under the DPA as a ‘data controller’, whilst certain of the company’s service providers, affiliates and delegates may act as ‘data processors’ under the DPA. These service providers may process personal information for their own lawful purposes in connection with services provided to the company.
This privacy notice puts our shareholders on notice that, by virtue of making an investment in the company, the company and certain of the company’s service providers may collect, record, store, transfer and otherwise process personal data by which individuals may be directly or indirectly identified.
Your personal data will be processed fairly and for lawful purposes, including (a) where the processing is necessary for the company to perform a contract to which you are a party or for taking pre-contractual steps at your request (b) where the processing is necessary for compliance with any legal, tax or regulatory obligation to which the company is subject or (c) where the processing is for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by the company or by a service provider to whom the data are disclosed. As a data controller, we will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it. If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will contact you.
We anticipate that we will share your personal data with the company’s service providers for the purposes set out in this privacy notice. We may also share relevant personal data where it is lawful to do so and necessary to comply with our contractual obligations or your instructions or where it is necessary or desirable to do so in connection with any regulatory reporting obligations. In exceptional circumstances, we will share your personal data with regulatory, prosecuting and other governmental agencies or departments, and parties to litigation (whether pending or threatened), in any country or territory including to any other person where we have a public or legal duty to do so (e.g. to assist with detecting and preventing fraud, tax evasion and financial crime or compliance with a court order).
Your personal data shall not be held by the company for longer than necessary with regard to the purposes of the data processing.
We will not sell your personal data. Any transfer of personal data outside of the Cayman Islands shall be in accordance with the requirements of the DPA. Where necessary, we will ensure that separate and appropriate legal agreements are put in place with the recipient of that data.
The company will only transfer personal data in accordance with the requirements of the DPA, and will apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of the personal data and against the accidental loss, destruction or damage to the personal data.
If you are a natural person, this will affect you directly. If you are a corporate investor (including, for these purposes, legal arrangements such as trusts or exempted limited partnerships) that provides us with personal data on individuals connected to you for any reason in relation to your investment into the company, this will be relevant for those individuals and you should inform such individuals of the content.
You have certain rights under the DPA, including (a) the right to be informed as to how we collect and use your personal data (and this privacy notice fulfils the Company’s obligation in this respect) (b) the right to obtain a copy of your personal data (c) the right to require us to stop direct marketing (d) the right to have inaccurate or incomplete personal data corrected (e) the right to withdraw your consent and require us to stop processing or restrict the processing, or not begin the processing of your personal data (f) the right to be notified of a data breach (unless the breach is unlikely to be prejudicial) (g) the right to obtain information as to any countries or territories outside the Cayman Islands to which we, whether directly or indirectly, transfer, intend to transfer or wish to transfer your personal data, general measures we take to ensure the security of personal data and any information available to us as to the source of your personal data (h) the right to complain to the Office of the Ombudsman of the Cayman Islands and (i) the right to require us to delete your personal data in some limited circumstances.
If you consider that your personal data has not been handled correctly, or you are not satisfied with the company’s responses to any requests you have made regarding the use of your personal data, you have the right to complain to the Cayman Islands’ Ombudsman. The Ombudsman can be contacted by calling +1 (345) 946-6283 or by email at info@ombudsman.ky.
SECURITIES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE
Immediately after this offering, we will have 8,095,000 ordinary shares issued and outstanding, or 9,292,000 shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full. Of these shares, the 6,000,000 shares sold in this offering, or 6,900,000 shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the remaining shares are restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering. All of those shares will not be transferable except in limited circumstances described elsewhere in this prospectus.
Rule 144
Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares or rights 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 our ordinary shares for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:
| ● | | 1% of the total number of ordinary shares then issued and outstanding, which will equal 80,950 shares immediately after this offering (or 92,920 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full); or |
| ● | | the average weekly reported trading volume of the ordinary shares during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale. |
Sales by our affiliates under Rule 144 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.
Restrictions on the Use of Rule 144 by Shell Companies or Former Shell Companies
Rule 144 is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company. However, Rule 144 also includes an important exception to this prohibition if the following conditions are met:
| ● | | the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company; |
| ● | | the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act; |
| ● | | 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 shareholders will be able to sell their founder shares and private placement units (and underlying securities), as applicable, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination.
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares, representative shares, private placement units and securities that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans 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. The holders of the majority of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the underwriters may not exercise their demand and “piggyback” registration rights after five and seven years after the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and may not exercise its demand rights on more than one occasion. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Listing of our Securities
Our units have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “MARXU” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The ordinary shares and rights will begin separate trading on the 52th day after the date of this prospectus unless Maxim Group LLC, the representative of the underwriters, informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our satisfaction of certain conditions. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the ordinary shares and rights will be traded on Nasdaq under the symbols “MARX,” and “MARXR,” respectively.
TAXATION
The following summary of the material Cayman Islands and U.S. federal income tax consequences of an investment in our units, ordinary shares, and rights to acquire our ordinary shares, sometimes referred to, individually or collectively, in this summary as our “securities,” is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this prospectus, all of which are subject to change. This summary does not deal with all possible tax consequences relating to an investment in our securities, such as the tax consequences under state, local and other tax laws.
Cayman Islands Taxation
The following is a discussion on certain Cayman Islands income tax consequences of an investment in the securities of the Company. The discussion is a general summary of present law, which is subject to prospective and retroactive change. It is not intended as tax advice, does not consider any investor’s particular circumstances, and does not consider tax consequences other than those arising under Cayman Islands law.
Under Existing Cayman Islands Laws:
Payments of dividends and capital in respect of our securities will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of a dividend or capital to any holder of the securities nor will gains derived from the disposal of the securities be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporation tax. The Cayman Islands currently has no income, corporation or capital gains tax and no estate duty, inheritance tax or gift tax.
No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of our ordinary shares, rights or on an instrument of transfer in respect of such shares.
The Company has been incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company with limited liability and, as such, received an undertaking from the Financial Secretary of the Cayman Islands in the following form:
The Tax Concessions Act
(Revised)
Undertaking as to Tax Concessions
In accordance with the provision of Section 6 of The Tax Concessions Act (Revised), the Financial Secretary undertakes with Mars Acquisition Corp. (“the Company”):
1. That no law which is hereafter enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to the Company or its operations; and
2. In addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall be payable:
2.1 on or in respect of the shares, debentures or other obligations of the Company; or
2.2 by way of the withholding in whole or part, of any relevant payment as defined in Section 6(3) of the Tax Concessions Act (Revised).
These concessions shall be for a period of twenty years from the date hereof.
United States Federal Income Taxation
General
This section is a general summary of the material U.S. federal income tax provisions relating to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our securities issued pursuant to this offering. This section does not address any aspect of U.S. federal gift or estate tax, or the state, local or non-U.S. tax consequences of an investment in our securities, nor does it provide any actual representations as to any tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership or disposition of our securities.
Because the components of a unit are separable at the option of the holder within a short period of time after the date of this prospectus, the holder of a unit generally should be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as the owner of the underlying ordinary share and right components of the unit, as the case may be. As a result, the discussion below of the U.S. federal income tax consequences with respect to actual holders of ordinary shares and rights should also apply to holders of units (as the deemed owners of the underlying ordinary shares and rights that comprise the units).
The discussion below of the U.S. federal income tax consequences to “U.S. Holders” will apply to a beneficial owner of our securities that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
| ● | an individual citizen or resident of the United States; |
| ● | a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation) that is created or organized (or treated as created or organized) in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia; |
| ● | an estate whose income is includible in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes regardless of its source; or |
| ● | a trust if (i) a U.S. court can exercise primary supervision over the trust’s administration and one or more U.S. persons are authorized to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (ii) it has a valid election in effect under applicable U.S. Treasury regulations to be treated as a U.S. person. |
If a beneficial owner of our securities is not described as a U.S. Holder and is not an entity treated as a partnership or other pass-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, such owner will be considered a “Non-U.S. Holder.” The material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the acquisition ownership and disposition of our securities applicable specifically to Non-U.S. Holders are described below under the heading “Non-U.S. Holders.”
This discussion is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), its legislative history, Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder, published rulings and court decisions, all as currently in effect. These authorities are subject to change or differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis.
This discussion assumes that the ordinary shares and rights will trade separately and does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to any particular holder based on such holder’s individual circumstances. In particular, this discussion considers only holders purchase units pursuant to this offering and own and hold our securities as capital assets within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code, and does not address the potential application of the alternative minimum tax. In addition, this discussion does not address the U.S. federal income tax consequences to holders that are subject to special rules, including:
| ● | financial institutions or financial services entities; |
| ● | taxpayers that are subject to the mark-to-market accounting rules under Section 475 of the Code; |
| ● | governments or agencies or instrumentalities thereof; |
| ● | regulated investment companies; |
| ● | real estate investment trusts; |
| ● | expatriates or former long-term residents of the United States; |
| ● | persons that actually or constructively own 5 percent or more of our voting 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 transaction; |
| ● | persons whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar; |
| ● | controlled foreign corporations; or |
| ● | passive foreign investment companies. |
This discussion does not address any aspect of U.S. federal non-income tax laws, such as gift or estate tax laws, state, local or non-U.S. tax laws or, except as discussed herein, any tax reporting obligations of a holder of our securities. Additionally, 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 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. This discussion also assumes that any distributions made (or deemed made) by us on our securities shares and any consideration received (or deemed received) by a holder in consideration for the sale or other disposition of our securities will be in U.S. dollars.
