The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
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PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS | | SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED DECEMBER 5, 2022 |
$65,000,000
Four Leaf Acquisition Corporation
6,500,000 Units
Four Leaf Acquisition Corporation is a newly organized blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as our initial business combination. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target. While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any business or industry, we intend to focus our search on companies in the IoT space or adjacent spaces. “IoT” refers to the “Internet of Things,” that is, physical objects (or groups of objects) with sensors, processing ability, software, and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communications networks, sometimes called “smart devices.” We will also consider adjacent spaces such as devices, components or software that are used in IoT applications. We intend to target companies in both developing markets (e.g., China and India), and the developed markets (e.g., United States and Europe), however, we affirmatively exclude as an initial business combination target any company whose financial statements are audited by an accounting firm that the United States Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, is unable to inspect for two consecutive years beginning in 2021 and any target company with China operations consolidated through a variable interest entity, or a VIE, structure.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of our Class A common stock and one redeemable warrant. Each redeemable warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. We have granted EF Hutton, a division of Benchmark Investments, LLC, or “EF Hutton”, as the representative of the underwriters, a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 975,000 (over and above the 6,500,000 units referred to above) solely to cover over-allotments, if any.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of our Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 12 months (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), we will redeem 100% of the public shares at a per share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and certain conditions as further described herein. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 12 months from closing of this offering, we may, but are not obligated to, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination up to two times by an additional three-month period each time for a total of up to 18 months to complete a business combination. Pursuant to the terms of our second amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement to be entered into between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC on the date of this prospectus, in order to extend the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination, our sponsor, upon at least five days advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, must deposit into the trust account for each three-month extension, $650,000 or $747,500 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($0.10 per unit in either case), up to an aggregate of $1,300,000 or $1,495,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline. Our sponsor, ALWA Sponsor LLC, will receive a non-interest bearing, unsecured promissory note equal to the amount of any such deposit that will not be repaid in the event that we are unable to close a business combination unless there are funds available outside the trust account to do so. Such notes would either be paid upon consummation of our initial business combination, or, at the lender’s discretion, converted upon consummation of our business combination into additional warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant. Our public stockholders will not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our extension of time to consummate an initial business combination from 12 months to 18 months described above or redeem their shares in connection with such extensions.
Our sponsor, ALWA Sponsor LLC, is controlled by Mr. Alvin Wang, a resident of the People’s Republic of China, which we refer to throughout this prospectus as the PRC or China, and a member of our Board of Directors, who holds 83% of the outstanding membership interests of our sponsor. Following completion of this offering, our sponsor will own approximately 19.2% of our outstanding shares. Additionally, Coco Kou, our Chief Financial Officer, is a PRC national.
Our sponsor has agreed to purchase an aggregate of 4,645,000 placement warrants (or 5,083,750 placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $1.00 per warrant, for an aggregate purchase price of $4,645,000 (or $5,083,750 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). Each placement warrant will be identical to the public warrants included in the units sold in this offering, except as described in this prospectus. The placement warrants will be sold in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering.
Our initial stockholders, which include our sponsor, own an aggregate of 1,868,750 shares of our Class B common stock (up to 243,750 shares of which are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised), which will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, as described herein.
Currently, there is no public market for our units, Class A common stock or warrants. We have applied to list our units on the Nasdaq Global Market, or “Nasdaq”, under the symbol “FORLU”. We expect that our units will be listed on the Nasdaq Global Market on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on Nasdaq. We expect the Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless EF Hutton, the representative of the underwriters, inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our satisfaction of certain conditions. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “FORL” and “FORLW,” respectively.
Although we currently do not have any PRC subsidiaries or operations, as noted above, Mr. Alvin Wang, one of our directors, is located in and has significant ties to the PRC, which may make us a less attractive partner to potential target companies outside the PRC than to a non-PRC related special purpose acquisition company. As a result, we are more likely to acquire a company based in the PRC in an initial business combination. If we decide to consummate our initial business combination with a target business based in or primarily operating in the PRC, the combined company may face various legal and operational risks and uncertainties after the business combination. In order to reduce or limit such risks, we affirmatively exclude as an initial business combination target any company whose financial statements are audited by an accounting firm that the PCAOB is unable to inspect for two consecutive years beginning in 2021 or any target company that consolidates financial results of PRC operating entities through a VIE structure in the PRC instead of direct holdings. As a result, this may limit the pool of acquisition candidates we may acquire in the PRC, in particular, due to the relevant PRC laws and regulations against foreign ownership of and investment in certain assets and industries, known as restricted industries, including but not limited to value-added telecommunications services such as internet content providers. Furthermore, this may also limit the pool of acquisition candidates we may acquire in the PRC relative to other special purpose acquisition companies that are not subject to such restrictions, which could make it more difficult and costly for us to consummate a business combination with a target business operating in the PRC relative to such other companies. See “Risk Factors — Risks Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Target Business with its Primary Operations in the PRC — We will not conduct an initial business combination with any target company that conducts operations through VIEs, which may limit the pool of acquisition candidates we may acquire in the PRC and make it more difficult and costly for us to consummate a business combination with a target business operating in the PRC” on page 86.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, Chinese laws and regulations are sometimes vague and uncertain, and therefore, these risks may result in a material change in the combined company’s principal operations in the PRC, significant depreciation of the value of the combined company’s securities, or a complete hindrance of the combined company’s ability to offer its securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless. The PRC government has significant authority to exert influence on the ability of a PRC-based company to conduct its business, make or accept foreign investments or list on a U.S. stock exchange. The PRC government has recently published new policies that significantly affected certain industries such as the education and internet industries, and we cannot rule out the possibility that it will in the future release regulations or policies regarding any industry that could adversely affect our potential business combination with a PRC operating business and the business, financial condition and results of operations of the combined company. The PRC government also recently initiated a series of regulatory actions and statements to regulate business operations in the PRC with little advance notice, including cracking down on illegal activities in the securities market, adopting new measures to extend the scope of cybersecurity reviews, and expanding the efforts in anti-monopoly enforcement. For example, according to the New Measures for Cybersecurity Review effective on February 15, 2022, network platform operators with personal information of more than one million users must apply for cyber security review to the Cybersecurity Review Office when they go public abroad, and accordingly these companies may not be willing to list on a U.S. stock exchange or enter into a definitive business combination agreement with us. If we enter into a business combination with a target business operating in the PRC, the combined company may face risks associated with regulatory approvals of the proposed business combination between us and the target, offshore offerings, anti-monopoly regulatory actions, and cybersecurity and data privacy. The PRC government may also intervene with or influence the combined company’s