We have not sought, and will not seek, a ruling from the IRS of an opinion of counsel as to any U.S. federal income tax consequence described herein. The IRS may disagree with the descriptions 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.
THIS DISCUSSION IS ONLY A SUMMARY OF THE MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES. IT DOES NOT PROVIDE ANY ACTUAL REPRESENTATIONS AS TO ANY TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES AND WE HAVE NOT OBTAINED ANY OPINION OF COUNSEL WITH RESPECT TO SUCH TAX CONSEQUENCES. AS A RESULT, 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.
Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit
No statutory, administrative or judicial authority directly addresses the treatment of a unit or instruments similar to a unit for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, therefore, that treatment is not entirely clear. The acquisition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as the acquisition of one share of our ordinary shares and one right. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, each holder of a unit must allocate the purchase price paid by such holder for such unit among the ordinary share and right based on the relative fair market value of each at the time of issuance. Under U.S. federal income tax law, each investor must make his or her own determination of such value based on all the relevant facts and circumstances. Therefore, we strongly urge each investor to consult his or her tax adviser regarding the determination of value for these purposes. The price allocated to each ordinary share and right should be the shareholder’s tax basis in such share or right, as the case may be. Any disposition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a disposition of the ordinary share and right comprising the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated among the ordinary share and right based on their respective relative fair market values at the time of disposition (as determined by each such unit holder based on all relevant facts and circumstances). The separation of the ordinary share and right comprising a unit should not be a taxable event for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
The foregoing treatment of the ordinary shares and rights 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 prospective investor is urged to consult its own tax advisors regarding tax consequences of an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit). The balance of this discussion assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
U.S. Holders
Tax Reporting
Certain U.S. Holders may be required to file an IRS Form 926 (Return by a U.S. Transferor of Property to a Foreign Corporation) to report a transfer of property (including cash) to us. Substantial penalties may be imposed on a U.S. Holder that fails to comply with this reporting requirement. Each U.S. Holder is urged to consult with its own tax advisor regarding this reporting obligation.
Taxation of Distributions Paid on Ordinary Shares
Subject to the passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”) rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally will be required to include in gross income as dividends the amount of any cash dividend paid on our ordinary shares. A cash distribution on such shares generally will be treated as a dividend for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent the distribution is paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles). Such dividends paid by us will be taxable to a corporate U.S. holder at regular rates and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to domestic corporations in respect of dividends received from other domestic corporations. Distributions in excess of such earnings and profits generally will be applied against and reduce the U.S. Holder’s basis in its ordinary shares (but not below zero) and, to the extent in excess of such basis, will be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of such ordinary shares. With respect to non-corporate U.S. Holders, dividends may be subject to the lower applicable long-term capital gains tax rate (see “— Taxation on the Disposition of Securities” below) if our ordinary shares are readily tradeable on an established securities market in the United States and certain other requirements are met. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability of the lower rate for any cash dividends paid with respect to our ordinary shares.
Taxation on the Disposition of Securities
Upon a sale or other taxable disposition of our securities (which, in general, would include a redemption of ordinary shares, as discussed below, and including as a result of a liquidation and subsequent dissolution in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination within the required time), and subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, 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 securities.
The regular U.S. federal income tax rate on capital gains recognized by U.S. Holders generally is the same as the regular U.S. federal income tax rate on ordinary income, except that under tax law currently in effect long-term capital gains recognized by non-corporate U.S. Holders are generally subject to U.S. federal income tax at reduced rates. Capital gain or loss will constitute long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the securities exceeds one year. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to various limitations. U.S. Holders who recognize losses with respect to a disposition of our securities should consult their own tax advisors regarding the tax treatment of such losses.
Redemption of Ordinary Shares
Subject to the PFIC rules described below, if a U.S. Holder converts ordinary shares into the right to receive cash pursuant to the exercise of a shareholder conversion right or sells its ordinary shares to us pursuant to a tender offer, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, such conversion or sale generally will be treated as a redemption and will be subject to the following rules. If the redemption qualifies as a sale of the ordinary shares under Section 302 of the Code, the tax treatment of such redemption will be as described under “— Taxation on the Disposition of Securities” above. If the redemption does not qualify as a sale of ordinary shares under Section 302 of the Code, a U.S. Holder will be treated as receiving a distribution with the tax consequences described below. Whether redemption of our shares qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely on the total number of our ordinary shares treated as held by such U.S. Holder. The redemption of ordinary shares generally will be treated as a sale or exchange of the ordinary shares (rather than as a distribution) if the receipt of cash upon the redemption (i) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to a U.S. Holder, (ii) results in a “complete termination” of such holder’s interest in us or (iii) is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to such holder. These tests are explained more fully below.
In determining whether any of the foregoing tests are satisfied, a U.S. holder takes into account not only shares actually owned by the U.S. holder, but also our shares that are constructively owned by it. A U.S. holder may constructively own, in addition to shares owned directly, shares owned by certain related individuals and entities in which the U.S. holder has an interest or that have an interest in such U.S. holder, as well as any shares the U.S. holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which would possibly include ordinary shares which could be acquired pursuant to the rights. In order to meet the substantially disproportionate test, the percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. holder immediately following the redemption of ordinary shares must, among other requirements, be less than 80% of the percentage of our outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. holder immediately before the redemption. Prior to our initial business combination, the ordinary shares will not be voting shares for this purpose and, consequently, this substantially disproportionate test will not be applicable. There will be a complete termination of a U.S. holder’s interest if either (i) all of our shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. holder are redeemed or (ii) all of our shares actually owned by the U.S. holder are redeemed and the U.S. holder is eligible to waive, and effectively waives in accordance with specific rules, the attribution of shares owned by certain family members and the U.S. holder does not constructively own any other shares. The redemption of the ordinary shares will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend if a U.S. holder’s conversion results in a “meaningful reduction” of the U.S. holder’s proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction in a U.S. holder’s proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances. However, the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority shareholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” A U.S. holder should consult with its own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of a redemption.
If none of the foregoing tests are satisfied, then the redemption may be treated as a distribution and the tax effects will be as described under “— Taxation of Distributions Paid on Ordinary Shares,” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis a U.S. Holder has in the redeemed ordinary shares will be added to the adjusted tax basis in such holder’s remaining ordinary shares. If there are no remaining ordinary shares, a U.S. Holder should consult its own tax advisors as to the allocation of any remaining basis.
Certain U.S. Holders may be subject to special reporting requirements with respect to a redemption of ordinary shares, and such holders should consult with their own tax advisors with respect to their reporting requirements.
Conversion or Lapse of Rights
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally should not recognize gain or loss upon the acquisition of ordinary shares on the conversion of the rights, such ordinary shares should have a tax basis equal to such holder’s tax basis in the rights, and the holding period of such shares should begin on the day after such conversion. In addition, a U.S. Holder generally should recognize a capital loss on the lapse of the rights equal to such holder’s tax basis in the rights.
Unearned Income Medicare Tax
Under current tax law, U.S. Holders that are individual, estates or trusts and whose income exceeds certain thresholds generally will be subject to a 3.8% Medicare contribution tax on unearned income, including, among other things, dividends on, and gains from the sale or other disposition of, our securities, subject to certain limitations and exceptions. Under current regulations, in the absence of a special election, such unearned income generally would not include income inclusions under the qualified election fund (“QEF”) rules discussed below under “Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules,” but would include distributions of earnings and profits from a QEF. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the effect, if any, of such tax on their ownership and disposition or our securities.
Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules
A foreign (i.e., non-U.S.) corporation will be a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes if at least 75% of its gross income in a taxable year of such foreign corporation, including its pro rata share of the gross income of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, is passive income. Alternatively, a foreign corporation will be a PFIC if at least 50% of its assets in a taxable year of the foreign corporation, ordinarily determined based on fair market value and averaged quarterly over the year, including its pro rata share of the assets of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, are held for the production of, or produce, passive income. Passive income generally includes dividends, interest, rents and royalties (other than certain rents or royalties derived from the active conduct of a trade or business) and gains from the disposition of passive assets.
Because we are a blank check company, with no current active business, we believe that it is likely that we will meet the PFIC asset or income test for our current taxable year. However, pursuant to a start-up exception, a corporation will not be a PFIC for the first taxable year the corporation has gross income, if (1) no predecessor of the corporation was a PFIC; (2) the corporation satisfies the IRS that it will not be a PFIC for either of the first two taxable years following the start-up year; and (3) the corporation is not in fact a PFIC for either of those years. The applicability of the start-up exception to us is uncertain. After the acquisition of a company or assets in a business combination, we may still meet one of the PFIC tests depending on the timing of the acquisition and the amount of our passive income and assets as well as the passive income and assets of the acquired business. If the company that we acquire in a business combination is a PFIC, then we will likely not qualify for the start-up exception and will be a PFIC for our current taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Accordingly, there can be no assurance with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any future taxable year.
If we are determined to be a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder of our securities and, in the case of our ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder did not make a timely QEF election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder held (or was deemed to hold) such ordinary shares, a QEF election along with a deemed sale (or purging) election, or a “mark-to-market” election, each as described below, such holder generally will be subject to special rules for regular U.S. federal income tax purposes with respect to:
| ● | any gain recognized by the U.S. Holder on the sale or other disposition of our securities; and |
| ● | any “excess distribution” made to the U.S. Holder (generally, any distributions to such U.S. Holder during a taxable year of the U.S. Holder that are greater than 125% of the average annual distributions received by such U.S. Holder in respect of our securities during the three preceding taxable years of such U.S. Holder or, if shorter, such U.S. Holder’s holding period for our securities). |
Under these rules,
| ● | the U.S. Holder’s gain or excess distribution will be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holder’s holding period for our securities; |
| ● | the amount allocated to the U.S. Holder’s taxable year in which the U.S. Holder recognized the gain or received the excess distribution, or to the period in the U.S. Holder’s holding period before the first day of our first taxable year in which we are a PFIC, will be taxed as ordinary income; |
| ● | the amount allocated to other taxable years (or portions thereof) of the U.S. Holder and included in its holding period will be taxed at the highest tax rate in effect for that year and applicable to the U.S. Holder; and |
| ● | the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed in respect of the tax attributable to each such other taxable year of the U.S. Holder. |
In general, if we are determined to be a PFIC, a U.S. Holder may avoid the PFIC tax consequences described above in respect to our ordinary shares by making a timely QEF election (or a QEF election along with a purging election). Pursuant to the QEF election, a U.S. Holder generally will be required to include in income its pro rata share of our net capital gains (as long-term capital gain) and other earnings and profits (as ordinary income), on a current basis, in each case whether or not distributed, in the taxable year of the U.S. Holder in which or with which our taxable year ends if we are treated as a PFIC for that taxable year. A U.S. Holder may make a separate election to defer the payment of taxes on undistributed income inclusions under the QEF rules, but if deferred, any such taxes will be subject to an interest charge.
The QEF election is made on a shareholder-by-shareholder basis and, once made, can be revoked only with the consent of the IRS. A U.S. Holder generally makes a QEF election by attaching a completed IRS Form 8621 (Information Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund), including the information provided in a PFIC annual information statement, to a timely filed U.S. federal income tax return for the tax year to which the election relates. Retroactive QEF elections generally may be made only by filing a protective statement with such return and if certain other conditions are met or with the consent of the IRS. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a retroactive QEF election under their particular circumstances.
In order to comply with the requirements of a QEF election, a U.S. Holder must receive a PFIC annual information statement from us. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder upon request such information as the IRS may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a QEF election. However, there is no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of our status as a PFIC in the future or of the required information to be provided.
If a U.S. Holder has made a QEF election with respect to our ordinary shares, and the special tax and interest charge rules do not apply to such shares (because of a timely QEF election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) such shares or a purge of the PFIC taint pursuant to a purging election, as described above), any gain recognized on the sale of our ordinary shares generally will be taxable as capital gain and no interest charge will be imposed. As discussed above, for regular U.S. federal income tax purposes, U.S. Holders of a QEF generally are currently taxed on their pro rata shares of its earnings and profits, whether or not distributed. In such case, a subsequent distribution of such earnings and profits that were previously included in income generally should not be taxable as a dividend to such U.S. Holders. The adjusted tax basis of a U.S. Holder’s shares in a QEF will be increased by amounts that are included in income, and decreased by amounts distributed but not taxed as dividends, under the above rules. Similar basis adjustments apply to property if by reason of holding such property the U.S. Holder is treated under the applicable attribution rules as owning shares in a QEF.
Although a determination as to our PFIC status will be made annually, an initial determination we are a PFIC will generally apply for subsequent years to a U.S. Holder who held our securities while we were a PFIC, whether or not we meet the test for PFIC status in those subsequent years. A U.S. Holder who makes the QEF election discussed above for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) our ordinary shares, however, will not be subject to the PFIC tax and interest charge rules discussed above in respect to such shares. In addition, such U.S. Holder will not be subject to the QEF inclusion regime with respect to such shares for any of our taxable years that end within or with a taxable year of the U.S. Holder and in which we are not a PFIC. On the other hand, if the QEF election is not effective for each of our taxable years in which we are a PFIC and the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) our ordinary shares, the PFIC rules discussed above will continue to apply to such shares unless the holder files on a timely filed U.S. federal income tax return (including extensions) a QEF election and a purging election to recognize under the rules of Section 1291 of the Code any gain that the U.S. Holder would otherwise recognize if the U.S. Holder had sold our shares for their fair market value on the “qualification date.” The qualification date is the first day of our tax year in which we qualify as a QEF with respect to such U.S. Holder. The purging election can only be made if such U.S. Holder held our shares on the qualification date. The gain recognized by the purging election will be subject to the special tax and interest charge rules treating the gain as an excess distribution, as described above. As a result of the purging election, the U.S. Holder will increase the adjusted tax basis in our shares by the amount of the gain recognized and will also have a new holding period in the shares for purposes of the PFIC rules.
Alternatively, if a U.S. Holder, at the close of its taxable year, owns (or is deemed to own) shares in a PFIC that are treated as marketable shares, the U.S. Holder may make a mark-to-market election with respect to such shares for such taxable year. If the U.S. Holder makes a valid mark-to-market election for the first taxable year of the U.S. Holder in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) our ordinary shares and for which we are determined to be a PFIC, such holder generally will not be subject to the PFIC rules described above in respect to its ordinary shares as long as such shares continue to be treated as marketable shares. Instead, in general, the U.S. Holder will include as ordinary income for each year that we are treated as a PFIC the excess, if any, of the fair market value of its ordinary shares at the end of its taxable year over the adjusted basis in its ordinary shares. The U.S. Holder also will be allowed to take an ordinary loss in respect of the excess, if any, of the adjusted basis of its ordinary shares over the fair market value of its ordinary shares at the end of its taxable year (but only to the extent of the net amount of previously included income as a result of the mark-to-market election). The U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its ordinary shares will be adjusted to reflect any such income or loss amounts, and any further gain recognized on a sale or other taxable disposition of the ordinary shares in a taxable year in which we are treated as a PFIC will be treated as ordinary income. Special tax rules may also apply if a U.S. Holder makes a mark-to-market election for a taxable year after the first taxable year in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) its ordinary shares and for which we are treated as a PFIC. Currently, a mark-to-market election may not be made with respect to our rights.
The mark-to-market election is available only for stock that is regularly traded on a national securities exchange that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Nasdaq Global Market, or on a foreign exchange or market that the IRS determines has rules sufficient to ensure that the market price represents a legitimate and sound fair market value. U.S. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a mark-to-market election in respect to our ordinary shares under their particular circumstances.
If we are a PFIC and, at any time, have a foreign subsidiary that is classified as a PFIC, U.S. Holders of our shares generally would be deemed to own a portion of the shares of such lower-tier PFIC, and generally could incur liability for the deferred tax and interest charge described above if we receive a distribution from, or dispose of all or part of our interest in, the lower-tier PFIC or the U.S. Holders otherwise were deemed to have disposed of an interest in the lower-tier PFIC. Upon request, we will endeavor to cause any lower-tier PFIC to provide to a U.S. Holder the information that may be required to make or maintain a QEF election with respect to the lower-tier PFIC. However, there is no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of the status of any such lower-tier PFIC. In addition, we may not hold a controlling interest in any such lower-tier PFIC and thus there can be no assurance we will be able to cause the lower-tier PFIC to provide the required information. A mark-to-market election generally would not be available with respect to such lower-tier PFIC. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the tax issues raised by lower-tier PFICs.
A U.S. Holder that owns (or is deemed to own) shares in a PFIC during any taxable year of the U.S. Holder, may have to file an IRS Form 8621 (whether or not a QEF or mark-to-market election is or has been made) with such U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax return and provide such other information as may be required by the U.S. Treasury Department.
The rules dealing with PFICs and with the QEF and mark-to-market elections are very complex and are affected by various factors in addition to those described above. Accordingly, U.S. Holders of our securities should consult their own tax advisors concerning the application of the PFIC rules to our securities under their particular circumstances.
Non-U.S. Holders
Dividends (including constructive dividends) paid or deemed paid to a Non-U.S. Holder in respect to our securities generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax, unless the dividends are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains or maintained in the United States).
In addition, a Non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any gain attributable to a sale or other disposition of our securities 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 or maintained 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 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 that such holder maintains or maintained in the United States) generally will be subject to regular 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, may also be subject to an additional branch profits tax at a 30% rate or a lower applicable tax treaty rate.
Backup Withholding and Information Reporting
In general, information reporting for U.S. federal income tax purposes should apply to distributions made on our ordinary shares within the United States to a U.S. Holder (other than an exempt recipient) and to the proceeds from sales and other dispositions of our securities by a U.S. Holder (other than an exempt recipient) to or through a U.S. office of a broker. Payments made (and sales and other dispositions effected at an office) outside the United States will be subject to information reporting in limited circumstances. In addition, certain information concerning a U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its securities and whether any gain or loss with respect to such securities in long-term or short-term may be required to be reported to the IRS, and certain holders may be required to file an IRS Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets) to report their interest in our securities.
Moreover, backup withholding of U.S. federal income tax, currently at a rate of 24%, generally will apply to dividends paid on our securities to a U.S. Holder (other than an exempt recipient) and the proceeds from sales and other dispositions of our securities by a U.S. Holder (other than an exempt recipient), in each case who:
| ● | fails to provide an accurate taxpayer identification number; |
| ● | is notified by the IRS that backup withholding is required; or |
| ● | fails to comply with applicable certification requirements. |
A Non-U.S. Holder generally may 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.
We will withhold all taxes required to be withheld by law from any amounts otherwise payable to any holder of our securities, including tax withholding required by the backup withholding rules. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Rather, the amount of any backup withholding will be allowed as a credit against a U.S. Holder’s or a Non-U.S. Holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability and may entitle such holder to a refund, provided that the requisite information is timely furnished to the IRS. 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.
UNDERWRITING
Maxim is acting as sole book-running manager of the offering and as the sole representative of the underwriters named below. Subject to the terms and conditions of the underwriting agreement dated the date of this prospectus, the underwriters named below, through their representative Maxim Group LLC, have severally agreed to purchase on a firm commitment basis, and we have agreed to sell to the underwriters, the following respective number of units set forth opposite the underwriter’s name at a public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.
Underwriters | | Number of Units | |
Maxim Group LLC | | | 6,000,000 | |
| | | | |
Total | | | 6,000,000 | |
The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the units included in this offering are subject to all applicable laws and regulations and certain conditions precedent such as the receipt by the underwriters of officers’ certificates and legal opinions and approval of certain legal matters by their counsel. The underwriters are obligated to purchase all of the units (other than those covered by the over-allotment option described below) if they purchase any of the units. If an underwriter defaults, the underwriting agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the non-defaulting underwriters may be increased or the underwriting agreement may be terminated. We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters and certain of their controlling persons against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and to contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
Units sold by the underwriters to the public will initially be offered at the initial public offering price set forth on the cover of this prospectus. Upon the execution of the underwriting agreement, the underwriters will be obligated to purchase the units at the prices and upon the terms stated therein, and, as a result, will thereafter bear any risk associated with changing the offering price to the public or other selling terms after completion of the initial public offering. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part. Maxim has advised us that the underwriters do not intend to make sales to discretionary accounts.
If the underwriters sell more units than the total number set forth in the table above, we have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 45 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to 900,000 additional units at the public offering price less the underwriting discount. The underwriters may exercise this option solely for the purpose of covering over-allotments, if any, in connection with this offering. To the extent the option is exercised, each underwriter must purchase a number of additional units approximately proportionate to that underwriters’ initial purchase commitment. Any units issued or sold under the option will be issued and sold on the same terms and conditions as the other units that are the subject of this offering.
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 Maxim, offer, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell (including any short sale), pledge, transfer, establish an open “put equivalent position” within the meaning of Rule 16a-l(h) under the Exchange Act, as amended, or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any of our units rights, ordinary shares, or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, our ordinary shares currently or hereafter owned either of record or beneficially, or publicly announce an intention to do any of the foregoing. Maxim in its sole discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice. Our sponsor, officers, and directors are also subject to separate transfer restrictions on their founder shares and private placement units (and underlying securities) pursuant to the letter agreement as described herein.
Our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (i) six months after the date of the consummation of our initial business combination; or (ii) the date on which we consummate a liquidation, merger, stock exchange, or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities, or other property (except as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Shareholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Units”). Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of our ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing after our initial business combination, the founder shares will no longer be subject to such transfer restrictions. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. The private placement units (including the underlying securities) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Shareholders — Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Units”).
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our securities. Consequently, the initial public offering price for the units was determined by negotiations between us and the underwriters. Among the factors considered in determining the initial public offering price were the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies, prior offerings of those companies, our management, our capital structure, and currently prevailing general conditions in the equity securities markets, including current market valuations of publicly traded companies considered comparable to our company. We cannot assure you, however, that the price at which the units, ordinary shares or rights will sell in the public market after this offering will not be lower than the initial public offering price or that an active trading market in our units, ordinary shares or rights will develop and continue after this offering.
Our units have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “MARXU” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The ordinary shares and rights will begin separate trading on the 52th day after the date of this prospectus unless Maxim Group LLC, the representative of the underwriters, informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our satisfaction of certain conditions. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the ordinary shares and rights will be traded on Nasdaq under the symbols “MARX,” and “MARXR,” respectively.
The following table shows the underwriting discounts and commissions that we are to pay to the underwriters in connection with this offering. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. The upfront portion of the underwriting discounts and commissions will be $0.20 per unit.
| | Payable by Mars Acquisition Corp. | |
| | No Exercise of Over- Allotment Option | | | Full Exercise of Over- Allotment Option | |
Per Unit | | $ | 0.20 | | | $ | 0.20 | |
Total(1) | | $ | 1,200,000 | | | $ | 1,380,000 | |
(1) | In addition to the cash compensation set forth herein, we have agreed to issue to Maxim Group LLC and/or its designees, 240,000 ordinary shares, or up to 276,000 ordinary shares if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full in a private placement to be completed concurrently with the consummation of this offering. Except with respect to certain registration rights and transfer restrictions, the representative shares will be identical to the public shares underlying the units sold in this offering. |
In addition to the underwriting discount, we paid Maxim $25,000 upon the execution of the engagement letter, as an advance against out-of-pocket accountable expenses actually anticipated to be incurred by the underwriters. Concurrently with the filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we paid Maxim an additional $25,000. We refer to such amounts previously paid as the advance, and the advance shall be applied towards Maxim’s accountable expenses. Furthermore, we have agreed to reimburse the underwriters for certain expenses incurred in connection with this offering, including but not limited to road show expenses, in an amount not to exceed $100,000 in the aggregate (inclusive of the advance). Any portion of the advance will be returned to us in the event it is not actually incurred.
No discounts or commissions will be paid on the sale of the private placement units.
Representative Shares
We have agreed to issue to Maxim and/or its designees, 240,000 ordinary shares (or up to 276,000 ordinary shares if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) upon the consummation of this offering. Maxim has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any such shares until the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, Maxim has agreed (i) to waive its redemption rights with respect to such shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) to waive its rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of this offering (or up to 18 months from the closing of this offering, if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail in this prospectus). The shares issued to Maxim will be granted customary registration rights in compliance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8).
The shares have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a lock-up for a period of 180 days immediately following the commencement of sales of this offering pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1). Pursuant to this FINRA lock-up, these securities cannot be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated or the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the commencement of sales of this offering except as permitted under FINRA Rule 5110(e)(2), including to any underwriter and selected dealer participating in the offering and their officers or partners, registered persons or affiliates. These securities have resale registration rights including three demand and unlimited “piggy-back” rights.
Right of First Refusal
Subject to certain conditions, we granted Maxim, for a period beginning on the closing of this offering and ending 12 months after the date of the consummation of our business combination, a right of first refusal to act as lead left book-running managing underwriter or placement agent with at least 75% of the economics; or in the case of a three-handed deal 50% of the economics, for any and all future public and private equity, equity-linked, convertible and debt offerings for us or any of our successors or subsidiaries. In accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(6), such right of first refusal shall not have a duration of more than three years from the commencement of sales of this offering.
Regulatory Restrictions on Purchase of Securities
In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell units in the open market. The underwriters have advised us that, in accordance with Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, they may engage in short sale transactions, purchases to cover short positions, which may include purchases pursuant to the over-allotment option, 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 our units at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market.
| · | Short sales involve secondary market sales by the underwriters of a greater number of units than it is required to purchase in the offering. |
| · | “Covered” short sales are sales of units in an amount up to the number of units represented by the underwriters’ over-allotment option. |
| · | “Naked” short sales are sales of units in an amount in excess of the number of units represented by the underwriters’ over-allotment option. |
| · | Covering transactions involve purchases of units either pursuant to the over-allotment option or in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover short positions. |
| · | To close a naked short position, the underwriters must purchase units in the open market after the distribution has been completed. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. |
| · | To close a covered short position, the underwriters must purchase units in the open market after the distribution has been completed or must exercise the over-allotment option. In determining the source of units to close the covered |
| · | short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase units through the over-allotment option. |
| · | Stabilizing transactions involve bids to purchase units so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum. |
Purchases to cover short positions and stabilizing purchases, as well as other purchases by the underwriters for their own account, may have the effect of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the units. They may also cause the price of the units to be higher than the price that would otherwise exist in the open market in the absence of these transactions. The underwriters may conduct these transactions in the over-the-counter market or otherwise. Neither we, nor any of the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our ordinary shares. The underwriters are not obligated to engage in these activities and, if commenced, any of the activities may be discontinued at any time.
We estimate that our portion of the total expenses of this offering payable by us will be $650,000, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions.
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make because of any of those liabilities.
We are not under any contractual obligation to engage any of the underwriters to provide any services for us after this offering, and have no present intent to do so. However, any of the underwriters may introduce us to potential target businesses or assist us in raising additional capital in the future. If any of the underwriters provide services to us after this offering, we may pay such underwriter fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with any of the underwriters and no fees for such services will be paid to any of the underwriters prior to the date that is 90 days from the date of this prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with this offering and we may pay the underwriters of this offering or any entity with which they are affiliated a finder’s fee or other compensation for services rendered to us in connection with the completion of an initial business combination.
Electronic Distribution
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available by e-mail or on the web sites or through online services maintained by one or more of the underwriters or their affiliates. In those cases, prospective investors may view offering terms online and may be allowed to place orders online. The underwriters may agree with us to allocate a specific number of units for sale to online brokerage account holders. Any such allocation for online distributions will be made by the underwriters on the same basis as other allocations. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on the underwriters’ web sites and any information contained in any other web site maintained by any of the underwriters is not part of this prospectus, has not been approved and/or endorsed by us or the underwriters and should not be relied upon by investors.
Other Activities and Relationships
The underwriters and their respective 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. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory and investment banking services for us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In addition, in the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective 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 may at any time hold long and short positions in such securities and instruments. Such investments and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of ours or our affiliates. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial 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
Other than in the United States, no action has been taken by us or the underwriters that would permit a public offering of the securities offered by this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. The securities offered by this prospectus may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, nor may this prospectus or any other offering material or advertisements in connection with the offer and sale of any such securities be distributed or published in any jurisdiction, except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations of that jurisdiction. Persons into whose possession this prospectus comes are advised to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions relating to the offering and the distribution of this prospectus. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities offered by this prospectus in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or a solicitation is unlawful.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Canada
| (A) | Resale Restrictions: The distribution of units in Canada is being made only in the province of Ontario on a private placement basis exempt from the requirement that we prepare and file a prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each province where trades of these securities are made. Any resale of the units in Canada must be made under applicable securities laws which may vary depending on the relevant jurisdiction, and which may require resales to be made under available statutory exemptions or under a discretionary exemption granted by the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authority. Purchasers are advised to seek legal advice prior to any resale of the securities. |
| (B) | Representations of Canadian Purchasers: By purchasing units in Canada and accepting delivery of a purchase confirmation, a purchaser is representing to us and the dealer from whom the purchase confirmation is received that: |
| ● | the purchaser is entitled under applicable provincial securities laws to purchase the units without the benefit of a prospectus qualified under those securities laws as it is an “accredited investor” as defined under National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions, |
| ● | the purchaser is a “permitted client” as defined in National Instrument 31-103 - Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations, |
| ● | where required by law, the purchaser is purchasing as principal and not as agent, and |
| ● | the purchaser has reviewed the text above under Resale Restrictions. |
| (C) | Conflicts of Interest: Canadian purchasers are hereby notified that the underwriters are relying on the exemption set out in section 3A.3 or 3A.4, if applicable, of National Instrument 33-105 - Underwriting Conflicts from having to provide certain conflict of interest disclosure in this document. |
| (D) | 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 offering memorandum (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. |
| (E) | 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. |
| (F) | Taxation and Eligibility for Investment: Canadian purchasers of units should consult their own legal and tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences of an investment in the units in their particular circumstances and about the eligibility of the units for investment by the purchaser under relevant Canadian legislation. |
Notice to Prospective Investors in the European Economic Area
In relation to each member state of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a “Relevant Member State”), an offer to the public of any units which are the subject of the offering contemplated by this prospectus may not be made in that Relevant Member State except that an offer to the public in that Relevant Member State of any units may be made at any time under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Directive, if they have been implemented in that Relevant Member State:
| (a) | to any legal entity which is a “qualified investor” as defined in the Prospectus Directive; |
| (b) | to fewer than 100 or, if the Relevant Member State has implemented the relevant provision of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150, natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive), as permitted under the Prospectus Directive, subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriters or the underwriters nominated by us for any such offer; or |
| (c) | in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, provided that no such offer of units shall require us or any of the underwriters to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 16 of the Prospectus Directive. |
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer units to the public” in relation to the units in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe to the units, as the same may be varied in that Relevant Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Relevant Member State and the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC (and amendments thereto, including the 2010 PD Amending Directive, to the extent implemented in the Relevant Member State), and includes any relevant implementing measure in the Relevant Member State and the expression “2010 PD Amending Directive” means Directive 2010/73/EU.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the United Kingdom
This prospectus is only being distributed to, and is only directed at, persons in the United Kingdom that are qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive that are also (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the “Order”), and/or (ii) high net worth entities falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated (each such person being referred to as a “relevant person”). The units are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to purchase or otherwise acquire such units will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. This prospectus and its contents are confidential and should not be distributed, published or reproduced (in whole or in part) or disclosed by recipients to any other persons in the United Kingdom. Any person in the United Kingdom that is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Hong Kong
No securities have been offered or sold, and no securities may be offered or sold, in Hong Kong, by means of any document, other than to persons whose ordinary business is to buy or sell shares or debentures, whether as principal or agent; or to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) of Hong Kong (“SFO”) and any rules made under that Ordinance; or in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32) of Hong Kong (“CO”) or which do not constitute an offer or invitation to the public for the purpose of the CO or the SFO. No document, invitation or advertisement relating to the 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.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Japan
The units offered in this prospectus have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan. The units have not been offered or sold and will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to or for the account of any resident of Japan (including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), except (i) pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and (ii) in compliance with any other applicable requirements of Japanese law.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Singapore
This prospectus has not been and will not be lodged or registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the notes may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the notes be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275, of the SFA, or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.
Where the units are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is:
| (a) | 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 |
| (b) | 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 notes pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except: |
| (i) | 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; |
| (ii) | where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer; |
| (iii) | where the transfer is by operation of law; |
| (iv) | as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA; or |
| (v) | as specified in Regulation 32 of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Shares and Debentures) Regulations 2005 of Singapore. |
Notice to Prospective Investors in the Dubai International Financial Centre
This prospectus relates to an Exempt Offer in accordance with the Offered Securities Rules of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”). This prospectus is intended for distribution only to persons of a type specified in the Offered Securities Rules of the DFSA. It must not be delivered to, or relied on by, any other person. The DFSA has no responsibility for reviewing or verifying any documents in connection with Exempt Offers. The DFSA has not approved this prospectus nor taken steps to verify the information set forth herein and has no responsibility for the prospectus. The securities to which this prospectus relates may be illiquid and/or subject to restrictions on their resale. Prospective purchasers of the securities offered should conduct their own due diligence on the securities. If you do not understand the contents of this prospectus you should consult an authorized financial advisor.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Australia
No placement document, prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document has been lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (“ASIC”), in relation to the offering. This prospectus does not constitute a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act 2001 (the “Corporations Act”), and does not purport to include the information required for a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act. Any offer in Australia of the securities may only be made to persons (the “Exempt Investors”) who are “sophisticated investors” (within the meaning of section 708(8) of the Corporations Act), “professional investors” (within the meaning of section 708(11) of the Corporations Act) or otherwise pursuant to one or more exemptions contained in section 708 of the Corporations Act so that it is lawful to offer the securities without disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act.
The securities applied for by Exempt Investors in Australia must not be offered for sale in Australia in the period of 12 months after the date of allotment under the offering, except in circumstances where disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act would not be required pursuant to an exemption under section 708 of the Corporations Act or otherwise or where the offer is pursuant to a disclosure document which complies with Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act. Any person acquiring securities must observe such Australian on-sale restrictions. This prospectus contains general information only and does not take account of the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person. It does not contain any securities recommendations or financial product advice. Before making an investment decision, investors need to consider whether the information in this prospectus is appropriate to their needs, objectives and circumstances, and, if necessary, seek expert advice on those matters.
Notice to Prospective Investors in 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 document 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 document 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 document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the offering, the company, or the shares have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this document will not be filed with, and the offer of securities will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA (FINMA), and the offer of securities has not been and will not be authorized under the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes (“CISA”). The investor protection afforded to acquirers of interests in collective investment schemes under the CISA does not extend to acquirers of securities.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Italy
This prospectus has not been submitted to the Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa, the Italian Securities Exchange Commission (“CONSOB”), for clearance and will not be subject to formal review or clearance by CONSOB.
Accordingly, the Units may not be offered, and copies of this prospectus or any other document relating to the shares may not be distributed in Italy except:
| (a) | to “qualified investors” (investitori qualificati), as defined pursuant to Article 34-ter, first paragraph, letter b), of CONSOB regulation No. 11971 of May 14, 1999, as amended, concerning issuers (“Regulation No. 11971”), but excluding (i) small and medium enterprises and natural persons indicated in Regulation No. 11971 that have not been included in the register of qualified investors, (ii) management companies and financial intermediaries authorized to manage individual portfolios on behalf of third parties and (iii) fiduciary companies managing portfolio investments regulated by Article 60, paragraph 4 of Legislative Decree No. 415 of July 23, 1996; or |
| (b) | in other circumstances that are exempt from the rules on public offers pursuant to Article 100 of the Legislative Decree No. 58 of February 24, 1998, as amended (the “Italian Financial Act”), and its implementing CONSOB regulations, including Regulation No. 11971. |
Any such offer, sale or delivery of the Units offered hereby or distribution of copies of this Prospectus, or any other document relating to the offering in the Republic of Italy must be in compliance with the selling restrictions under
| (i) | made by soggetti abilitati (including investment firms (imprese di investimento), banks or financial intermediaries, as defined by Article 1, first paragraph, letter r), of the Italian Financial Act), to the extent duly authorized to engage in the offering and/or underwriting and/or purchase of financial instruments in the Republic of Italy in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Italian Financial Act, CONSOB Regulation 16190 of October 29, 2007, as amended, Legislative Decree No. 385 of September 1, 1993, as amended (the “Italian Banking Act”) and any other applicable laws and regulations; and |
| (ii) | in compliance with any other applicable requirements or limitations which may be imposed by CONSOB, the Bank of Italy or any other Italian regulatory authority. |
Any investor purchasing the Units offered hereby is solely responsible for ensuring that any offer or resale of the shares it purchased occurs in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
In accordance with Article 100-bis of the Italian Financial Act, the subsequent resale on the secondary market in the Republic of Italy of the Units offered hereby (which were part of an offer made pursuant to an exemption from the obligation to publish a prospectus) constitutes a distinct and autonomous offer that must be made in compliance with the public offer and prospectus requirement rules provided under the Italian Financial Act and the Regulation No. 11971 unless an exemption applies. Failure to comply with such rules may result in the subsequent resale of such shares being declared null and void and the intermediary transferring the shares may be liable for any damage suffered by the investors.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the 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.
LEGAL MATTERS
VCL Law LLP, is acting as United States counsel in connection with the registration of our securities under the Securities Act and will pass on the validity of the securities offered in the prospectus with respect to units and rights.. Legal matters as to Cayman Islands’ law, as well as the validity of the issuance of the ordinary shares offered in this prospectus, will be passed upon for us by Ogier. Harter Secrest & Emery LLP is acting as counsel for the underwriter in this offering.
EXPERTS
The financial statements of Mars Acquisition Corp. as of September 30, 2022 and 2021 appearing in this prospectus have been audited by Freed Maxick CPAs, P.C., independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report, thereon (which contains an explanatory paragraph relating to substantial doubt about the ability of Mars Acquisition Corp. to continue as a going concern as described in Note 1 to the financial statements), appearing elsewhere in this prospectus, and are included in reliance on such report given on the authority of such firm as an experts in auditing and accounting.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1, which includes exhibits, schedules and amendments, under the Securities Act, with respect to this offering of our securities. Although this prospectus, which forms a part of the registration statement, contains all material information included in the registration statement, parts of the registration statement have been omitted as permitted by rules and regulations of the SEC. We refer you to the registration statement and its exhibits for further information about us, our securities and this offering. The registration statement and its exhibits, as well as our other reports filed with the SEC, can be inspected and copied at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information about the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, the SEC maintains a web site at http://www.sec.gov which contains the Form S-1 and other reports, proxy and information statements and information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.
MARS ACQUISITION CORP.
INDEX TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
| Page |
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm | F-2 |
Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2022 and September 30, 2021 | F-3 |
Statements of Operations for the year ended September 30, 2022 and for the period from April 23, 2021 through September 30, 2021 | F-4 |
Statements of Changes in Shareholder’s Equity (Deficit) for the year ended September 30, 2022 and for the period from April 23, 2021 through September 30, 2021 | F-5 |
Statement of Cash Flows for year ended September 30, 2022 and for the period from April 23, 2021 through September 30, 2021 | F-6 |
Notes to the Financial Statements | F-7 |
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholder and the Board of Directors of Mars Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Mars Acquisition Corp. (the Company) as of September 30, 2022 and 2021, the related statements of operations, changes in shareholder’s equity (deficit) and cash flows for the year ended September 30, 2022 and the period from April 23, 2021 (inception) to September 30, 2021, and the related notes to the financial statements (collectively, the financial statements). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of September 30, 2022 and 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended September 30, 2022 and the period from April 23, 2021 (inception) to September 30, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Explanatory Paragraph - Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, the Company’s business plan is dependent upon its completion of the proposed initial public offering described in Note 3 to the financial statements. The Company has a working capital deficit as of September 30, 2022 and 2021 and the related party note payable matures on March 31, 2023. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of one year from the issuance date of the financial statements. Management’s plans with regard to these matters are also described in Note 2 to the financial statements. 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 U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits 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 audits 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 audits 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 audits 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 audits provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Freed Maxick CPAs, P.C.
We have served as the Company's auditor since 2021.
Buffalo, New York
December 9, 2022
MARS ACQUISITION CORP.
BALANCE SHEETS
| | September 30, 2022 | | | September 30, 2021 | |
ASSETS | | | | | | | | |
Cash | | $ | — | | | $ | — | |
Deferred offering costs associated with initial public offering | | | 205,260 | | | | 44,895 | |
Total Assets | | $ | 205,260 | | | $ | 44,895 | |
| | | | | | | | |
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY | | | | | | | | |
Current Liabilities | | | | | | | | |
Accrued expenses | | $ | 2,224 | | | $ | 9,895 | |
Note payable – related party | | | 228,246 | | | | 82,367 | |
Total Liabilities | | | 230,470 | | | | 92,262 | |
| | | | | | | | |
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY (DEFICIT) | | | | | | | | |
Ordinary shares, $0.000125 par value; 800,000,000 shares authorized; 1,725,000 shares issued and outstanding (1,000,000 - September 30, 2021) (1) (2) | | | 216 | | | | 125 | |
Additional paid-in capital | | | 24,784 | | | | — | |
Accumulated deficit | | | (50,210 | ) | | | (47,492 | ) |
Total Shareholders' Equity (Deficit) | | | (25,210 | ) | | | (47,367 | ) |
Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity (Deficit) | | $ | 205,260 | | | $ | 44,895 | |
| (1) | Includes an aggregate of up to 225,000 shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters as of September 30, 2022. See Note 7. |
| (2) | On December 1, 2022, the Company effected a 1.25 for 1 share consolidation of its Ordinary shares, so that the sponsor and founders own an aggregate of 1,725,000 founder shares. Share and per share data have been retroactively restated to reflect this transaction. See Note 1. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
MARS ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
| | For the year ended September 30, 2022 | | | For the period from April 23, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 | |
Expenses | | | | | | |
Formation and operating costs | | $ | 2,718 | | | $ | 47,492 | |
Net loss | | $ | (2,718 | ) | | $ | (47,492 | ) |
| | | | | | | | |
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted(1)(2) | | | 1,472,603 | | | | 762,500 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Basic and diluted net loss per share | | $ | — | | | $ | (0.06 | ) |
| (1) | Excludes an aggregate of up to 225,000 shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters as of September 30, 2022. See Note 7. |
| (2) | On December 1, 2022, the Company effected a 1.25 for 1 share consolidation of its Ordinary shares, so that the sponsor and founders own an aggregate of 1,725,000 founder shares. Share and per share data have been retroactively restated to reflect this transaction. See Note 1. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
MARS ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | TOTAL | |
| | ORDINARY SHARES | | | ADDITIONAL PAID- | | | ACCUMULATED | | | SHAREHOLDERS' | |
| | SHARES | | | AMOUNT | | | IN CAPITAL | | | DEFICIT | | | EQUITY (DEFICIT) | |
Balance – April 23, 2021 (inception) | | | — | | | $ | — | | | $ | — | | | $ | — | | | $ | — | |
Issuance of Founder shares(2) | | | 1,000,000 | | | | 125 | | | | — | | | | — | | | | 125 | |
Net loss | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | (47,492 | ) | | | (47,492 | ) |
Balance – September 30, 2021 | | | 1,000,000 | | | $ | 125 | | | $ | — | | | $ | (47,492 | ) | | $ | (47,367 | ) |
Issuance of ordinary shares(1)(2) | | | 725,000 | | | | 91 | | | | 24,784 | | | | — | | | | 24,875 | |
Net loss | | | — | | | | — | | | | — | | | | (2,718 | ) | | | (2,718 | ) |
Balance – September 30, 2022(1) (2) | | | 1,725,000 | | | $ | 216 | | | $ | 24,784 | | | $ | (50,210 | ) | | $ | (25,210 | ) |
| (1) | Includes an aggregate of up to 225,000 shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters as of September 30, 2022. See Note 7. |
| (2) | On December 1, 2022, the Company effected a 1.25 for 1 share consolidation of its Ordinary shares, so that the sponsor and founders own an aggregate of 1,725,000 founder shares. Share and per share data have been retroactively restated to reflect this transaction. See Note 1. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
MARS ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
| | For the year ended September 30, 2022 | | | For the period from April 23, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2021 | |
Cash flows from operating activities | | | | | | | | |
Net loss | | $ | (2,718 | ) | | $ | (47,492 | ) |
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities: | | | | | | | | |
Formation and operating costs paid by related party | | | 2,718 | | | | 47,492 | |
Net cash provided by operating activities | | | — | | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Cash flows from financing activities | | | | | | | | |
Proceeds from issuance of Founder shares | | | 24,875 | | | | 125 | |
Proceeds from note payable with related party | | | 143,161 | | | | 34,875 | |
Payment of deferred offering costs by related party | | | (168,036 | ) | | | (35,000 | ) |
Net cash used in financing activities | | | — | | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Net increase in cash | | | — | | | | — | |
Cash– beginning of the period | | | — | | | | — | |
Cash – end of the period | | $ | — | | | $ | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Supplemental disclosure of noncash activities | | | | | | | | |
Deferred offering costs included in accrued expenses | | | 2,224 | | | | 9,895 | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
MARS ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Mars Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated as a blank check company on April 23, 2021. The Company was incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses that the Company has not yet identified (“Business Combination”). Although the Company is not limited to a particular industry or geographic region for purposes of consummating a Business Combination, the Company intends to focus on opportunities in automobiles, healthcare, financial technology, cyber security, cleantech, software, Internet and artificial intelligence, specialty manufacturing and any other related technology innovations market.
At September 30, 2022, the Company had not yet commenced operations. All activity for the period from April 23, 2021 (inception) through September 30, 2022 relates to the Company’s formation and the Proposed Offering, which is described below. The Company has selected September 30th as its fiscal year end date.
On December 1, 2022, the Company effectuated a share consolidation at a ratio of 1 for 1.25. Every 1.25 ordinary share of the Company was consolidated into 1 share. All share and per share amounts presented herein have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the impact of the share consolidation.
The Company’s ability to commence operations is contingent upon obtaining adequate financial resources through a proposed initial public offering of 6,000,000 units at $10.00 per unit (or 6,900,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) (“Units” and, with respect to the ordinary shares included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”) which is discussed in Note 3 (the “Proposed Offering”) and the sale of 355,000 units (or 391,000, units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) (“Private Placement Units”) at a price of $10.00 per unit in a private placement to the Company’s sponsor, Mars Capital Holding Corporation, a British Virgin Islands company (“Sponsor”) that will close simultaneously with the Proposed Offering. The sponsor is a related party as it is controlled by Mr. Shanchun Huang, the Company's Chairman. Mr. Huang and Mr. Karl Brenza, the CEO and CFO serve as directors of the sponsor. The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of its Proposed Offering and Private Placement Units, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. The Company’s 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 net assets held in the Trust Account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust) at the time the Company signs a definitive agreement in connection with the initial Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target 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”). Upon the closing of the Proposed Offering, management has agreed that an amount equal to at least $10.20 per Unit sold in the Proposed Offering, including the proceeds of the Private Placement Units, will be held in a trust account (“Trust Account”) and invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 180 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by the Company meeting the conditions of paragraphs (c)(2), (c)(3) and (c)(4) of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, 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 its shareholders 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 shareholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The public shareholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially approximately $10.20 per share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations). The per-share amount to be distributed to public shareholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters (as discussed in Note 6). These Public Shares will be recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Proposed Offering, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” In such case, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation of a Business Combination and a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a shareholder vote is not required by the law and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, a shareholder approval of the transactions is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain shareholder 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 shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Initial Shareholders (as defined below) have agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Proposed Offering in favor of a Business Combination. In addition, the Initial Shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with the completion of a Business Combination.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the 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 ordinary shares sold in the Proposed Offering, without the prior consent of the Company.
The Company’s Sponsor, officers and directors (the “Initial Shareholders”) have agreed not to propose an amendment to the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide for the redemption of its Public Shares in connection with a Business Combination or to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination, unless the Company provides the public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their ordinary shares in conjunction with any such amendment.
The Company will have until 12 months from the closing of this Proposed Offering to consummate an initial business combination (the “Combination Period”). However, if the Company anticipates that they may not be able to consummate the initial business combination within 12 months, they will, by resolution of the board if requested by the Sponsor, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by an additional three months up to two times (for a total of 18 months to complete a business combination), subject to the Sponsor depositing additional funds into the trust account as set out below. Public shareholders, in this situation, will not be offered the opportunity to vote on or redeem their shares. Pursuant to the terms of our Memorandum and Articles of Association and the trust agreement to be entered into between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company on the date of the prospectus, in order to extend the time available for the Company to consummate the initial business combination, the Sponsor or its affiliates or designees must deposit into the trust account for each three month extension, $600,000, or up to $690,000 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 deadline. Such payment would be made in the form of a loan. Any such loan will be non-interest bearing and payable upon the consummation of the initial business combination. If the Company completes the initial business combination, they would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to the Company. If the Company does not complete a business combination, they will not repay such loan. Furthermore, the letter agreement with the Company’s initial shareholders contains a provision pursuant to which the Sponsor has agreed to waive its right to be repaid for such loan out of the funds held in the trust account in the event that the Company does not complete a business combination. The Sponsor and its affiliates or designees are obligated to fund the trust account in order to extend the time for the Company to complete the initial business combination but the Sponsor will not be obligated to extend such time.
In connection with the redemption of 100% of the Company’s outstanding Public Shares for a portion of the funds held in the Trust Account, each holder will receive a full pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay the Company’s taxes payable (less taxes payable and up to $50,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses).
The Initial Shareholders have agreed to waive their liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the Initial Shareholders should acquire Public Shares in or after the Proposed Offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 6) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period 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 the Company’s 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 per share initially held in the Trust Account. In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.20 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.20 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Proposed 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 our Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have vendors, service providers, 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.
NOTE 2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of presentation
The accompanying statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC. In the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring accruals, considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included.
Cash and cash equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with a maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. As of September 30, 2022 and September 30, 2021, there were no cash equivalents.
Emerging growth company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act of 2012, (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accountant standards used.
Use of estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Deferred offering costs
Deferred offering costs consist of legal, accounting, underwriting fees and other costs incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Proposed Offering and that will be charged to shareholder’s equity upon the completion of the Proposed Offering. Should the Proposed Offering prove to be unsuccessful, these deferred costs, as well as additional expenses to be incurred, will be charged to operations.
Income taxes
The Company complies with the accounting and reporting requirements of ASC Topic 740, “Income Taxes,” which requires an asset and liability approach to financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are computed for differences between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities that will result in future taxable or deductible amounts, based on enacted tax laws and rates applicable to the periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
ASC Topic 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities.
The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s only major tax jurisdiction. There is currently no taxation imposed on income by the Government of the Cayman Islands. In accordance with Cayman income tax regulations, income taxes are not levied on the Company. Consequently, income taxes are not reflected in the Company’s financial statements. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
Net loss per share
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” Net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. The Company excludes 225,000 shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters as these are deemed to be contingently returnable shares which will be included upon resolution of the contingency under ASC 260-10-45. At September 30, 2022 and September 30, 2021, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into ordinary shares and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted loss per share is the same as basic loss per share for the periods presented.
Fair value of financial instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Risks and uncertainties
As of September 30, 2022 and September 30, 2021, the Company had a working capital deficit of $230,470 and $92,262 (excluding deferred offering costs), respectively. The Company lacks the financial resources it needs to sustain operations for a reasonable period of time, which is considered to be one year from the issuance date of the financial statements. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern one year from the issuance date of the financial statements. Management plans to address this uncertainty through a proposed public offering as discussed in Note 3. There is no assurance that the Company’s plans to raise capital or to consummate a Business Combination will be successful within the Combination Period, and therefore substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern has not been alleviated.
The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
NOTE 3. PROPOSED OFFERING
Pursuant to the Proposed Offering, the Company will offer for sale up to 6,000,000 Units (or 6,900,000 Units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a purchase price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit will consist of one ordinary share and one right to receive two-tenths (2/10) of one ordinary share upon consummation of our initial business combination (“Right”). Each Right entitles the holder thereof to receive two-tenths (2/10) of one ordinary share upon consummation of the initial business combination, so the holder must hold Rights in multiples of 5 in order to receive shares for all of their Rights upon closing of a business combination (see Note 7).
NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
The Sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 355,000 Private Units (or 391,000 Private Units if the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised in full) at $10.00 per unit ($3,550,000 in the aggregate or $3,910,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of the Proposed Offering. The proceeds from the Private Placement Units will be added to the proceeds from the Proposed Offering to be held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Private Placement Rights will expire worthless. Each private placement unit will be identical to the units sold in the Proposed Offering, except as described in Note 5 and 7 below.
NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder shares
During the period ended September 30, 2021, the Company issued 1,000,000 founder shares to the Sponsor at par value. On October 20, 2021, the Company issued an additional 138,500 Founder Shares to the Sponsor to bring the aggregate owned by the Sponsor up to 1,138,500 Founder Shares. On the same day, the Company issued 586,500 Founder Shares to officers and directors of the Company. As of September 30, 2022, there were 1,725,000 Founder Shares outstanding (up to 225,000 shares of which are subject to forfeiture, depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised, such that the founder shares would comprise 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of all classes of ordinary shares of the company after the IPO, excluding the private placement shares and representative shares). The Founder Shares are identical to the ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, except that:
| • | The Founder Shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions (as described below); |
| • | our Sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed: (i) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association: (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if the Company does not complete its initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of this offering (or 18 months from the closing of this offering, if the Company extends the period of time to consummate a business combination); or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete its initial business combination within 12 months from the closing of this offering (or 18 months from the closing of this offering, if the Company extends the period of time to consummate a business combination), although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if the Company fails to complete its initial business combination within the prescribed time frame; |
| • | pursuant to the letter agreement, our Sponsor, officers, and directors have agreed 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. If the Company submits its initial business combination to its public shareholders for a vote, the Company will complete its initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ Founder Shares, the Company would need only approximately 2,200,000, or 36.7%, of the 6,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination, or 165,000 or 2.8% (assuming only a quorum is present at the meeting and only a majority of shares are required to approve the business combination) in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised); and |
| • | the Founder Shares are entitled to registration rights. |
The Founder Shares, and private placement units, and securities contained therein, are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in a letter agreement with the Company to be entered into by our sponsor, officers and directors. Those lock-up provisions provide that such securities are not transferable or salable (i) in the case of the Founder Shares, until the earlier of (A) six months after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last sale price of the ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing after our initial business combination, or (y) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property, and (ii) in the case of the private placement units, including the component securities therein, until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except in each case (a) to our officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our officers or directors, any members of our sponsor, or any affiliates of our sponsor, (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or an affiliate of such person, or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) in the event of our liquidation prior to our completion of our initial business combination; or (f) by virtue of the laws of the Cayman Islands or our sponsor’s operating agreement upon dissolution of our sponsor; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (e) or (f) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and by the same agreements entered into by our sponsor with respect to such securities (including provisions relating to voting, the trust account and liquidation distributions described elsewhere in this prospectus).
Note payable
The Company’s Sponsor has agreed to loan the Company up to $300,000 to be used for the payment of costs related to the Proposed Offering (the “Note”). The Note is non-interest bearing, unsecured was due on the earlier of March 31, 2022 or the closing of the Proposed Offering. In April 2022, the Note was amended to extend the maturity date to March 31, 2023 or the closing of the Proposed Offering. The Company intends to repay the Note from the proceeds of the Proposed Offering not being placed in the Trust Account. As of September 30, 2022, and September 30, 2021, the Company has borrowed $228,246 and $82,367 under the Note, respectively. Subsequent to September 30, 2022, the Company borrowed an additional $21,870, resulting in a total of $250,116 outstanding under the Note.
Working capital loans
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 directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans, but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. 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, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into units of the post-Business Combination entity at a price of $10.00 per unit. The units would be identical to the Private Placement Units.
Administrative service fee
The Company will agree, commencing on the effective date of the Proposed Offering through the earlier of the Company’s consummation of a Business Combination and its liquidation, to pay an affiliate of the Sponsor a monthly fee of $10,000 for office space, and secretarial and administrative services.
NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Registration rights
The holders of the Founder Shares and Private Placement Units 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 Offering. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form 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 consummation of a Business Combination. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting agreement
The Company will grant the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of the prospectus to purchase up to 900,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Proposed Offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions.
The underwriters will be entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per unit, or $1,200,000 in the aggregate (or $1,380,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable upon the closing of the Proposed Offering.
Representative shares
The Company has agreed to issue to Maxim and/or its designees, 240,000 ordinary shares (or 276,000 shares if the underwriter’s over-allotment option is exercised in full) upon the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering (the “Representative Shares”). Maxim has agreed not to transfer, assign, or sell any such shares until the completion of the Business Combination. In addition, Maxim has agreed: (i) to waive its redemption rights with respect to such shares in connection with the completion of the Business Combination; and (ii) to waive its rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such shares if the Company fails to complete its Business Combination within 12 months (or 18 months, as applicable).
The shares have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a lock-up for a period of 180 days immediately following the date of the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part pursuant to Rule 5110(e)(1) of FINRA’s NASD Conduct Rules. Pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(e)(1), these securities will not be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put, or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, nor may they be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged, or hypothecated for a period of 180 days immediately following the effective date of the Company’s initial registration statement except to any underwriter and selected dealer participating in the offering and their bona fide officers or partners.
Subject to certain conditions, the Company granted Maxim, for a period beginning on the closing of the Proposed Public Offering and ending 12 months after the date of the consummation of the Business Combination, a right of first refusal to act as book-running managing underwriter or placement agent for any and all future public and private equity, equity-linked, convertible and debt offerings for the Company or any of its successors or subsidiaries. In accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(6), such right of first refusal shall not have a duration of more than three years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.
NOTE 7. SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue 800,000,000 ordinary shares with a par value of $0.000125 per share. Holders of the Company’s ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share. As of September 30, 2022 and September 30, 2021, there were 1,725,000 and 1,000,000 ordinary shares outstanding, respectively, which were issued to the Company’s Sponsor, officers, and directors (collectively, the “Founders”). Shares issued to the Company’s Founders are subject to certain restrictions as defined in Note 5.
On October 20, 2021, our Sponsor paid $16,375, or approximately $0.12 per share, for an additional 138,500 ordinary shares, such that our Sponsor owned an aggregate of 1,138,500 Founder Shares, for approximately $0.014 per share. On the same day, our officers and directors also paid an aggregate purchase price of $8,500 for a total of 586,500 Founder Shares, for approximately $0.014 per share. As of October 20, 2021, there were 1,725,000 ordinary shares outstanding. The per share price of the Founder Shares was determined by dividing the amount contributed to our company by the number of Founder Shares issued. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a share capitalization or a share surrender or redemption or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of Founder Shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering and the issuance of the Private Placement Units. The 1,725,000 ordinary shares includes up to 225,000 of shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters.
Rights — Each holder of a Right will automatically receive two-tenths (2/10) of one share of ordinary shares upon consummation of a Business Combination, except in cases where we are not the surviving company in a business combination, and even if the holder of such Right redeemed all shares of ordinary shares held by it in connection with a Business Combination. No additional consideration will be required to be paid by a holder of a Right in order to receive its additional shares upon consummation of a Business Combination, as the consideration related thereto has been included in the unit purchase price paid for by investors in the Proposed Offering. If the Company enters into a definitive agreement for a Business Combination in which the Company will not be the surviving entity, the definitive agreement will provide for the holders of Rights to receive the same per share consideration the holders of shares of ordinary shares will receive in the transaction on an as-exchanged for ordinary shares basis, and each holder of a Right will be required to affirmatively exchange its Rights in order to receive the 2/10 share underlying each Right (without paying any additional consideration) upon consummation of a Business Combination. More specifically, the Rights holder will be required to indicate its election to exchange the Right for the underlying shares within a fixed period of time after which period the Rights will expire worthless.
Pursuant to the Rights agreement, a Rights holder may exchange Rights only for a whole number of shares of ordinary shares. This means that the Company will not issue fractional shares in connection with an exchange of Rights and Rights may be exchanged only in multiples of 5 Rights (subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like). Fractional shares will either be rounded down to the nearest whole share or otherwise addressed in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law.
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 rights will not receive any such funds with respect to their Rights, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with respect to such Rights, and the Rights will expire worthless. Further, there are no contractual penalties for failure to deliver securities to holders of the rights upon consummation of a Business Combination. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the Rights. Accordingly, the Rights may expire worthless.
NOTE 8. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date, up to December 9, 2022, the date that the financial statements were issued.
See Note 1 for details of the share consolidation effectuated on December 1, 2022.
The Company did not identify any additional subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
Until March 10, 2023 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), 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 dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.
No dealer, salesperson or any other person is authorized to give any information or make any representations in connection with this offering other than those contained in this prospectus and, if given or made, the information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by us. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security other than the securities offered by this prospectus, or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities by anyone in any jurisdiction in which the offer or solicitation is not authorized or is unlawful.
$60,000,000
Mars Acquisition Corp.
6,000,000 Units
PROSPECTUS
Sole Book-Running Manager
Maxim
February 13, 2023